Despite being a Millwall fan through and through, living in Southampton for the past couple of years has given me a soft spot for the Saints. Two seasons ago they were playing the likes of Coventry and the MK Dons in League One, this season they have done battle with the giants of the Premier League. They haven’t done too badly either considering the carousel of ridiculousness going on between the posts as goalkeeping blunder after goalkeeping blunder let the Saints down. After a shaky start to the season, the South Coast’s only representatives had just about got a foothold and had started to hoist themselves out of the relegation zone, having staged an impressive fight-back to steal a point against the European Champions, when something very strange happened.

I logged in to twitter on Friday around midday, and as I absent-mindedly scrolled down the page I saw a tweet by a mate from Portsmouth saying:

“Why the f**k did the scum sack Adkins? What an error! The man had the respect of the whole squad, who can replace that?”

Considering that I’m not THAT much of a Saints fan I was devastated to find out (especially from a bloody skate!) that the man responsible for a 54% win rate and back-to-back promotions, who revived a club in a sorry state floundering in the lower leagues and who showed great promise as a Premier League manager, had been shown the door. As my skate-mate said, he had the respect of the players, but he also had the total respect of the fans, who understood that success in the Prem wasn’t going to be easy. The fans patience was not shared by Chairman Nicola Cortese however, citing Southampton’s “long term ambitions” as the reason for Adkins’ dismissal.

Even the Premier League’s website bore the phrase “Stabbed in the Back”. Adkins was allegedly in tears as he left St. Mary’s following his dismissal.

Sure enough Cortese has appointed fancy new Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino who had previously managed in La Liga. Of course, he’s managed in Spain, that must mean he’s amazing, right? Spain after all is the magical land of footballing genius right? (Let’s not mention he was sacked because Espanyol were bottom of the league and going nowhere…)

Adkins was given half a season in the top flight before the Chairman decided he wanted somebody else, he wasn’t given the chance to try and climb up the league having patched his side up from a beating in the first half of the season. The Chairman wanted somebody else who now has toget to know the club, get to know the players, understand how the other Premier League teams play, and figure out strategies based on what he finds. Oh and learn English. Adkins knew the players, the players knew him. He knew how they had played against the other teams in the league, and knowing his diligent nature, had probably begun to work out ways to get the best from his players against them the second time around. I can’t see Pochettino being afforded much sympathy if he fails to keep the Saints out of the drop zone…

Adkins fell victim to a Chairman who seems to have totally misunderstood the mood of the club, he has been replaced by a man with no experience of English football except fouling Michael Owen once, and who cannot speak the Lingo.

I have one question Mr Cortese: If you wanted somebody else, then why didn’t you sack Nige a week earlier and get Guardiola in before Bayern bagged him? I think that’s just about the only way your actions would be justified.

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