Nigel Adkins godin2017- Flickr
Right from the beginning of the season we hear rumours of who is going to be the first manager sacked. The bookies and newspapers seem to make a lazy story based on which teams are under-performing, and then the speculation starts.
So far this season we have heard rumors of Mark Hughes’ (after the tainted ‘backing from the board’) job being in danger, along with very early talk of Brendan Rodgers not having long, even though the Liverpool board also said they would give him time. Coventry City even sacked their manager a couple of games in, which only begs the question; why they didn’t get rid of him over summer instead of waiting? They can’t surely have judged him on those two games alone!
The pressure now seems to be on Nigel Adkins, Southampton’s manager, as results continue to go against them. Despite the fact that he took the team from near the bottom of League One to the bright lights of the Premier League in just two years, there are still many rumors and supposed calls for him to be sacked. Many are calling for Harry Redknapp to replace him, and having been a Southampton fan all my life, I can’t think of anything worse.
This poses the question of how long managers should be given. Yes there is likely to be pressure on the managers of teams towards the bottom of the table, but should they be judged on that so early? And should they get all the blame?
In my opinion it is far too early in the season to sack someone. Southampton were always going to take a while to adjust to life back in the Premier League, after seven years away, and were given a very tough start to the season. I know the world of football is fickle and leaves little room for sentiment, but the least he deserves is a while longer to prove his worth. Teams can surely be stronger with consistency and uprooting a manager so early will only unsettle them more. This is especially true in the case of Adkins as he seems to be very respected by the team.
These rumors this early on, the majority of the time, are purely that; rumors. However they are sadly not without reason and the rumors themselves can cause unsettlement. Nigel Adkins does deserve longer to prove himself but I fear it may not be that much longer. I, for one, would love to see him prove everyone wrong and turn things around for Southampton.
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