Saints fans have been shocked and stunned today by the announcement that Nigel Adkins has been sacked, here we take a look at his Saints career and say thank you.

Nigel Adkins ironically arrived at St Mary's to a similar situation to the one that is occurring now, his predecessor Alan Pardew was adored by the supporters and despite an opening day defeat and a draw against Orient was generally seen to be getting back on track with a great result at Bristol Rovers, after his sacking the message boards were full of sentiments backing Pardew and suggesting that Nicola Cortese was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. The appointment of Adkins was not greeted with great enthusiasm and he was seen as perhaps third choice.

Indeed Nigel had a very bumpy start, his first game was at Swindon were he presided over a third straight defeat (2nd in League) since the sacking, in fact very early in his reign there were strong rumours that Adkins himself would be gone after not much more than half a dozen games.

In fact at various times during his tenure as manager rumours emerged of a tempestuous relationship between manager and Chairman and that on at least one occasion the manager had been sacked only to be reinstated, much the same as the rumours that dogged Pardew's time at the club.

Saints fans seemed to back Adkins though, an Echo poll was 80% for him only a few weeks ago and his name would be sung on every occasion by the fans, they appreciated that the fact that he had presided over back to back promotions had earned him the right to manage the club in the Premier, yes at times he was found wanting, but like his time in League ! and the Championship, he always seemd to learn from his mistakes and come back stronger, hence what a big surprise to find him sacked after perhaps the two best back to back results of the season, the Villa win was immense, but the Chelsea draw just as important as to many it signified we had finally arrived back in the premier and could compete with the big boys instead of be just lambs to the slaughter and hope to pick up enough points against the lower sides to stay up.

That is why its such a shock to find out he has been sacked, it has been done at the time when he seemed to have turned the corner and was taking the club forward, thats why Saints fans were shocked, long term aims were talked about by the Chairman in the statement announcing the managerial changes, the fans can see that, but the most important thing now is the short term aim and that is to stay in the Premier league, I just feel that has been dealt a blow today.

Thanks Nigel, you will be a Southampton legend for all you have done for this club, you leave on a high as like Gordon Strachan you achieved much and left before it turned sour meaning your popularity will always be high, you were in charge for a total of 24 games, of which you won 67, drew 25 and lost 32 and that is not a bad record. 

Photo: Action Images

saintstowin added 16:18 - Jan 18 i guess it's all been said. we'll all still support saints but for some time the bitter taste will be oh so prominent. thanks to nigel for helping more than anyone to make supporting saints wonderful again. what class he showed under the stupid early season pressure and i was proud when the fans showed he was their absolute choice to get us established at this level. it is one man's agenda and we'll be here longer than he will. i think showing disgust at the decision can be done in a positive way and it is the way of us as saints fans to do this by publicly thanking nigel and also welcoming the new manager and giving him a chance to succeed. some lucky team is going to get their next great manager soon. all the best Nigel.

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richardmdcooper added 16:27 - Jan 18 I'm not ready to move on..So disgusted, I don't care if we lose on Monday to be honest
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IanRC added 16:42 - Jan 18 Thanks Nigel, you have made supporting Southampton fun again. Your contribution to the club has been enormous and I wish you the very best for the future. Your legacy will be long lasting at our club. Nicola, this guy better be the bees knees, this is the first time I feel obliged to question your decisions.
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bstokesaint added 16:47 - Jan 18 I hate admitting to being ashamed of my football club. Every football fan across the country right now is either laughing at us or condemning us. Part of me just wants to say a massive thanks to the Liebherrs and find a new owner who doesn't employ a chairman with such ruthless, cold business strategies. I don't care if NC upsets the press, football agents or anyone externally but this is a man who only cared for what he called a "proper" club and was passionate about it. Look at the way he was lost for words when we got promoted. Would Markus really have wanted this? I'd rather have back a poorer club with a bigger heart than be based on the Chelsea model. They're a joke and we're now no better. And Slynch even factoring in that everyone has their own opinions you clearly are a disrespectful moron, or maybe not even a Saints fan at all. You obviously haven't travelled the length and breath of the country these past 3 seasons with this team or you wouldn't come out with such nonsense. Good luck Nigel, you're a top bloke and top professional. I just hope when I support a team with you in charge again it's the national team.

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ancientbriton added 16:59 - Jan 18 Mr. Cortese is a business man. Perhaps Nigel was doing too well? If he were to let Nigel go on any further he might have lost out on the parachute payment. That's the way to do it, drop down, grab the money and then hope to go up again. What a joke. We would have to support the incomer even if it were a trained donkey because we love the Saints, but I wonder what Hr. Liebherr would have done?

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squidofdespair added 16:59 - Jan 18 Sorry Nigel. Just seen th enew man on TV and he doesn't speak the language. What a fookin joke.
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SaintJez added 17:00 - Jan 18 It really angers me that Pochinetto has already admitted he has "been researching Southampton for weeks". Adkins was clearly a dead man walking all this time. It's cowardly, disgusting and callous from Cortese. I too am ashamed to be a Saints fan today.
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richardmdcooper added 17:05 - Jan 18 Bstoke - great post. Says it all. your key question - Would Markus have wanted this? Would he wave wanted Saints to be this sort of club..Answer - no way - he's probably turning in his grave
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StSaint added 17:17 - Jan 18 Bstoke - Magnificently summed up. Ditto that.
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BlackRod added 17:24 - Jan 18 Mass protest Monday. Look out for me in the Northam. I'll be singing 'One Nigel Adkins' over and over. I'd rather be in the Championship if this meant we could keep the loyalty and dignity that makes being a Saints fan something 'special.' If Cortese wants us to take on the 'values' of Chelsea let's give the new man a taste of what Rafa gets every week.
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no7saint added 17:29 - Jan 18 I'm totally gutted, today I feel ashamed to be a Saints supporter. Two promotions in two seasons, what does Cortese expect in his first PL season, top four? We're at a crucial point of the season, building momentum and clawing our way up the table and this happens. Crazy Cortese. I hope I'm wrong but I can predict a hostile atmosphere for the new guy, (who got sacked in November at the bottom of the league, just the sort of "rising star" we need) especially if early results aren't good which will inevitably get to the players and we'll drop back down the league. Thank you Nigel, you are destined for great things, sadly it won't be with us.

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jonrog added 17:32 - Jan 18 Totally baffled by the decision. We are swapping a 49 year old manager who has got used to winning for a guy 9 years younger who got sacked for taking his club to the bottom of the Spanish league. I don't understand what this guy has got that Nigel hasn't. Good luck Nigel and many thanks for 2 great years.
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cumbriansaint added 17:44 - Jan 18 Itchen north,you are missing the point,this action will seal relegation.a new manager mid season,no relevant experience,language issues and may fans against I dont envy him,welcome to the st marys cauldron.
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Whatsforpud added 17:57 - Jan 18 Continuity is the key to success. Just when it seemed we were going to stay with a manager, the fans have once again had the rug pulled from under their feet. We now have to start again with an unsuccessful manager who won't be able to get his point across to his players. What the players think we probably wont know, until they have left the club. This must be an embarrassment to Terry Paine, recently appointed as Club President. What will he feel he can say about things in his next Echo article.

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kristianJ added 18:57 - Jan 18 I am gutted about this decision. I just want to say Thank you to Nigel - a thoroughly decent man who by any objective measurement has done a wonderful job for our club. I can't see how bringing in Pochettino, a man who has less managerial experience than Adkins and can't even speak the lingo is going to help our cause? I can only forsee (a deserved) backlash from fans and dressing room disharmony. How are the likes of Lambert, Lallana, Morgan etc.. going to feel about losing the man who has guided them to the EPL?! BTW I can't believe slynch's comment! Gazza in goal? He's a liability! Lallana on the bench? What are you on??!! NA has given us two back to back promotions. The aim for this season was survival and with the excellent team spirit he has created and an improving side we had every chance of achieving that - I honestly fancy us to get relegated now.

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SanMarco added 19:09 - Jan 18 I believe that this is the wrong decision but I am saddened rather than ashamed. I believe we can get behind the new bloke AND sing NA songs to let NC know what we think - the Chelsea situation is as much (probably more) about Benitez as it is about di Matteo. I don't want us to go down and I want us to win on Monday. I would much rather that both those things had happened under NA but sadly that's not going to happen. Going down (partly caused by boycotts/poisonous atmosphere at St. Mary's etc) will simply punish us supporters and the players - not NC.

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BlackAngel added 19:13 - Jan 18 Indeed a sad day for us all. NA was a good man who got the best from his players, over the past 2.5 seasons. He's always been positive, honest and pragmatic, yet in the top flight he has often seemed unable to make the right tactical move at the right time, for which we paid. Nevertheless, maybe the weight of NC's high expectation and impatience for SFC has now been lifted, and I'm sure he'll go on and enjoy success elsewhere. What angers me most is the impersonal way the whole dismissal process appears to be done. NA did a lot for us and should have been treated with the respect he deserves. Now NC seems to have made a rod for his own back, and anything but good results over the coming weeks will be deemed failure by us all. BUT, we must get behind the team and support them positively over the bedding in period, and I wouldn't be surprised to see big signings to sugar this bitter pill. The King is dead - Long live the King! I will drink to the memory of Nigel tonight. Thanks Nigel you're a top man!

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WestEndBoy added 19:14 - Jan 18 Again the chairman of our club makes us the laughing stock of english football .Just as we were starting to get some credibility back after Lowe, the usual clowns such as Merson will have plenty to say.You are a legend Nigel.Best wishes for your next job,our loss will be their gain.
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BLEEDRED added 19:24 - Jan 18 Nigel was a dead man walking, no matter how well he did the aim was always to get rid of him . It is clear now that he had no say in how the team was run, he was just given the players signed by other and told to get on with it. One of the good guys in football, he will have no shortage of job offers Thanks for the ride it was fun
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LJCmx added 19:37 - Jan 18 What a legend Nigel is! It's funny just the other day we were debating Rickie Lambert being a Saints legend and someone posted on here that you are not a legend until you are gone (Le Tissier, Channon, Shilton, etc.). Hats off to Nigel, he is now surely a Saints legend? Thoughts?
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slynch added 19:38 - Jan 18 Thanks chaps for reasoned replies but did Adkins get 1 point per game in the PL, just equalling Mr Wigley, or am I a just drugged up moron?
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brianletiss added 20:41 - Jan 18 What the hell have we done. Where are the morals in football. A lot of the Saints Managers moving on you can excuse but the last parallel I can think of is the Saints treatment of Dave Jones. So what if Adkins got us relegated - he probably stood a better chance of keeping us up than the new guy and without anyone in the squad who has hardly played in the Premiership before - a few games by Fox, Cork?, Chaplow, Davis and Davis what do you expect. I have been supporting the Saints since I was a boy - first game in 1957/58. We are a long way short of being a top half Premiership team. The way I feel tonight I don't really care if Saints do go down.If you treat people like that you deserve what you get

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WestEndBoy added 20:48 - Jan 18 Who was the last manager we had who was most for famous for messing up defensively in the world cup finals??
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Whatsforpud added 20:49 - Jan 18 I thought the 5-year plan was to get into the Premier League. We got there in 3. Pardew was sacked after getting to 7th, with a 10-point deduction, and winning a cup at Wembley, and immediately after a 4-0 away win. Now Adkins has won two promotions, got ourselves 3 points clear of the relegation area, losing just twice in twelve, and has to go after an away win followed by a brilliant away draw. With a 54% win rate, he could hardly have done more. What does the new manager have to do to survive?

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saintmark1976 added 21:47 - Jan 18 I posted earlier in the day and having read the other comments feel even more unhappy tonight. brianletiss says it all for me having been a Saints fan myself since 1959.Well put Sir!
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