Nigel Adkins is set to be announced as the new manager of Reading later on today.

Once upon a time football clubs had traditional nicknames rather than the snazzy new ones that were invented by some adman, thus Crystal Palace used to be called the Glaziers and Reading were called the Biscuitmen nicknamed after the large biscuit factory in the town, now they are calling themselves the Royals and the way the cookie has crumbled is about to see Nigel Adkins appointed as their new manager.

Its ironic how these things pan out, last season Brian McDermott could be said to have out thought Adkins to come to St Mary's and win last April and overhaul Saints to win the Championship title, but it doesnt stop there, the season before that Adkins had a spat with Brighton boss Gus Poyet and although Saints beat Brighton at their old ground to poop their promotion party it was again a case of second best for Saints who finished runners up, in the long term it means nothing it wa promotion that mattered, just a co incidence that all three men should be in this bizarre triangle.

So Nigel is about to be unveiled as Reading boss and has to live with the fact that he is second choice behind Poyet, Im sure he will be able to do that, if he had been appointed a couple of years ago then you would feel that he would be going to a Club that perhaps had foregone the modern trappings of football clubs, they were a club that promoted from within and were prepared to give their manager time to work on things, now it seems with John Madejski selling out a big stake to the Russians times they are a changing in Berkshire and its hard to see what the sacking of McDermott will achieve, if it had been done back in January at the time that ironically Adkins was relieved of his post at St Mary's then you could see some benefit, but now what can Adkins do, he needs a miracle to stay up and he has to start working that fast as they travel to Arsenal on Saturday.

If they lose that game, then it could be said that Nigel's task for the remainder of this season will be over before its started, they would be seven points off safety with only seven games left to play, if Villa and Saints were to pick up points then the gap could be even wider.

Perhaps the best irony though is left to last, Nigel's home debut will be against his old employers, at least hopefully he will be guaranteed a standing ovation from all the stadium, but ironically (again) it will be perhaps those that want him to lose this game that will cheer him loudest before kick off.

I truly hope that Nigel gets that standing ovation from Saints supporters, yes there are those now that previously could see no wrong in him only 10 weeks ago who now glibbly say that he was tactically naive and that it was the right move to sack him, all I will say to that was that in the week before his sacking the Daily Echo poll reflected the fans view and 85% said they backed him to the end of the season.

Nigel's achievements though cant be taken away from him, two straight promotions and after a difficult start taking us slowly but surely out of the relegation zone, I agree that he was in an enviroment where he was unsure, but that was also the case last season and he learnt from his mistakes along the way, in the long term perhaps Nigel is never going to take a club to sixth in the Premier, but that wasnt what we wanted him to do this season and his sacking was badly timed, reading back my old match verdicts from both last season and this shows a familiar pattern, but Nigel always seemed to learn.

What became clear though with his sacking was that once again manager and clun management werent singing from the same hymn sheet and whatever you think of Nigel now he wasnt given the right tools for the job this season, so its too his credit that he left St Mary's leaving the club in a reasonable position to avoid relegation.

So good luck to Nigel at Reading, its hard to want him to succeed in keeping them up, for him to do so would almost certainly see Saints relegated and that would also certainly mean that Reading would have to beat us in a week or so's time, but Im sure that 99% of all Saints fans will want him to do well in the future wherever he may be and that should Saints stay up and Reading go down, Saints fans hope that he shows his calibre next season and takes them straight back up.

It was not so long ago when many Saints supporters would tell you that Nigel was perhaps the best manager we have ever had, its sad now that football in general has lost not only its loyalty from clubs to their managers and indeed players to their teams, but to supporters now, history seems to mean nothing anymore, once you are gone you are gone.                

Photo: Action Images

Santos added 10:22 - Mar 26 Good to see him back. Although mixed feelings as you say! as I doubt any of us want him to do well for the moment! Although none of us know what offers where around, putting myself in his position I would have thought waiting till the summer for potentally Leeds and probably other jobs was a better option. This strikes me as a similar senario as to when certain QPR manager joined us. Ok I admit not identical but is this move for football reasons or to prove a point. most people will say Nigel is not like that me included but does provide an opportunity and maybe Nigel has also learnt to be a little less nice guy with all that has gone on.

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ThereIn76 added 10:34 - Mar 26 Good article Nick and it's nice that Nigel thanked the Saints players, staff and supporters during his press conference. I knew he wouldn't be out of football for long although I thought he was more likely to take over at Leeds than Reading. Good luck to Nigel (and presumably Andy Crosby et al will be joining him at Reading so good luck to them too) - as long as it isn't at Saints' expense!

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slynch added 11:02 - Mar 26 Reading v Saints on the 6th of April, lets hope he organizes their defence like he organized Saints'!
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ItchenNorth added 11:22 - Mar 26 I will not be cheering or clapping Adkins before the game at all. Nor should our fans imo. After the game has finished is more appropriate imo, as before kick off our players will be listening. They need to hear 100% backing for them and for the club from us from the moment they walk out onto the pitch. None of this once the whistle blows rubbish as by then the seed will have already been sown. Reading fans and players will be up for this game and we don’t need to add to the vitriol. The QPR game turned out just great don’t forget ! Good luck to Nigel next year, this year though I hope he takes them down !!!

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Scummer added 12:17 - Mar 26 I think the reverse is true. If we are painted as the upstarts who had the nerve to sack a decent man like Nigel, who is now installed at the Madejski, then a standing ovation will take the wind out of any vitriol. It is hard to have a good argument with someone that keeps on agreeing with you... I have listened to a large number of the away games this season and it has made me proud to hear the Saints fans outsinging home crowds up and down the country, and we need that support again for this game. I might nip down the bookies and put a tenner down on the relegation sides being QPR, Wigan and Villa...

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EasternSaint added 12:31 - Mar 26 Think I have a Reading programme from 1977 and it says 'Royals' on it. I always thought that was their nickname. Guess it comes from being in Royal Berkshire?
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LostBoys added 12:39 - Mar 26 Very surprised he took this particular opportunity. The lure of an alleged £1.5m to keep them up and Zingarevitch producing the money for the squad he apparently promised McDermott and Madjeski before him. I wish him well and will tell him if i see him in Romsey again but the odds are against him.
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Scummer added 12:41 - Mar 26 It isn't that uncommon to have two nicknames. West Ham use either The Irons or The Hammers, but then again they have two names for their ground, using either The Boleyn or Upton Park. Perhaps they are just schizophrenic.
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ThereIn76 added 12:47 - Mar 26 They stopped being the Biscuitment in the 1970's when the big Huntley & Palmers factory shut down. The local newspaper ran a competition for supporters to come up with a new nickname and the winning entry was The Royals, presumably because of Royal Berkshire and the royal blue of their hooped shirts. Then in 1982 Robert Maxwell tried to amalgamate them with Oxford United to form Thames Valley Royals.

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simmo400 added 13:13 - Mar 26 I personally think that NA should get a standing ovation from the Saints end. He was 100% committed to Southampton FC. Only critisim i have was his subsistutions and some players he bought wernt the best but there you go. He learned from his mistakes and had begun to turn us round. Good luck NA but not this season.
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Scummer added 13:47 - Mar 26 I was always unconvinced by Nick's conspiracy theories on the substitutions and transfers, but having read some of the things that MoPo and Boruc have said it does look as if Adkins had to contend with not having a completely free hand. Therefore I don't think any of us will know how many of the transfers were his targets and how many were of the extended team, and likewise what pressures he faced regarding giving certain squad members playing time. I'm not absolving him of any criticism in that area, but that I think that his position was obviously compromised.

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trotsky added 15:07 - Mar 26 Good luck to him. Aside from his achievements in moving us up through the leagues, it's the style in which we did it that I would thank him for. The football we played at home in the first of our season in The Championship was joyous to watch, and the fact that Nigel kept faith in encouraging flair in the top division when his neck was on the line tells you much about the guy's conviction. Curious to say that "in the long term perhaps Nigel is never going to take a club to sixth in the Premier". It's fairly obvious that there are bigger factors in modern English football than your manager when it comes to league placings (however hard Benitez f**ks up, he won't finish out of the top six). A glass ceiling exists for young British managers (especially if you're so uncool that you're called Nigel, wear glasses and conduct yourself politely). Cortese has followed the pack in reaffirming this attitude and perpetuating the idea that you propose. If you don't get more than six months in a top division despite proving yourself more than capable, then your chances of making it further don't look great. FAO Slynch PL goals conceded this season: First 11 games under Adkins: 29 Last 11 games under Adkins: 10 8 games under Pochettino: 12 Doesn't suggest that Adkins was the defensive joke that suits your agenda, but an improver of average players at this level.

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slynch added 15:46 - Mar 26 Yea! Good stats Trotsky! Let's hope Lambo et al blast 1.8 per game past Reading! ;-)
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Kiwifiedpom1 added 17:58 - Mar 26 I said it at the time and I'll say it now. Cortese was wrong and mistaken, when he dismissed Adkins and half hope he will make Cortese rue the day. Hope its a draw.
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bstokesaint added 12:28 - Mar 27 I wish Nigel all the best. He's a top bloke and deserved better. I'd be surprised if any Saints' fan could honestly say it was definitely the right decision at this moment in time. I agree with the numerous posts saying Nigel was learning because he was, which was what made the sacking harder to accept. The jury is still out on the current manager during this transitional period, but from what I know Reading have bagged themselves a good'un. It'll be hard to take living on the Berks/ Hants border if he does too well!!

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