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

slynch added 13:59 - Jan 18 Saints are 3 points off relegation, their recent mediocre run of form was due to playing worse teams. Their defence is a joke. Everyone is nearly always out of position and they have let in 40 goals. Adkins has had a fortune to spend and that's what he has achieved. Cortese has to run the club successfully in the PL or he is out. Get behind the new guy at least he knows how to defend. Gazza Clyne Fonte Vacant, Shaw Vacant, Vacant Vacant Punch, Ramires, Lambert bench, Boruc, lallana, cork, vacant, vacant etc

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saintnige added 14:06 - Jan 18 Well, that's put a bit of a dampener on the day. Shouldn't really be surprised, I suppose, but we all have a vision of our own club and I feel Nigel has been desperately let down - and agree with MLT that we are busy creating a reputation as a laughing stock. I wish Nigel Adkins every success wherever he ends up -- in over 45 years supporting Saints I have enjoyed the last three years as well as any -- much of which was linked to NA and his skills/attitude. Grow up Saints -- Oh, and who are Salisbury playing next week?

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darkangelv2 added 14:08 - Jan 18 I'm gutted. All this goes to show is what a megalomaniac control-freak Cortese is. SaintNick - you mentioned Adkins was found wanting at times. Please remember some strings, even on the pitch, are being pulled by the puppet master. Man Utd at home springs to mind.... Imagine how good Adkins will be under a supportive, hands-off chairman. We've lost a good one here.

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amsterdamsaint added 14:11 - Jan 18 Unblievable ! I have not had as much fun being a Saints fan for many, many years. Nigel Atkins brought class, style and joy to St. Mary's. We are now a laughing stock. Sad day for Saints and also for football
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saintmark1976 added 14:12 - Jan 18 A decision that makes me ashamed to be a Saints fan. What on earth is going on with our club when the chairman sacks a decent man who has taken the club from the depths of League One to the lower middle of the Premership in two and a half seasons? The fixture list at the start of the season was unkind to us. We now appear to have turned the corner and can begin to hold our own. Now this. Further, why appoint a manager who himself was recently sacked and has no experience of the Premership at all? Does our chairman really wish for us to stay up or is there some sort of hidden agenda here? In regard to Mr Adkins I thank him for his efforts and have no doubt that he will not be out of football for long.Hopefully, when he returns it will be with a club that has a better sense of values and morals than we have shown on this occasion. The great Ted Bates must be spinning in his grave.

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A1079 added 14:16 - Jan 18 I expect this new guy to get everything right, never to make a mistake, make the right substitutions, get the tactics right, never lose a game, buy the right players, to speak English and play beautiful football and score pots of goals and not let any in. After all, if Adkins has been sacked because he made mistakes then this one had better not make any. He won't have my support until I am convinced he is better that we have had. It will end in tears and I think we will be relegated now. What was becoming an enjoyable season has been ripped to shreds

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LondonSaint added 14:17 - Jan 18 Great post, am sure everyone agrees with what you've written, massive thanks to Adkins for all he's done. Am shocked, but not surprised... From what I've learned about Pochettino (on the radio today) he's held in high regard and based on what's happened in the past (with Pardew etc.) I can see why Cortese has done it, just not how he's gone about it. For what it's worth I think it could just as well prove to be a great appointment (but equally a huge mistake). My biggest problem with the whole thing is the lack of respect for Adkins, how that's reflected on the club, and how embarrassed I am to be a Saints fan at the moment - the general feeling today from non-Saints fans today is one of animosity which is really sad to hear. If the club wants to be a real player in the Premier League I wonder whether this the cost of success, as disappointing as that is. Here's hoping Nigel gets a great job quickly, that backing for the team stays strong, and that we don't lose too much of our identity as a result of all this (oh, and we stay up!).

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ExiledSupporter added 14:19 - Jan 18 I feel disgusted and ashamed to be associated with a club 'managed' by a Chairman with such questionable ethics and judgement. Perhaps it shows that Chairmen have much more responsibility for the implosion of clubs than managers can ever be held responsible for (Lowe is the other obvious example) I was worried about the state of play within the club when I posted a comment late last night on Nick's Saints vs Chelsea Verdict (see contribution 16) so while not altogether surprised I am aghast about this change and all its ramifications. Clearly Adkins had little input into this summers transfer dealings as we had suspected for some while. Doesn't sound as though the new guy will either with the title of First Team Manager which implies the appointment of a Director of Football sooner or later Impossible to understand Cortese's rationale - this new guy seems to have achieved far less that Nigel Adkins, he doesn't speak English, he has no experience in the Premiereship. The club announcement struggles to provide any substantial reasoning for this suicidal move...my head is in my hands. If Cortese had to get another manager he could have chosen from amongst better qualified managers with a far better track record than this guy eg. DiMatteo. Neither the sacking nor the appointment make any sense outside the weird perspective of Cortese (who looks on track to be almost as unpopular as Lowe) Despite his failings (a few of which were contributory to lost points) he was an irreproachably decent and honest individual who probably had a broader base of support among fans than any manager we have had since Ted Bates (perhaps only Gordon Strachan towards the end of his sojourn) While no doubt NA will get a decent settlement and a new job in a matter of weeks, we have unnecessarily damaged our prospects and reputation...and self respect!

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thegeneral added 14:20 - Jan 18 This season was never about glory, its about survival and to learn and build from it and adjust the squad accordingly. A new manager is gonna find it difficult to hit the ground running at a time when we cannot afford to drop points from winnable games, does he know anything about Everton? does he realise we don't have a decent centreback? is he aware of where we need to strengthen? oh wait.... i'm sure he doesn't but Cortese does, well thats alright then, or is it? Good luck Nigel, you have a massive future in the game and i'm sorry its not with us

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tiptop added 14:21 - Jan 18 GUTTED for NA..and for Saints. The 'together as one' ideal has been shat on. Continuity is essential. Nigel was learning and although he made some debatable decisions re subs and tactics - some times - he was def moving us forward with youngsters in the team. If NC didnt have such a bad reputation it might be more palatable but this just another example of his dubious nature. I just hope that NC is right and in hindsight we will see it was a positive decision. What more is the new chap going to offer? We'll have to hope so. Slynch. WTF are you on about. Midfield 'vacant'?! Cork and Morgan not good enough for you? Gazza over Boruc right now?! Mental.

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ItchenNorth added 14:21 - Jan 18 Whatever peoples views are on this we must back the club and the team or we will be heading back to the Championship. Its happened and there's no going back now. Please please please do not turn up on Monday if all you intend to do is vent frustration and sing song about Nigel Adkins. This will do us no favors at all now ! I am disappointed but we have to continue to pull in the same direction. Lets not forget as well that Cortese has not let us down to date. Pochettino's Red & White Army (get used to it quickly people).

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FriskySaint added 14:24 - Jan 18 Yep. Those last two comments sum it up for me. Not frisky today. Love Nigel and hate football at the moment.
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landsdownsaint added 14:29 - Jan 18 NA was a great man manger ,he had to be with such a mediocre bunch of players,but he got the best out of them, this new guy is gona have to be given a large sum of money ...I feel the worst for Saints this season now
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sidsaint added 14:31 - Jan 18 Saddened but not surprised. I believe the chairman has wanted to sack Nigel for some time (possibly since November when Pochettino was sacked), but each time he expected a poor result e.g. QPR, Reading, Arsenal,Stoke, Villa and Chelsea Nigel and the team pulled a great result out of the bag. I honestly thought that after Wednesday Nigel would be safe and that given time he would be a good premiership manager. It's sad that the board are now no better than a number of others who show no loyalty. However we must move on, support the new man and back our team whilst thanking Nigel and wishing him all the best in the future. We now know for sure the type of chairman we have.

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rjh added 14:43 - Jan 18 Absolute disgrace. Lost all the support of the neutrals which I believe we had. Every fan in the Premier League will be willing Saints to go down. A sad day.
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1teeminants added 14:54 - Jan 18 Adkins has been tossed out like a piece of rubbish, this little dictator Cortese needs to show some respect and maybe ,just maybe listen to the fans who were mostly behind Adkins. you cannot go around treating people like this.
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thegeneral added 14:58 - Jan 18 Just been on the official site, love the reasoning (not) for leaving Espanyol. Here's his stats from his years at the club, hardly inspiring In the 146 league matches for which he was at the helm, 49 resulted in victory (33.6%), 33 were draws (22.6%) and 64 ended in defeat (43.8%).
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thingummy added 15:06 - Jan 18 feel very ruthless about the whole thing right now. NC is a banker not a businessman. I'm not sure he understands the word "team". there was more of a sense of togetherness than we have had in a long while .... Breaking with that sense of goodwill plus momentum on the pitch is a dangerous thing to do This new guy had better be good - I will be looking for more effective tactics, team and results, as well as entertainment problem is, he has to work with assets who are human beings. they will be aware of NA's shortcomings. He was just human. But he was the focal point for the club and he was their manager. .... and ours I love our club but don't like it right now .....

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richardmdcooper added 15:08 - Jan 18 Disgusted at the club and ashamed to be a Saints fan today. Slynch - what the hell are you on?! And Itchen North, get stuffed - I think every fan there on Monday should be singing one Nigel Adkins..
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LJCmx added 15:16 - Jan 18 Feeling heartbroken right now! Can't believe this as Nigel has served us so well and at least deserved a crack at a full season in the Premier League. He would have kept us up. With Mauricio Pochettino we will have to see. What we do not want to see now are the scenes at Chelsea from the past two months. It's a similar situation but we cannot let it escalate; on Monday there must be no booing or we will look like another Chelsea! Pochettino must have our full support from day one and be given a chance. Nigel, thank you so much for the memories. Now that you have left, you are a Saints Legend in our eyes. Your next club will be very lucky to have you, just like we have been! Saints forever!!!

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LostBoys added 15:23 - Jan 18 Shocked at the timing of the decision if not the decision itself which I posted as likely after West Brom. I fear our odds for relagation have increased now. I will join in the cheers for Nigel at the Everton game but please let us not have the moronic Chelsea situation which will only make matters worse.
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ElSanto added 15:35 - Jan 18 Harsh on Atkins. I reckoned we would have stayed up. He deserved the season. However, if we are aiming high, then this kind of appointment is a gamble that could prove correct. For example, we will be able to attract better players from Europe, and this guy is supposedly very good and has experience playing at top level. Marcus appointed Cortese, Cortese hasn't done much wrong yet. I agree with the people who say lets keep supporting Southampton and our new manager. There's a chance we could be a big, big team if we do. Thanks to Atkins - the guy was a legend. When I awoke today I was raging, but in the cold light of day I'm starting to realize that it might be for the best. 3.

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StSaint added 15:38 - Jan 18 My anger is for Cortese. That is one cold mofo. Booing Poch would be crazy - he's out of work and we are an amazing club. I will be fully behind him. As an aside Guillem Balague earlier tweeted about how great he is and how excited we should be. He is usually pretty accurate, so here's hoping. Shame he doesn't speak English! In one foul swoop we have gone from everyones 2nd favourite team to everyones most hated. Nice one NC

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LJCmx added 16:05 - Jan 18 I find it sad that Nigel supposedly knew nothing about this. But now we turn the page and must be right behind the club.
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ItchenNorth added 16:07 - Jan 18 richardmdcooper I don't agree with the decision to sack Adkins at all, but fans turning on the club is going to get us nowhere, absolutely nowhere, so like it or not move on. If we don't we will likely be relegated. Therefore on Monday if you are happy to risk losing 3 points wasting time and effort backing a manager that has now left or signing songs about Cortese, knock yourself out, but I want a win. GET OVER IT ADKINS HAS LEFT !

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