Shock swept the nation yesterday as news emerged that on-form Southampton had sacked Nigel Adkins and replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino, who was recently dismissed as manager of Espanyol. Football Burp mosied on down to the message boards Saints Web and Saints Mad to see what the St Mary’s faithful had to say about it all…

Nigel Adkins out, Mauricio Pochettino in

Nutwood2, Saints Web…

This has to be a complete joke. It is unbelievable. Has to be one of those ‘where you when?’ moments.

manc_saint, Saints Mad…

Unfair, but it was the right thing to do…
Yes, Adkins did a great job but it reality Cortese has been looking for a replacement since the defeat at West Brom.

Transfers must also have something to do with this move, maybe a player Cortese/Adkins didn’t approve with each other on?

Pochettino must be given a chance, we need to stay up and there is no point getting on his back, he’s young, got very good reviews from some leading spanish reporters, and could provide us with the transfers we need!

i961pie, Saints Mad…

There will always be the odd fan who try to justify things like this, but I’m sorry this is a terrible decision and no matter what gloss you try to put on this the football world can’t beleive how stupid it is.
Best wishes to NA.

Portland Wilfred, Saints Web…

Absolutely crazy. I despair of the game, I really do.

moonby, Saints Mad…

Even Fergie @ MU has just commentated that he is not suprised but considers it a crazy thing to do. He just shook his head in disbeleif!

Love or hate Fergie… you gotta respect his opinions and experince in the game. If he sez its wrong… then its wrong, nuff said.

Saints must have a death wish

Saint Charlie, Saints Web…

Worst decision I have ever seen at Saints.

basingstokesaint, Saints Mad…

Cannot believe this!, Adkins could not have done any better in his time at the club and cortese sacks him???!!! He basically guided a group of league 1 players through the championship and into a good position in the premier league! What more could he do? The love him and have made clear even at our lowest points this season that we dont want him sacked!

Really makes me question Cortese

I’m not one for booing new managers but I think this is up there with Chelsea sacking Di Matteo!

Championship here we come

PonyFiddler, Saints Mad…

Are you 10 years old? If not then you should know that decisions like this happen every season. Cortese hasn’t put a foot wrong yet IMO, there were plenty of bed wetters about when Pards was given the tin tack, and they wet some more when Nigel was appointed. That all turned out nicely didn’t it? I’d be more annoyed if we had nobody lined up. IMHO Nigel has probably known about this for a while, perhaps also the players?? It happens all the time, get over it.

View From The Top, Saints Web…

The last 3 years it’s felt like “our” club.

For the 1st time since Alan Ball we were united on & off the pitch. Today that was destroyed for me & whilst I’ll always love my club, at the moment I want nothing to do with it.

saintwayne, Saints Web…

Can’t put into words how shocked and gutted I am by this. Whilst I appreciate what Cortese has done for us I have lost a load of respect for him now and would prefer him to get out, this is not how I want my club to be run.

Nigel, you deserved so much better than this and I wish you all the best for the future. You have given me my best couple of years as a Saints fan, I’m gutted we won’t get to see how far you could have taken us but you will be guaranteed a great reception if you ever return.

TBH I am fast losing interest in top level football and am sickened by this. I won’t boo the new guy, it’s not his fault, but it will take a long time for some to get their enthusiasm back after this. We deserve to go down.

Noodles34, Saints Web…

Its Just The Timing That is Wrong
Does anyone really think that NC wants to **** this club up? If so, dont bother reading any further please, because you obviously live in cloud cookoo land.

NA, great guy, getting there, young and English, on paper he deserved his chance, but is he good enough to take this club forward into the next level i.e. Europa League? Probably not.

Its just like a player who is not good enough isn’t it, you got Jos Hooiveld, but you are looking for someone better, what is the difference?

My only complaint is the timing, this guy was available in the summer, yet again NC gets his timing all wrong, and he will live or die by his decision.

old_smoky, Saints Mad…

English manager turned over for untried foreign rookie shock.

I would be concerned this might turn into a Pompey’Tony Adams’ appointment.

The least Cortese should have done,was to give Adkins the whole season.
Not only a poor football decision, it’s a BAD business one & with his outstanding head for mainstream business, it must have been a mixture of ego & arrogance over logic.

los_saint, Saints Web…

As far as Nigel is concerned, the timing might be better than being sacked in the summer. He now adds Premiership experience to his CV and his stock has never been higher. Any league club would have him in a second.

Huffton, Saints Web…

Will the players play for the new guy?
Possibly not? I don’t mean as in go on strike, but that is Nigels team that he has built. People make fun about his together as one comments but its clear to see how his positive outlook and enthusiasm transmits to the players. If the players are as ****ed about it as we are, and you would have to assume many will be, we could be in big trouble very quickly. Well done Nicola.

Shottermill Saint, Saints Mad…

Nigel did a great job and the football under his tenure was some of the best i’ve seen from a Southampton side. But it’s happened for reasons that we’ll probably never know and i’m sure Nigel will go on and do great things at another club who are lucky enough to have him.I’m assuming that Andy Crosby will go with him, he also deserves credit for the good work he did too
But it happens pretty often nowadays and we move on.

qwertysfc, Saints Web…

I’m happy for NC to make decisions
A vision for the club , new training facility , club is debt free – I think the guy wants what is best for this club , emotional factors won’t sway his decisions.

I look at so many other clubs in total disarray – no matter how wonderful NA was for us – we have to move on, I would just hate with a passion if the likes of NC and The Liebherr family said “sod it, we can’t do any thing right” put it up for sale and see nice lovely person like “those down the road” and many other clubs like Coventry , Blackburn, is that what we really want – or do we go for NC vision – simple choice really

Turn up or stay away if you feel that strong about it – No one knows what has gone on behind closed doors ………..

This Charming Man, Saints Web…

Can you please explain to me how this decision is good? Even if you forget the last 2 seasons (seeing as loyalty and stability seems a foreign concept for yourself) there is absolutely zero sense in this decision. It is pure and utter madness.

supersonic, Saints Web…

This exactly. We’re all sad that Adkins has gone, and I wish him all the best and thank him for what he has done for us. But, He’s not the bee’s knees. No guarantee that we’d stay up and I think NC is more responsible for getting us where we are now than Adkins.

We have to look forwards, not backwards. Timing is not perfect, but we’ve just managed to get one of the highest rated managers in Europe with ambition. To become successful you have to take risks. You get nowhere standing still.

Mattio, Saints Web…

Don’t do a Chelsea…
I know we’re ****ed off but no booing the new guy, we need to show 100% support to the team

a1ex2001, Saints Web…

Screw the club, Screw the team this is not the Southampton way I hope the negativity this produces sends us spiraling back down to the championship it’s the least the club deserves for stooping so low.

The9, Saints Web…

Is it just me or is anyone else thinking about the nature of their support following Adkins’ sacking ?

We all know the Prem is all about money, and Cortese’s driven and not the most sentimental of people, but until today I’d at least been hopeful that despite all the money he gives us access to, we could remain something resembling a club with an ethos which supported the basics of grass-roots hard work and success – the stuff about bringing the kids through was positive, if not altogether realistic, and we had a core of people who were prepared to start in the lower leagues and work their way through.

And now this.

It raises a number of questions for me :

1) Fan relationship with the club.

Do I just follow the club, right or wrong ? Why ? What’s the basis of me wanting them to be successful ?

If it’s all about Cortese at the expense of things I regard important like rewarding effort, teamwork and integrity, why should I care ?

Adkins was successful by any measure – I assume from the OS comments that the idea is for greater success but at what cost ? There’s a disjuncture between what he’s done and how he’s been treated that people are finding distasteful.

Many are upset as this reflects poorly on the club – I accept the decision was made “for the better” but what does that even mean ? More wins, more success ? It’s not like there’s a guarantee that Pochettino will do better than Adkins.

Is that gamble more important than having integrity and rewarding Adkins’ successes ? Is behaving in an appropriate manner where success is rewarded not more important than success for success’ sake ?

Do fans even have any justifiable right to want the club they follow to be run in a way they approve of ? The money we put into the club is now far less than tv companies contribute – is it right for the chairman to do what he wants even if it’s contrary to the vast majority ? How does that affect how bothered we should be by what happens to that club then ?

If we turn into the greatest team ever, does that justify this ?

Will protesting against Adkins’ treatment just make us look like luddite Chelsea-types who applaud Di Matteo and are against the current manager and apparently Chairman, despite the success they’ve had ? Should we just tut and carry on with it ? More importantly, what should protesting even attempt to achieve ?

The manager is Argentinian – some will probably have issues with that due to the Falklands. Whilst nationality probably shouldn’t come into it, but for some it will, and again raises questions about links between club and community. There’s also question about the general cynicism of south american tactics and how that impacts on integrity ?

2) Modern Football
This is a symbolic moment in our move from “local club” to “global branding experience”. We want to be seen as successful, so we employ someone “international” to raise our profile and attract better players. We have a ton of money, so will we go down the route of throwing money at it.

If we are going down the money route, is Pochettino even a big enough name, or should we expect Chelsea’s conveyor belt ?

3) Footballing reasons

We’re Chelsea lite – if success doesn’t guarantee reward, what’s the incentive to be successful ? You’re getting paid shedloads more than most people anyway, right ?

Pochettino doesn’t speak English. What’s the point of having all the knowledge he has if he has all of it filtered through an interpreter ? Is he up to speed with the technicalities of, say, the 25 man squad rules ? We know he has no knowledge of the players beyond what he might have seen on the tv, and he won’t have the same relationship with the players that Adkins had, and Adkins took many of them to uncharted heights. That loyalty will have taken a hit and motivation is vital to performance.

Timing : it has to be assumed that Pochettino knows little of English football and we are barely clear of the relegation zone. Will we lose points in the transition period ? There was a reasonable expectation Adkins would probably keep us up, the players were feeling positive, were working for him, there is a huge risk in bringing in a manager with no experience of Prem and it will be a hugely costly mistake if relegated.

No answers, just a lot of questions at this stage – like I said, is anyone else re-evaluating whether they should even be bothered ?

Brussels Saint, Saints Web…

I’m not one of those who are against modern football and actually quite like the profile and way it operates now. It does produce amazing entertainment, but yes has lost some soul.
Also, I know as much as I like to think its not all about winning, it really is.
I feel great when we win and rubbish when we dont. All the other stuff that goes on behind the scenes (barring the excitement of a new signing) I couldn’t honestly care about, so long as we don’t financially put the club at risk. Actually pretty much the same for most football fans before the 24/7 media overload. When I started supporting the Saints in the 80’s, I only cared about if we won or lost, I had no access to other information and it simply was not available.

I liked NA hugely and thought he was a brilliant manager for us, but if I felt that by moving him on it would help the club, I could live with that. What I don’t get about this decision, is how does it possible benefit the club or team……………..I simply don’t get the business or sporting rationale for it. It’s nuts!

I also like NC a lot as he has made a huge impact on the success (winning matches) of this club. He has shown a track record of previously making the right decisions in making us successful, so benefit of the doubt, he needs to be right this time more than any others. If it proves he has this one wrong then I hope he chooses to fall on his sword and apply the same standards to himself as he expects from others. Lets see – Many will doubt if he would do this, but my guess is he will. If not, I’ll agree with those who say “what a c**t”

My guess in a years time if we are challenging higher up the league, are on the verge of delivering a larger stadium, winning big games etc. today will be long forgotton, the stadium will be full and the vast majority will still be enjoying supporting the Saints.

How are you feeling about the whole situation, Southampton fans? Have your say in the comments section below…