The sacking of Nigel Adkins by Southampton prompted widespread bemusement in the footballing fraternity at the dismissal of a man who, when he first took the job, faced a battle with relegation from League One. Back to back promotions followed by a steady start to Premier League life has meant the sacking has caused anger amongst Saints fans at the decision by owner Nicola Cortese. Just what exactly did Adkins have to do to secure employment for the future, if his teams' showings so far haven't convinced Cortese? Maybe the answer lies in the money, and Adkins somewhat erratic use of it. The excellent transfermarkt.co.uk shows the Saint's spent over £32 million in the summer, an astonishing amount for a promoted club. Plus £7 million on Jay Rodriguez is no one's idea of value. Moreover, the new Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino has made a decent start and his side were impressive at Old Trafford and also the 2-2 draw at Wigan. But he will need to steer Southampton clear of the drop this season and only then can he start planning for the future.
I am not the only England fan who is incredibly excited for the visit of Brazil to Wembley on Wednesday. For a start, Brazil will be sending their strongest possible side as this is one of the few games they have left against top opposition before the 2014 World Cup. It will be a big test for England and Roy Hodgson and the squad he named looked good. As per usual, there were early withdrawals, with Tottenham's striker Jermain Defoe and Manchester United's Michael Carrick the early casualties, with Daniel Sturridge expected to follow. I think that is a disappointment for England, as I'm sure Carrick has a big role to play in the tricky qualifiers up ahead. But overall, from the squad picked the XI I would pick would line up as follows in a 4-3-3: Hart; Johnson, Jagielka, Cahill, Cole; Gerrard, Lampard, Wilshere; Walcott, Rooney, Milner. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tom Cleverley play though as he is seems to be a particular favourite of Hodgson. It will be a big test for England, and it would also be great to see Ronaldinho back in a Brazil shirt again.
As for the football on the weekend, two great performances at the Emirates and the Etihad by Liverpool resulted in two draws. The Scousers just don't seem to be able to grind out results, and have yet to win a game against a fellow top 10 side this season. Steven Gerrard has been immense this season, as has Luis Suarez, but they are now 9 points behind Spurs. Another big club who might struggle to get into the top four this season is Arsenal, who were slightly sluggish in a victory over Stoke. the form of Walcott has been a big plus this season, but the frankly ridiculous defending against Liverpool showcased the fear of all Gooners that any top side can still rip them apart. New signing Nacho Monreal is progress, but is cup tied for the Champions League, leaving Arsenal with Andre Santos against Arjen Robben..
As for the rest of the football thoughts:
*Gareth Bale saves Spurs again with yet another screamer- but what the heck was Popov thinking? Cost his team the game with an act of petulance.
*I attended the Fulham- Man Utd game on Saturday and was once again treated to a Michael Carrick masterclass. As for the rest of the team, it wasn't spectacular, but it can't always be a coincidence that Utd always seem to win without playing that well?
*What has gone on at Chelsea recently? How can a side so full of talent implode when in comfortable positions? And why is Frank Lampard not getting a contract?
*Harry Redknapp will surely regret his comments that he made in December after an incident involving Bosingwa. "I don't want to spend the owners' money really. I've got to be honest with you. I don't want to see the owners have their pants taken down like they have in the past." Hmmm.. Harry needs to pull off some magic or QPR will go down and go the way of... every single club Redknapp has managed, into financial meltdown
*It was sad to see Mario Balotelli leave the premier league, but it is probably good for him in the long run. He certainly has made an excellent start to his AC Milan career.
Thanks for reading, Adam.
Alright lad. Nice blog. Very trific. Here's to many more successful blogs, lots of love, Mr B
ReplyDeleteHmm that was certainly an interesting blog, but ill have you know that firstly: Harry redknapp didn't exactly bankrupt spurs 2. please stop but kissing carrick 3. theyll probs play vermaelen at LB vs bayern 4. lanky frampard and stevie g 5. southampton had an amateur squad before well january and they r now out of the relegation places. Also what are your views on things....? Also bleeeurggh pile of puke!! :O
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for commenting. In response, thanks for the trific' comment, Mr.b. As for Ben Kinchuck, 1. His squad management of Spurs was awful- replacing Pavlyuchenko with Saha? Or replacing Bassong with Nelsen?
ReplyDelete2. Carrick is world class in my opinion, but yeah, I do go a bit over the top :-p 3. I don't think Wenger likes Mertesacker and Koscielny as a partnership, so see Vermealen playing myself. 4. true. 5. Yes, so he deserved to go, 32 million of transfers , not a good squad.