[caption id="attachment_42" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nigel Adkins: New Saint on the Block (Getty Images)"]
[/caption]So, who is Nigel Adkins? Fans from outside of the Football League may not recognised the name and he is certainly a lower profile manager than Pardew, but by no means does that imply he isn't up to the challenge. Joining Scunthorpe originally as a physio in 1996 after a managerial spell at Welsh side Bangor City, he was appointed as caretaker manager in the light of Brian Laws departing Scunthorpe for Sheffield Wednesday in the tail-end of 2006 and was appointed permanently. The step up from physio to manager was certainly a big one, but Adkins adapted to the role like a fish to water. Scunthorpe gained promotion to the Championship in his first season as Champions, winning the league a clear six points above Bristol City. The unexpected success of Adkins was recognised by the fans, who created one of the chants of the season in - "Who needs Mourinho, we've got our Physio".
In the following season the Iron were relegated back to League One but yet again bounced straight back into the Championship via the play-offs under Adkins' wing. Scunthorpe cemented their place in the Championship in the 09/10 season, avoiding relegation to the expense of Sheffield Wednesday. His style of football has been admired by many, turning Scunthorpe into a good footballing side, keeping the ball on the ground with a free flowing, attacking style. Dispite finishing 20th, they managed to score 62 goals last season - to put that into context, 5th place Leicester City scored 61, 7th placed Swansea City scored 40 and 8th placed Sheffield United scored 62 also. They formed a lethal partnership up front in the shape of Gary Hooper and Paul Hayes, unfortunately both players moved on at the end of the season with Hayes moving to Championship rivals Preston and Hooper taking the hop across the border to Celtic. With strikers like League One top scorer Ricky Lambert and ex-Spurs man Lee Barnard at new team Southampton, Adkins will surely be looking to get the most out of the two.
Without their former strikeforce, Scunthorpe have still shown their worth in the top tier of the Football League, however the departure of Adkins will definitely affect their changes of staying up for another season.
[caption id="attachment_40" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pardew: Should he have been sacked? (Getty Images)"]
[/caption]But was this change necessary? Nigel Adkins will certainly bring attacking prowess to the Saints, but should Pardew have been up for the chop in the first place? The dismissal came at a very peculiar time too, not after a disappointing draw... not after a shocking loss... not after losing the dressing room... but after a very convincing 4-0 away win against Bristol Rovers. But maybe they had a bad record before this win? Well there were two losses: one to Premier League Bolton in the League Cup, one to Championship-relegated Plymouth on the opening day and a 1-1 draw at home to Leyton Orient. A slow start for sure, maybe a little too slow for chairman Nicola Cortese and co.
Southampton were touted to be up there with the promotion contenders and maybe it wasn't the best of starts, but sacking such an established manager like Alan Pardew, a manager who almost steered Southampton into the play-off spots despite their 10 point deduction at the start of last season? He definitely should've been given more time, and since his departure, Southampton have suffered two losses against Swindon, including a 3-0 loss that knocked the holders out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and a loss against Rochdale. 3 games. 0 points. 6 goals conceded. 0 goals scored. So should Pardew have left? Questionable. Very Questionable.
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