PARDEW SACKED!!!!!..........AND ADKINS IN!!!! CONFIRMED!!

stanners wrote:Confirmed on Scunthorpe website. Just waiting on compensation to be agreed.

http://www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk/page/News/0,,10442~2148108,00.html

Yep, just heard it on Five Live!

I admit I'm slightly underwhelmed, although that's because I'd barely heard of Nigel Adkins before this week. However, he's got Scunthorpe promoted twice, although there was a relegation in between, so hopefully he can get us out of this crappy division. I'm hoping he'll be able to get the best out of our players and get them performing as a team again.
The 'new manager syndrome' works for everyone else, let's hope it works for us for once. Let's also hope that Cortese gives him a chance, unlike Pardew.

Good luck Nigel, I think you're going to need it.

Now the Echo is reporting that the move is in serious doubt as the Scunthorpe chairman is claiming that Saints want Adkins to resign to avoid paying Scunny compo and Adkins doesn't want to resign. Things are never straightforward with Saints are they? Especially if Cortese is acting like a twat.

SAINTS' move to make Nigel Adkins their new manager looks to be in serious doubt.

Scunthorpe chairman Steve Wharton has claimed that the 45-year-old is refusing to resign from his job with the Iron, which he alleged Saints wanted him to do in order to avoid a compensation payment.

First thing today, Scunthorpe put out a statement saying Adkins - who is understood to be on a 12 month rolling contract - and his right hand man Andy Crosby had agreed terms to join Saints after talks yesterday.

It was subject to the two clubs agreeing a compensation package.

But Iron chairman Wharton said this morning that the deal had not gone through.

“The situation is that Nigel was given an ultimatum last night by Southampton to resign and accept their offer," said Wharton.

“But Nigel was not prepared to do that. He wanted to walk out of Glanford Park with his head held high and everything agreed.

“I have tried to contact the Southampton chairman today but have not been able to get hold of him.

“I was not prepared to roll over and let Nigel leave for nothing.

“I wanted some compensation for what I felt he was worth. It was only a modest amount.

“From a selfish point of view I will be happy if Nigel stays with us.

“But I also feel very sorry for Nigel if this was a move that he had set his heart on.

“The Southampton people have been very difficult to deal with.

“They are probably not the right sort of people for Nigel to be working with.

“But at the moment I am not exactly sure what the situation is until I have talked further to Nigel.”

This is becoming rediculous!!!

This does not read well
“The Southampton people have been very difficult to deal with.

“They are probably not the right sort of people for Nigel to be working with.

“But at the moment I am not exactly sure what the situation is until I have talked further to Nigel.”

Oh dear oh dea

Edited in light of other info.

Echo are now saying......

SOUTHAMPTON have withdrawn the offer to Nigel Adkins to become manager.

Reports suggest Steve Wharton, Scunthorpe chairman, is saying that Saints have withdrawn the offer, following an inability to agree compensation with the club.

"Scunthorpe chairman Steve Wharton believes Southampton have withdrawn their offer to Nigel Adkins to fill the vacant managerial position at St Mary's.

Adkins, 45, who has steered the Iron to two promotions in four years on a shoestring budget, had emerged as the man the Saints want to replace Alan Pardew, who was sacked on August 30.

Assistant manager Andy Crosby was expected to follow Adkins to St Mary's but the two clubs have failed to agree a compensation package.

And Wharton said: "The latest I've heard is that Southampton have withdrawn their offer to Nigel.

"They gave him an ultimatum to resign from his position as Scunthorpe United manager, but he was not prepared to do that until a compensation package had been agreed.

"I'm on my way to Glanford Park this morning and hopefully everything will then become clearer."

Adkins has spent the past 14 years at Scunthorpe, working for a decade as the club's physiotherapist and spending the last four as manager.

His ambition looked set to be matched when the Southampton vacancy arose but it now seems increasingly unlikely that he will take up the position.

His refusal to walk out of Glanford Park without compensation having been agreed underlined his loyalty to the club and raised the prospect of him remaining at the helm for Saturday's home clash with Bristol City.

Phil Brown, who has been out of work since leaving Hull, would now appear to be favourite to land the job at Southampton. "

Sky Sports.....

Scunthorpe chairman Steve Wharton believes Nigel Adkins' proposed switch to Southampton has fallen through.

The Iron manager looked certain to be heading for St Mary's after the Glanford Park club released a statement on Thursday morning confirming he and assistant Andy Crosby had agreed terms with the South Coast side, with a compensation package still to be arranged.

Saints have been searching for a new boss following their decision to axe Alan Pardew just three games into the new League One season.

But it now appears Adkins, who has been in charge at Scunthorpe since November 2006 when he was promoted from his role as club physiotherapist to replace Brian Laws, is no longer in the frame.

Wharton said: "The latest I've heard is that Southampton have withdrawn their offer to Nigel."

The Scunthorpe supremo has been less than impressed with his dealings with Southampton and claims they put huge pressure on Adkins in a bid to force the deal through.

"The situation is that Nigel and was given an ultimatum last night by Southampton to resign and accept their offer," Wharton added in Scunthorpe Telegraph.

Very difficult
"But Nigel was not prepared to do that. He wanted to walk out of Glanford Park with his head held high and everything agreed.

"I have tried to contact the Southampton chairman today but have not been able to get hold of him.

"I was not prepared to roll over and let Nigel leave for nothing. I wanted some compensation for what I felt he was worth. It was only a modest amount.

"From a selfish point of view I will be happy if Nigel stays with us. But I also feel very sorry for Nigel if this was a move that he had set his heart on.

"The Southampton people have been very difficult to deal with. They are probably not the right sort of people for Nigel to be working with.

"But at the moment I am not exactly sure what the situation is until I have talked further to Nigel."

Thank god for that it was not sounding very good up until then.

lets put this to bed soon though Saints and appoint someone!!!!

Christ, what a pantomime. Only Saints, eh?

The only stories we have heard are from Scunthorpe.We as usual do our business quietly,and try and wait until everything is sorted before making an announcement and still we get slated.I thought we all supported Southampton,but it appears we believe everybody but our own club.

Vital Football.........


Howe rejects Southampton
AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has rejected an approach from Southampton to replace Alan Pardew

This is Scunthorpe website........

Nigel Adkins likely to be leaving Scunthorpe United
NIGEL Adkins is finally close to being installed as Southampton's new manager.

Tomorrow is expected to be the 45-year-old's final day in charge of the club.

The Iron boss told a press conference this afternoon that he remains in discussions with the League One club.

Adkins said he will not resign from his role at United - but hopes that the two clubs are close to agreeing a compensation package.

And while he is still expected to be at Glanford Park tomorrow, he does not know where he will be come Saturday - at the Iron's game with Bristol City, or Swindon, where Southampton are in action.

"The Southampton people have been very difficult to deal with... "They are probably not the right sort of people for Nigel to be working with.... is unnecessarily vicious and very premature, IMO

However, Vital Football have since reported (although there's no time-stamp on it - very sloppy):

As this story hits the home stretch: the final twist saying that he could be leaving after all appears to be the ultimate truth.

Giving a statement and interview to an arranged press conference the Birkenhead born physio turned manager admitted that he is very likely to be leaving the Iron in the immediate future.

Tommorow is expected to be the 45 year old's final day in charge of the Mighty Iron.

He said that he will not resign as manager of Scunthorpe and admitted that he's still hopefull that the clubs will agree a compensation package for him.

etc etc

(Snap, Mike ;) )

Sista

Saint_Sista wrote:[
(Snap, Mike ;) )

No thanks Sista, strip poker's my game!!

I wouldn't play that with my worst enemy, Mike

Sista

village idiot wrote:The only stories we have heard are from Scunthorpe.We as usual do our business quietly,and try and wait until everything is sorted before making an announcement and still we get slated.I thought we all supported Southampton,but it appears we believe everybody but our own club.

For once VI I have to disagree with you, Cortese is a total control freak and a complete prat and if given a choice between believing something he says against just about anyone else I would believe them. Clearly Adkins doesn't want to rule out the move from what he has said but he actually has principles and unless we agree compensation then he won't move.

We are fast becoming a laughing stock under Cortese and he treats fans just like Lowe and thinks like Lowe the fans should just shut up and be grateful. Look at the Season ticket farce, didnt even tell us until to late to do anything, those of us who asked the office got told no one knew what was going on. Next we have the press ban on photographers and whatever you think about it we are the only club to take this approach so we must be right and the other 91 clubs wrong? Oh Solent have a fans forum every year before the season begins, happy to do last year but ours this year was "delayed", nothing due to the fact I supposed that NC planned to get rid of AP and thought might be a bit awkward.

Now we have the scenario that having supposedly picked the "best person for the job" we don't seem to have had the requisite discussions on compensation. What is clear from the Scunthorpe comments is we haven't made an offer that they have rejected and if we made an offer to Adkins, which is pretty clear we did then why didn't we immediately resolve the compensation bit. I don't have a problem if we can't agree on compensation, that happens all the time but pretty clear we didn't actually even make an offer when all this broke. I work in HR and when you identify the candidate with the skills you want you don't then mess around and end up having to look at your reserves! Apart from not getting the person you want you damage your reputation which can take a long time to recover.

We know now that Brown was interviewed on Monday as he has told us so, he clearly wasn't first choice but we may end up having to go back there because we seem to have screwed up what should have been a fairly simple process. Hopefully we might still sort this by appointing Adkins, he wasn't my first choice but for our clubs reputation, don't give a toss about Cortese, would at least mean we get our first choice. Wonder what the players make of all of this, good preparation for our next game!

Agree with you Matty about the season ticket fiasco,I also don't agree that we don't have halfseason tickets as well, I think this is a mistake too.However I do think Cortese is copping way to much flak from some fans,he is not wrong all the time,and he was instrumental in saving our club.I respect and listen to your views Matt,but on this occasion I think we just have to agree to disagree.I think Cortese will get our club right and moving in the right direction,I may well be wrong,only time will tell.The reason I only post on this board is because at least posters such as yourself put up reasoned arguments,If you look at the amount of personal abuse leveled at Cortese on forums such as the Saints web & fans network you may have some idea where I am coming from.

While Cortese may turn out to be the correct party in all this, at the moment things do not look good. Whether that is down to Cortese, other clubs being arses or the media jumping the gun a bit, time will tell but, as things stand, the club is looking like the bad guys in all this and, by association, the fans look foolish.
Football is very different from other businesses in that the 'customers' - i.e. the fans - have an emotional attachment to a club. No-one gives a toss if Tesco fires a branch manager and poaches a new bloke from Sainsbury's, the customer isn't going to care if Tesco looks bad and loses profits as they'll just go somewhere else. Football is totally different. If a club looks bad and becomes the butt of jokes, so does its fans. Which is why people are questioning Cortese's role in all of this.
No, I probably shouldn't have referred to him as a 'twat' yesterday but it's all frustrating, especially when we Saints fans thought all the nonsense was in the past with the end of the Lowe/SLH era and the takeover of the club. Now, on the surface at least, it looks as if Cortese is a potential Lowe mark II and that's the worst thing for the club. What with the photographic ban, the Pardew fiasco and now this, Cortese is not exactly showing himself to be anything less than Lowe II. I hope I'm wrong.

As for Saints Web, that's a disaster area and is getting worse. Long gone are the days when it was a decent forum (Saints Forever) and most of the old posters have gone because of the moronic element. These days you can get a torrent of personal abuse and pay a fiver for the privilege. Any decent posts get buried in the morass of abuse, vile sexist drivel and made up ITK b.s. I don't know why they have mods on there because they do f*** all to make it a pleasant place for everybody. Reading the drivel on there you'd think that Saints have the most argumentative, whingy bunch of fans on the planet, even if it's a handful of empty vessels making the most noise.
And the worst thing is that it's the forum fans of other clubs go to, the media go to and SFC staff read. Embarrassing.

Various snippets of information have come out about 15 season ticket holders having dinner with Cortese last night.One of whom has posted information on the Saints mad website,or on the cross as it used to be,it is also being discussed on fansnetwork Southampton,on what was the ugly inside forum.Its under the "this is interesting piece" on the forum.I don't know how to do the links or I would put them up for you.Shows Cortese in a better light.I agree it does not answer all questions about him, but it sheds a bit more light on what he is trying to do.Hopefully someone on here will be good enough to post up the links for our people to read and discuss.

Here's the Saints Mad link: Meeting with Nicola Cortese

Well, if what that guy says is true - and no, I don't see why he should make it up - then things aren't as bleak as we've all allowed ourselves to think they are. It definitely puts things in a more positive light. Part of our problem as Saints fans is that we're so used to failure, disappointments, frustration and balls-ups that we daren't allow ourselves to believe otherwise.

Meanwhile the Adkins saga drags on. According to Scunthorpe United's website, he will be in charge for their match tomorrow against Bristol City. The more I look at it, the more it looks as if Scunthorpe are buggering Saints about and not the other way around, yet it's Saints being made out to be the bad boys in all this. We're described as the 'bigger, nastier' club on another website - bigger, yes, but nastier? No. Just because Scunthorpe and the media got ahead of themselves Saints are the guilty party.

Thanks for putting the link up P.U.Lets hope the fans made Nicola think a bit more about trusting the fan base a little,lets hope we can, after all this unpleasantness,unite as a fan base again and all do our bit to take the club forward. Up the Saints.

Well unfortunately we have allowed the saga to drag on and whoever's fault we now have the position where the Bournemouth manager turns us down and then our next choice the Scunthorpe manager, or maybe Adkins was 1st choice, we agree personal terms but can't sort out compensation. Not very professional in my view and you have to laugh at those fans talking about ONeil, a premiership manager and we cant get a Div 1 manager to take the job! As I have mentioned previously wonder what the players make of it all. Great that Nicola met with 15 season ticket holders, the rest of us have to use the OS website and we get told we wont tell you anything until we appoint someone.

As PU says Football Clubs are not like Tesco's and fans are not just "customers" we have a loyalty and emotional attachment to the club and frankly fans deserve to be treated better. (I think all fans get a poor deal). Hopefully Nicola might recognise that but I worry that won't be the case. He admits he hates the media but football is the entertainment business not banking and the media, like em or hate em, have influence in the entertainment business.

This saga really has dampened my enthusiasm for the new season, I hope NC does sort the managers position out but think this may already have ruined our chances this season.