Barry Horne: Why I hope Everton FC batter my former club Southampton on Monday night

Jan 19 2013 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo

I WAS looking forward to Monday’s game at St Mary’s, between two of my former clubs.

I would have wanted Everton to win anyway, but the news that Southampton have sacked Nigel Adkins has only reinforced that view. What an utterly laughable decision.

I have seen Southampton play three or four times recently, and I was convinced that Adkins’ eternal optimism and brightness was not misplaced. Saints have been improving every week, and had got themselves into a decent position above the relegation zone.

Why they feel the need to change managers, I do not know. They were third from bottom in League One when Adkins took over, now they are 15th in the top flight.

This is yet another example of the savage mentality that dominates top-level football. To replace a manager who has done so much for the club with yet another unproven, foreign boss, is an almighty gamble. It shows no regard for the work Adkins has done, the progress he has instigated, or the loyalty he has shown. I find it incredible.

Experimenting with foreign managers can work, of course it can. But look at Wolves and Blackburn, to give just two examples. They sacked Mick McCarthy and Sam Allardyce, respectively, when the situation was not that bleak, and subsequent foreign appointments have since backfired spectacularly. Stale Solbakken and Henning Berg won’t be remembered fondly by those clubs’ supporters.

As I said, I always want Everton to win games, but for Adkins, a smart, honest, dignified man, I hope the Blues administer a good, old-fashioned wake-up call on Monday night. God knows, their chairman needs it.