With City’s final game of the season – an away trip to Charlton Athletic- on the horizon, we reflect on their current manager’s time at the KCOM Stadium.
Nigel Adkins was appointed in December 2017, following Leonid Slutsky’s departure after a 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday. At this point, City were languishing in 20th place, and Adkins’ arrival wasn’t met with great enthusiasm throughout the fanbase following his recent poor spell at Sheffield United, and his numerous years spent with Scunthorpe United.
That said, his first game was full of drama as City won their first game since October, beating Brentford 3-2, a game which included two stunning strikes from Kamil Grosicki & Seb Larsson. Unlucky away defeats against Cardiff and Leeds followed, however it would take until February 10th for Adkins’ next league victory.
In the midst of this winless run was a game against Sunderland, another side fighting at the wrong end of the Championship after relegation from the top-flight. City lost 1-0, but what baffled the supporters more than the result was Adkins’ claim that “The warm up was probably the best we’ve had” in his post-match interview.
However, one loan signing would prove crucial in the remainder of the season in the form of Harry Wilson. After the Sunderland defeat, the winless run continued and saw City drop into the relegation zone, in 22nd place with 26 points after 30 matches.
Despite the poor league form, The Tigers did progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup, beating Blackburn & Nottingham Forest, before being hammered 4-0 at eventual winners Chelsea.
City’s second league win under Adkins also came against Forest in a 2-0 success at the City Ground, with goals from Jon Toral and Harry Wilson. This victory started a run of only 3 defeats in 11 matches. This run included a bizarre 4-3 win against Norwich City, a game where four penalties were awarded. City saw themselves 3-2 down at half-time because of a James Maddison hat-trick ,but a second Abel Hernandez penalty followed by a brilliant solo goal from Wilson gave the Tigers all three points.
Two record-breaking results would also come in the April of this season, with City recording their joint-highest away victory by beating Burton Albion 5-0, as well as the highest-scoring draw in the clubs history in a 5-5 draw at Bristol City. The Tigers were 4-2 down in the game with 18 minutes to go, but 3 goals and an agonising 96th minute equaliser ended the game at five apiece. This result also secured survival for The Tigers, who eventually finished 18th on 49 points.
The end of this season spelt the end of long-serving spells for the likes of Michael Dawson, David Meyler and Abel Hernandez. However, Adkins would bring in 8 summer signings, including Reece Burke and Jordy De Wijs
The season didn’t start according to plan. City lost 3-1 to Aston Villa in front of the Sky cameras, and would only taste victory twice before the end of October, with those wins coming against Rotherham United and Ipswich Town.
However, City were to have a small upturn in fortunes with a 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers, courtesy of a Fraizer Campbell goal. Another 1-0 win -again with Campbell on target- would come in the next game against promotion favourites West Bromwich Albion. A draw at Birmingham was then followed by a nightmare home performance in a 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. At this point, The Tigers were sat in 23rd position on 16 points.
A draw against eventual title winners Norwich City on November 27th was to begin a run of 10 matches unbeaten, with 7 straight wins in the middle of it.
After wins against QPR, Brentford, Swansea and Preston ,the highlight of this run for City fans will certainly be the 2-0 win at Elland Road against Leeds United, with Jarrod Bowen scoring both goals. The game saw the two most in-form sides go head to head in this Yorkshire Derby, but Bowen’s goals on 25 and 58 minutes sent the Tigers fans into delirium.
City’s league form continued to gather pace going into 2019, as Bolton were dismantled 6-0 at the KC Stadium before another Yorkshire Derby win against Sheffield Wednesday on January 12th. The unbeaten run would eventually come to a halt in a 3-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. By this point, The Tigers had climbed from the relegation zone up to 12th, just six points behind the final play-off spot.
City’s remarkable run also saw both Adkins and Bowen receive Manager/Player of the month awards for December 2018. Bowen also broke the club record for consecutive home matches scored in, a run of 8 matches that began on December 22nd against Swansea City and ended on March 16th against QPR
After an indifferent February and March, City began April with three straight victories. The last of those victories came in dramatic fashion against Wigan Athletic. Jordy De Wijs’ last minute winner put City just five points off the top six with five games to go.
However, it would prove to be The Tigers’ final victory of the season, as a run of three defeats and two draws to end the season brought a 13th place finish, 12 points behind Derby County who finished in the final play-off place. Adkins’ final match in charge ended in a 1-1 home draw with Bristol City.
Many fans were left disappointed after his departure on June 8th, after the then 54 year old described that his and the Allam’s plans for City’s future “Were not aligned”.
Adkins is now back in management, after joining Charlton just over a month ago, and has managed to take the Londoners within one point of the top six, needing a result against his old side on Sunday.
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