MoN agrees to manage Sunderland

efb

Just broken by 5 live

Chucky the tree

I hope his first purchase is Andy Carroll for £35m.

Zebra3

efb wrote: »

Just broken by 5 live

Shamrock manager?

*Puts gaff on Sunderland to go down*

cson

OoOo Paully D will love this! :eek:

NinjaK

Nice1, good to see him back.

That_Guy

Agent O'Neill, your mission if you choose to accept it...

RELEGATE THE MACKEMS

Ta.

Crazy Horse 6

Don't rate him at all but this is around his level.

DrumSteve

Hope they have got a serious wedge of cash to back him.

Aul' martin likes his money.

Helix

sunderland to flirt with administration within 5 years

heskey to sunderland in january too... delighted

Crazy Horse 6

Crazy Horse 6 wrote: »

Don't rate him at all but this is around his level.

Done very well at every club he has been at and had villa comfortably in the top six 3 years running. If you call his level a club with the ambition and support to be in the top 8 of the league on a consistent basis than you are right.

Helix

Deleted User wrote: »

Done very well at financially crippled every club he has been at

fixed

invinciblePRSTV

Hopefully he'll stop by Villa Park and take away some of his highly waged and generally useless/mediocre/over the hill signings. Heskey and Petrov will definitely be in his sights anyway, hopefully he'll take James Collins and Warnock as well.

*Fingers crossed*

YouTookMyName

This makes the Bruce sacking a lot less funny

Kylo Ren

There, there Paully.

mike65

Ah we've missed seeing the little man jumping up and down on the sidelines like a demented leprechaun .

hang on this thread is 11 hours old and he hasn't be signed. :mad:

ironbluedun

a great manager for sunderland.....he will do a great job there i dont know whats wrong with the lot of you..........

Helix

ironbluedun wrote: »

a great manager for sunderland.....he will do a great job there i dont know whats wrong with the lot of you..........

some of us are villa fans and saw what he did to the club behind the scenes

Neil3030

Posted this the other day in the Villa thread, will repost it here:

---

He's God's gift initially. As many have stated, he is passionate, erudite and effective. A likeable Joe, able to handle himself very well with the media, he will organise your team, whip them into shape and get them giving their all. Sticking to a rigid system of limited tactics coupled with intense motivation, results will improve, you will be very tough to beat and your team will progress up the table.

However this initial promise will not be bettered. You will not kick on from a level of competing for places in the Europa League. Better players will not be attracted to your team, the football will not improve, the tactics won't change. Teams will park the bus when they come to your ground and your team will not have the penetration or guile to break them down. You will subsequently draw a lot of games, though this will be masked by impressive results on the road.

In addition, your squad will grow; not in quality but in numbers. Huge wages will be pitched at players who don't improve the team, and the same 11 will be played each week regardless. His 'favourites' will soon be established, youth will rarely get a look in, players will not be subbed or dropped no matter how badly they play. Combining the inevitable consequent fatigue, with the team's afore mentioned predictability, the bubble will eventually burst. Better players will leave, your remaining squad of players will have limited resale value and the wagebill will push you near bankruptcy.

MON is a man out of whom you therefore get a year or two of drastic improvement and elevated mood buoyed by expectation and hope. However this will very quickly grow to feelings of frustration at what could be, followed by a harsh economic wakeup call which could seriously damage your club for ensuing years.

Tread carefully with the man.

_blank_

He only spent the money the boards gave him, putting the blame at his door is stupid.

invinciblePRSTV

Des wrote: »

He only spent the money the boards gave him, putting the blame at his door is stupid.

Agreed but he spent on absolute ****e and walked away when the going got tough (No more blank chequebook). He's squandered the best chance he had of establishing himself as a genuine top class manager - an open chequebook and complete control over football matters - hence why the jobs he's been linked with since Villa have been your West Hams and your S'lands.

kfallon

Neil3030 wrote: »

However this initial promise will not be bettered. You will not kick on from a level of competing for places in the Europa League. Better players will not be attracted to your team, the football will not improve, the tactics won't change. Teams will park the bus when they come to your ground and your team will not have the penetration or guile to break them down. You will subsequently draw a lot of games, though this will be masked by impressive results on the road.

You think Villa should be in the Champions League?

Did a great job at Celtic even getting them to a UEFA Cup Final, good to see him back in the Prem imo!

invinciblePRSTV

kfallon wrote: »

Neil3030 wrote: »

However this initial promise will not be bettered. You will not kick on from a level of competing for places in the Europa League. Better players will not be attracted to your team, the football will not improve, the tactics won't change. Teams will park the bus when they come to your ground and your team will not have the penetration or guile to break them down. You will subsequently draw a lot of games, though this will be masked by impressive results on the road.

You think Villa should be in the Champions League?

Did a great job at Celtic even getting them to a UEFA Cup Final, good to see him back in the Prem imo!

Why do you think Lerner gave O'Neill the guts of 100 million to spend in 2008 and 2009 for?

Just for the laugh was it?

bullpost

Dont see why not - they won it in the past and so should have aspirations of doing it again.

kfallon wrote: »

You think Villa should be in the Champions League?

Neil3030

kfallon wrote: »

You think Villa should be in the Champions League?

Given the money spent and the timing of his tenure (i.e., before City and Spurs' recent improvements), Villa should have qualified at least once during MON's reign, yes.

Le King

Des wrote: »

He only spent the money the boards gave him, putting the blame at his door is stupid.

Agreed its ridiculous to blame MON. The chairman can say no to signing huge contract etc. He only spends what he was given.

It seems long winded ****e spouting about MON is popular here. I remember the same rubbish when he was being touted for the Liverpool job.

Omackeral

I honestly read that thread title as Michael O Neill, The Shamrock Rovers boss. Was wondering why Villa were being mentioned so often....

_blank_

Le King wrote: »

Agreed its ridiculous to blame MON. The chairman can say no to signing huge contract etc. He only spends what he was given.

It seems long winded ****e spouting about MON is popular here. I remember the same rubbish when he was being touted for the Liverpool job.

It seems especially prevalent among Villa fans for some reason.

He may be a cheque book manager, but that#s all he is. I said this before, but it's worth saying again

Chairman : Hey Martin
MoN : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
MoiN : this average player, buying him for 10million
CM : OK, sure
MoN : Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Whatever you want! buy another average player, give him more, give him ninety grand
MoN : OK!

OR

Chairman : Hey Martin
MoN : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
MoiN : this average player, buying him for 10million. Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Fúck Off!
MoN : OK! Bye!

It's the club's OWN FAULT.

Jigga

Le King wrote: »

It seems long winded ****e spouting about MON is popular here. I remember the same rubbish when he was being touted for the Liverpool job.

Could you imagine if he did take the Liverpool job and spent £35 million on Andy Carroll, £20 million on Jordan Henderson and £20 million on Stewart Downing what the reaction would be!

That_Guy

Des wrote: »

It seems especially prevalent among Villa fans for some reason.

He may be a cheque book manager, but that#s all he is. I said this before, but it's worth saying again

Chairman : Hey Kenny
Kenny : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
Kenny : this average player, buying him for 35 million
CM : OK, sure
Kenny : Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Whatever you want! buy another average player, give him more, give him ninety grand
Kenny : OK!

Esse85

Des wrote: »

It seems especially prevalent among Villa fans for some reason.

He may be a cheque book manager, but that#s all he is. I said this before, but it's worth saying again

Chairman : Hey Martin
MoN : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
MoiN : this average player, buying him for 10million
CM : OK, sure
MoN : Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Whatever you want! buy another average player, give him more, give him ninety grand
MoN : OK!

OR

Chairman : Hey Martin
MoN : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
MoiN : this average player, buying him for 10million. Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Fúck Off!
MoN : OK! Bye!

It's the club's OWN FAULT.

As a Villa fan I'd agree with this. A manager is always gonna want more players, a bigger budget etc, this is natural, it's then up to the chairman/owner to do the sums and see financially whether the club can back the manager, that's where Villa as a club failed.

invinciblePRSTV

Des wrote: »

Le King wrote: »

Agreed its ridiculous to blame MON. The chairman can say no to signing huge contract etc. He only spends what he was given.

It seems long winded ****e spouting about MON is popular here. I remember the same rubbish when he was being touted for the Liverpool job.

It seems especially prevalent among Villa fans for some reason.

He may be a cheque book manager, but that#s all he is. I said this before, but it's worth saying again

Chairman : Hey Martin
MoN : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
MoiN : this average player, buying him for 10million
CM : OK, sure
MoN : Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Whatever you want! buy another average player, give him more, give him ninety grand
MoN : OK!

OR

Chairman : Hey Martin
MoN : I need some money to buy a player
CM : OK, what player?
MoiN : this average player, buying him for 10million. Also, 80 gand a week wages
CM : Fúck Off!
MoN : OK! Bye!

It's the club's OWN FAULT.

Long winded dialogue aside, you seem to be surprised that supporters of the club O'Neill used to managed are expressing opinions on him. I dunno if you're aware but this is an internet discussion forum, it's kinda what we do around here.

Plus no Villa supporter is saying it isn't the clubs fault for giving him loads of cash. Goodness know where you got notion from. We're still going to critique his time as manager at the club, that ok with ya?

Paparazzo

Neil3030 wrote: »

Posted this the other day in the Villa thread, will repost it here:

---

He's God's gift initially. As many have stated, he is passionate, erudite and effective. A likeable Joe, able to handle himself very well with the media, he will organise your team, whip them into shape and get them giving their all. Sticking to a rigid system of limited tactics coupled with intense motivation, results will improve, you will be very tough to beat and your team will progress up the table.

However this initial promise will not be bettered. You will not kick on from a level of competing for places in the Europa League. Better players will not be attracted to your team, the football will not improve, the tactics won't change. Teams will park the bus when they come to your ground and your team will not have the penetration or guile to break them down. You will subsequently draw a lot of games, though this will be masked by impressive results on the road.

In addition, your squad will grow; not in quality but in numbers. Huge wages will be pitched at players who don't improve the team, and the same 11 will be played each week regardless. His 'favourites' will soon be established, youth will rarely get a look in, players will not be subbed or dropped no matter how badly they play. Combining the inevitable consequent fatigue, with the team's afore mentioned predictability, the bubble will eventually burst. Better players will leave, your remaining squad of players will have limited resale value and the wagebill will push you near bankruptcy.

MON is a man out of whom you therefore get a year or two of drastic improvement and elevated mood buoyed by expectation and hope. However this will very quickly grow to feelings of frustration at what could be, followed by a harsh economic wakeup call which could seriously damage your club for ensuing years.

Tread carefully with the man.

Great post, definitely sums up MON managerial career.

Here's a good Gabriele Marcotti article on him:

Tuesday offered a textbook case of how quickly rumours can spread. Peter Lansley's piece sums up neatly how unconfirmed reports of Martin O'Neill's resignation as Aston Villa manager romped around the web and the airwaves. Heck, I was part of it too ... retweeting Oli Kay's tweet (which, responsibly, reminded us that it was UNCONFIRMED) and then watching the mayhem unfold.

I have to confess I don't understand the O'Neill phenomenon. Maybe it's my fault. I don't think he plays outstanding, innovative football. I do think he sets out his teams in a well-organised counter-attacking system and generally gets them to execute his game plan very well. But so do others.

I don't think he's particularly shrewd or creative in the transfer market. By my reckoning, since arriving at Villa Park, his club have spent more money than any other team in the Premier League (£88 million in net terms) with the exception of Manchester City. And, after all that expense, Villa will probably finish somewhere between fifth and seventh which basically equates to the club punching its weight.

Take a quick look at history. O'Neill finished 11th in his first season and sixth the last two years. The much maligned David O'Leary took Villa to sixth place in 2003-04. That was his first season at the club and he took over a side which had finished just three points above relegation the previous year. In the seven seasons between 1995 and 2002, Villa finished fourth, fifth, seventh, sixth, sixth, eighth and eighth, while winning the League Cup in 1996. The guys managing Villa in those years were Brian Little and John Gregory (with a bit of Graham Taylor thrown in). Neither Little nor Gregory (let alone O'Leary) are spoken of in the same glowing terms as O'Neill. And yet they achieved what they achieved without the massive investment from Randy Lerner, but with the rather more cautious Doug Ellis at the helm.

I fail to see what in his results at Aston Villa suggests he's any different from his peers who achieved comparable results, like Harry Redknapp (with a comparable budget) or David Moyes (with a smaller budget and smaller wage bill).

Further muddying the waters - and, again, it's probably just me - is the fact that I don't understand what his transfer strategy is. Since arriving at Villa he has only bought players from British clubs, with three exceptions: John Carew, reserve goalkeeper Brad Guzan and Moustapha Salifou (who is 26 and has yet to start a league game). It has been a pattern throughout his career. At Celtic, in five seasons he brought in three players from abroad: Bobo Balde and Joos Valgaeren who were pretty good and Michael Herbert, who never played a single league game for the club. Now, you obviously don't need to buy players from abroad to be a good manager. But the fact that he has bought just six in nearly nine seasons is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Unless he's somehow prejudiced against them (and I don't think he is), it suggests his scouting network and decision-making maybe isn't what it should be. Instead, he's bought British players, mostly young ones, for which he's been widely praised. But again, it's not as if he's unearthed gems, signing some teenage left back from Colchester who then goes on to become the next Stuart Pearce or an underrated striker from Reading whose career he helps get back on track. Most of his British signings are fairly obvious ones - well-known players at market prices, whether it's Stewart Downing or Ashley Young or James Milner. There's no great nous or imagination there, it's basically a case of bringing in brand names. And paying accordingly for the privilege.

He's supposed to be some kind of guru to young players, but, in fact, he's given league debuts to just four home-grown players in four seasons. One of them, Isaiah Osbourne, is now on loan at Middlesbrough. The other three - Ciaran Clark, Marc Albrighton and Nathan Delfouneso - have between them started a single league game this season and played less than 300 minutes between them. He's meant to be methodical and clear-thinking, but then he signed three quarters of his starting back four (Stephen Warnock, Richard Dunne and James Collins) in the last hours of the transfer window. Which actually doesn't suggest much of a plan at all.

What you're left with is his results. Which, as stated above, are good but not exceptional. Three SPL titltes, three Scottish FA Cups and a League Cup in five years. But, of course, that was at Celtic. Gordon Strachan, his successor, also won three league titles, as well as a Scottish FA Cup and two League Cups, and he did it in four years. You don't see Strachan mentioned in the same breath as Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough do you? And, yes, he did take Celtic to the Uefa Cup final. (But then Steve McClaren also took Middlesbrough to a Uefa Cup final).

O'Neill strikes me, ultimately, as someone who does the job to the level you would expect, given the resources at his disposal. Nothing less, nothing more. When you have a net spend of £88 million over four years, a top six finish is the least you can expect. We'll never know, of course, but one would imagine that, say, David Moyes might have attained comparable heights if he'd had £88 million to spend, instead of the roughly £20 million net spend he's had to work with since O'Neill's arrival. Who knows? Maybe some of the folks further down the food chain would have as well. Heck, maybe even Brian Little and John Gregory.

Would he have been more successful than, say Rafa Benitez at Liverpool or Wenger at Arsenal? Maybe, maybe not. But, while I can imagine an argument for why he would do worse, I have yet to hear a cogent argument for why he would definitely have done better. (I'm all ears, BTW. Though, of course, I accept that it's mere conjecture, we'll probably never know).

One more thing. Lansley's article mentions suggestions that O'Neill is under pressure because Lerner, Villa's owner, is unwilling to make further large investments in the club. If that's the case, it's more than understandable. You spend big, you get the players you want and then you work on making them play well together as a team.

O'Neill has succeeded in doing so with Young and Milner, now it's up to him to make it work with the others. But now comes the real test of whether he really is a special manager or just another "good" manager who succeeds when he's awash with money. Now we'll find out what he can do. Provided, of course, the unconfirmed rumours are wholly false and he does decide to stick around, even with a switched off tap

_blank_

Long winded, good one.

There's nothing wrong with critiquing his time in charge, but to insinuate he bankrupted the clubs he's managed, Villa included, is not correct. It's a silly thing to say, I was just pointing that out.

It seems to be only Villa fans on here having a pop at the man for that reason.

I'm not "surprised that supporters of the club O'Neill used to managed are expressing opinions on him", don't be silly, but I am saying that their opinion that he bankrupted the club is a wrong opinion.

invinciblePRSTV

Neil3030 wrote: »

kfallon wrote: »

You think Villa should be in the Champions League?

Given the money spent and the timing of his tenure (i.e., before City and Spurs' recent improvements), Villa should have qualified at least once during MON's reign, yes.

But for Bouma's ankle and half man half lion Martin Laursen's knee, who knows what could have happened.

invinciblePRSTV

Des wrote: »

Long winded, good one.

There's nothing wrong with critiquing his time in charge, but to insinuate he bankrupted the clubs he's managed, Villa included, is not correct. It's a silly thing to say, I was just pointing that out.

It seems to be only Villa fans on here having a pop at the man for that reason.

I'm not "surprised that supporters of the club O'Neill used to managed are expressing opinions on him", don't be silly, but I am saying that their opinion that he bankrupted the club is a wrong opinion.

Any critique of O'Neill has to include his spending record. What he has done is leave his clubs facing a period of fiscal retrenchment once he departs, in Villa's case he left 5 days before the start of the league season and left a long list of poor and expensive signings behind.

Again no one is denying the culpability of the club financing his transfer hijinx, but its his foresight that landed us with an expensive XI of flops Guzan/Davies/Cuellar/Shorey/Beye/NRC/Sidwell/Routledge/Heskey/Harewood/Maloney. I conservatively estimate that motley crue cost 40 million in fees and that again in wages, what a waste.

Nonetheless he has it in him to organise a side into being a solid team and get decent enough results, he'll do well enough at S'land i reckon.

Lukker-

If you'll recall, when Lerner finally did refuse some of MoN requests, he quit.

Blatter

Why do people think he will do the exact same at Sunderland as he did at Villa with regards wasting finances?

It might have been a huge learning curve for him in that respect and he may have learned from it? I'm staggered that people are just assuming he will do the same thing and not even giving it consideration that he might have learnt from his mistakes at Villa.

Bounty Hunter

Des wrote: »

Long winded, good one.

There's nothing wrong with critiquing his time in charge, but to insinuate he bankrupted the clubs he's managed, Villa included, is not correct. It's a silly thing to say, I was just pointing that out.

It seems to be only Villa fans on here having a pop at the man for that reason.

I'm not "surprised that supporters of the club O'Neill used to managed are expressing opinions on him", don't be silly, but I am saying that their opinion that he bankrupted the club is a wrong opinion.

Des most Villa fans excluding Helix obviously really liked MON at Villa during his tenure but at the end of it we also agreed with the board that had backed him when they thought that for that backing the players we had were not good enough. He left becuase he was told that he couldnt keep adding to the wage bill until he offloaded some of the players rarely used who were on crazy wages and rarely used. He didnt like restrictions put on his total control and walked. We were left without a manager and with an ageing over payed squad that was below the standard we had been aiming for. Its not surprising that that leaves a bad taste in fans mouths. The fact that you hear such talk from Celtic fans despite him having won silverware in a succesful stint there would perhaps make Sunderland fans worry. Its a bit of a trens and one thatas a cautionary tale Villa fans will tell.

I dont think many would argue against the fact that he could do a very very good job there. Obviously youd hope someone is watching his financial deals etc but hes a great organiser and motivater and could get Sunderland playing better than the sum of their parts. I've always thought he could be very suited to International management.

ironbluedun

was he not good at leceister and celtic? no?

JPA

I think MONs transfer policy is his biggest weakness.

He more or less never buys foreign players resulting in sides which lack a certain technical ability and cost a lot in wages and fees, as both are more within the British market. I think it holds him back massively with regard to building a squad as average players come in for above average fees and wages.



Also MON is going to HATE Bendtner!

Helix

Le King wrote: »

Agreed its ridiculous to blame MON. The chairman can say no to signing huge contract etc.

the chairman tried saying no to him at one point, o'neill walked away from the job soon afterwards

Paparazzo

JPA wrote: »

Also MON is going to HATE Bendtner!

Doesn't matter, he'll replace him with Heskey within the first month anyway

ironbluedun

JPA wrote: »

I think MONs transfer policy is his biggest weakness.

He more or less never buys foreign players resulting in sides which lack a certain technical ability and cost a lot in wages and fees, as both are more within the British market. I think it holds him back massively with regard to building a squad as average players come in for above average fees and wages.



Also MON is going to HATE Bendtner!

did he not buy downing, young and milner? all sold for a substantial profit....of course he makes mistakes, everyone does....have wenger and ferguson not bought bad players as well?
The whole thing here is blown out of context for some odd reason.

Helix

Des wrote: »

Long winded, good one.

There's nothing wrong with critiquing his time in charge, but to insinuate he bankrupted the clubs he's managed, Villa included, is not correct. It's a silly thing to say, I was just pointing that out.

It seems to be only Villa fans on here having a pop at the man for that reason.

I'm not "surprised that supporters of the club O'Neill used to managed are expressing opinions on him", don't be silly, but I am saying that their opinion that he bankrupted the club is a wrong opinion.

nobody said he bankrupted the club

he did, however, cause serious financial problems that we're still trying to sort out

ditto celtic following his time there

ditto leicester following his time there

and it'll be the same at sunderland when he's gone

Helix

Blatter wrote: »

Why do people think he will do the exact same at Sunderland as he did at Villa with regards wasting finances?

It might have been a huge learning curve for him in that respect and he may have learned from it? I'm staggered that people are just assuming he will do the same thing and not even giving it consideration that he might have learnt from his mistakes at Villa.

he did it at villa after doing the same thing at celtic

why would he have learned this time around?

Helix

ironbluedun wrote: »

The whole thing here is blown out of context for some odd reason.

really? you think it's blown out of context?

steve sidwell (cost £5.5m, £55k pw wages, recouped nothing)
nicky shorey (cost £5m, £45k pw wages, recouped £1m)
zat knight (cost £4.5m, £35k pw wages, recouped £3.5m)
marlon harewood (cost £4.5m, £35k pw wages, recouped nothing)
wayne routledge (cost £1.25m, £25k pw wages, recouped £600k)
shaun maloney (cost £1m, £30k pw wages, recouped nothing)
brad friedel (cost £2.5m, £45k pw wages, recouped nothing)
reo coker (cost £8.5m, £30k pw wages, recouped nothing)
john carew (cost nothing, £55k pw wages, recouped nothing)
habib beye (cost £3m, £45k pw wages, on loan at doncaster and out of contract in july, will recoup noting)
curtis davies (cost £10m, £30k pw wages, recouped £2m)
emile heskey (cost £3.5m, £55k pw wages, out of contract in july, will recoup nothing)
james collins (cost £5.5m, £50k pw wages)
stephen warnock (cost £8m, £50k pw wages)
carlos cuellar (cost £7.8m, £35k pw wages, out of contract in july, will recoup nothing)

yes there was ashley young for £9.6m and james milner for £12m, but they hardly make up for the losses racked up above do they

_blank_

Helix wrote: »

he did, however, cause serious financial problems that we're still trying to sort out

NO HE DIDN'T

The people who gave him the money to spend did, the Chairman, the Board.

When they said no to him, he walked, fair enough. They should have had the balls to say no earlier than they did, for sure, but it was them who sanctioned the spending. They signed the cheques, they accepted the wage demands of the players, they put the club into trouble. Not the manager.

Look, I'm a Shels fan, I know ALL about chequebook manager Pat Fenlon, but I don't harbour any ill-will towards him for what happened to us, it was Ollie Byrne who gave him the money to spend when he could have said a simple "No, no more money, either accept it or walk".

O'Neill didn't sanction the spend. He asked for the money to spend, that's his job, it's up to the board/chairman to refuse.

gosplan

Neil3030 wrote: »

Posted this the other day in the Villa thread, will repost it here:

---

He's God's gift initially. As many have stated, he is passionate, erudite and effective. A likeable Joe, able to handle himself very well with the media, he will organise your team, whip them into shape and get them giving their all. Sticking to a rigid system of limited tactics coupled with intense motivation, results will improve, you will be very tough to beat and your team will progress up the table.

However this initial promise will not be bettered. You will not kick on from a level of competing for places in the Europa League. Better players will not be attracted to your team, the football will not improve, the tactics won't change. Teams will park the bus when they come to your ground and your team will not have the penetration or guile to break them down. You will subsequently draw a lot of games, though this will be masked by impressive results on the road.

In addition, your squad will grow; not in quality but in numbers. Huge wages will be pitched at players who don't improve the team, and the same 11 will be played each week regardless. His 'favourites' will soon be established, youth will rarely get a look in, players will not be subbed or dropped no matter how badly they play. Combining the inevitable consequent fatigue, with the team's afore mentioned predictability, the bubble will eventually burst. Better players will leave, your remaining squad of players will have limited resale value and the wagebill will push you near bankruptcy.

MON is a man out of whom you therefore get a year or two of drastic improvement and elevated mood buoyed by expectation and hope. However this will very quickly grow to feelings of frustration at what could be, followed by a harsh economic wakeup call which could seriously damage your club for ensuing years.

Tread carefully with the man.

You could say the exact same about Redknapp pre-spurs.

Helix

the board trusted that he knew what he was doing. he clearly didnt

bucketybuck

Blatter wrote: »

Why do people think he will do the exact same at Sunderland as he did at Villa with regards wasting finances?

Just my opinion, but considering many of the players currently at Sunderland I don't think O'Neill will be very happy with his squad. A lot of the players there would be considered just ok/average, and I can see O'Neill wanting to make a lot of changes to make it "his" team. Thats the type of manager he is.

He will want that cash, and he won't be making a pile back on resales, so I can see why some fans would be concerned.

Helix

gosplan wrote: »

You could say the exact same about Redknapp pre-spurs.

you could, but when he got real money he made it to the champions league