Guardian apologises to ex-manager

[Villa'Zawg]

"Constructive dismissal is when an employee is forced to quit their job against their will because of their employer's conduct." - Directgov website.


*cheery whistling emoticon*

[RunRickyRun]

Anyone think he is a little concerned that no club with a vacancy over the past 12 months has gone anywhere near him?

Curbishley and O'Neill have both struggled to find work since suing for constructive dismissal.

[Monty]

As with most things in life, an evaluation of the MON eras will never be a black-or-white, good-or-bad appraisal. Bloody hell he had shortcomings - an inability to learn from mistakes about team selection leading to tiredness, a style of football that was probably never going to take us further than where it did, training methods Ron Noades would have found a bit dated, the least imaginative and occasionally downright wasteful transfer policy imaginable - but he certainly helped galvanise the club at the time, and got a lot out of players whose true level we're probably seeing now. For all the shit he's helped land us in, he gave us some great memories at a time in the club's history sorely lacking in them. It probably wasn't worth it, but I can't help but wish it was.

[Dante Lavelli]

I wonder whether he regrets it now.

That's a great question that we'll never know the answer to.  If he was slightly less stubborn and learnt from his mistakes and therefore showed more willingness manage the finances a bit better then he'd almost certainly still be at the club.

I guess it's not a common trait of a manager to deliberately change but it would not have taken much for him to be a much better manager.

[dave.woodhall]

"Constructive dismissal is when an employee is forced to quit their job against their will because of their employer's conduct." - Directgov website.


*cheery whistling emoticon*

Six weeks away and look what brings you back....

[Ross]

Martin, top tip for you.  If you are so sensitive about an incorrect 'net spend' figure in an article from March, then don't force a correction to be published six months later which reminds everyone how much cash was lavished on you for a 6th place finish.

The man lacks class, and isn't a patch on Sir Graham, Sir Brian or Big Ron in terms of character or results.

[Legion]

Or Ron Saunders, Tony Barton...

[Brian Taylor]

I doubt very much that anyone will get the chance to accuse McLeish of overspending on new players, ever!

[Macho Man Randy Savage]

I doubt very much that anyone will get the chance to accuse McLeish of overspending on new players, ever!

You'd think so wouldn't you, but the new players that have come in so far haven't yet proven to be value for money.

[ez]

For me he ranks below Saunders, Atkinson, Little and Taylor. Can't decide if he's above Gregory or not. Both did similar things. Both took the team into the top 4 but then fell away, both got to a cup final and lost, both wasted pots of money, both walked out on us.

[KevinGage]

I'd have him ahead of Gregory -but definitely in that bracket.

Gregory finishing 6th at a time when there was far less competition was much more of a waste, IMO. We went from top of the league at the start if 1998 to finishing below West Ham FFS.    He also inherited a far better side -relative to the other teams in the division- than O'Neill did.

Gregory's biggest/best purchases were the likes of Merson and Dublin.  Internationals - and good players-  but with a limited shelf life when we acquired them.  O'Neill brought in the likes of Ash, Milner and Downing. It can be said with a fair degree of accuracy that we seen them develop from promising young players to two of the best players in the country -and established internationals- on his watch (I accept that applies more to the first two as Downing was already an international.  And in truth, we only seen the best of him under Houllier).

[olaftab]

Why do people talk about net  spend? He  did spend £120  and half of it on complete dross. It's not OK if you sell some players and spend that money on mediocre others. It does not mean you have spent 0.

[supertom]

I wouldn't want to under appreciate what O Neill achieved for us. He managed to register out 2nd highest points total in the Premier League, with 64 in his final season. That was one more point than Little's 4th finish.
 Granted though, we played far better football under Brian though. We were very unlucky though, because 64 points has been enough for 4th place in previous years.

The fact he's not found work, is not a judgement against his record or ability as a manager, but the fact, Liverpool aside, there's been no job come up he'd have actually been interested in any how. No one here can know how many jobs he's turned down, aside from the West Ham job because Tumnus and Porno Dwarf want the world to know when they break wind, and do anything in fact.

To compare him to Gregory isn't really fair. O Neill managed 3 consecutive 6th placed finishes, and got over the 60 point mark in all of those. Gregory's highest points total was 58. With more luck and a decent ref, we could have won a trophy too, and then he'd have matched what Atkinson and Little won.

Yes he's a prick, but he was a good manager and even with the squad as it is now, he'd do a lot better than McLeish and Houllier. I think O Neill with our current group could get us a minimum of 50 points. I think under McLeish we'll scrape over 40. Hopefully"

[supertom]

ps- If we get in financial trouble, it's the man who signs the cheques to blame, not the man who writes the shopping list. Just as, much as I think O Leary is the scrotum of the devil, it was Risdale to blame for what happens to Leeds. Again, Randy's failure to get anyone up on high at the club with any football knowledge, and his lack of any footballing knowledge himself has caused a lot of problems.

[Villa'Zawg]

"Constructive dismissal is when an employee is forced to quit their job against their will because of their employer's conduct." - Directgov website.


*cheery whistling emoticon*

Six weeks away and look what brings you back....

I spotted Legion's tweet and was hoping to read your mea culpa on having been mistaken about O'Neill's constructive dismissal.