chris , regarding beckham on loan , im thinking of the financial spin off for the club and publicity , yes he may play a few games but it would be worthwhile.sven when talking in the fake sheikh incident said he could bring beckham here, so its a relevant point. i know time has moved on but milan have said they wont take him this season and west ham have expressed an interest , if sven came maybe he would.ultimately the main thing is that i want sven to get the job , i said that last year and unlike you i think he would be a huge upgrade on o neill.
There were some good posts about how long the honeymoon lasted with MON which were relevant. A Curbishly like appointment would get a much tougher reception, and have to work miracles to keep the fans on side, something the interviewers would recognise.
This is depressing - remember the heady days when replacing O Neill would have us picking from a crop of world class managers?