The Martin O'Neill thread (with added sacking #2188)

[dave.woodhall]

It's mad to try and quality for the Europa League and then want out - it seems to happen every season these days for at least one club.

Usually the clubs who got in via the cups and think staying in the Premier League is the only thing that matters. Once the novelty wears off for Swansea next season after a couple of trips to a former Soviet republic they'll be picking their third team as well.

[pauliewalnuts]

I am pretty sure I can recall a comment along the lines of 'I felt we would have lost with a full strength team anyway'.

Are you sure you're not mixing MON and Russia up with Houllier and that Man City away game in the cup?

[pauliewalnuts]

I personally think too many fans are hung up on the team he took away to Moscow, his mistakes in that tournament came earlier (as far as I'm concerned).

I agree with this.  I thought it the right decision at the time and still do.  Yes, a bit of a pig if you were one of those going out there and hoping for better but in all truth that competition is a curse and one we were better off out of.  Had we got the win against Stoke would his decision have been justified, would we still be banging on about it as a defining moment?  I doubt it.

There's plenty to beat MON with a stick over but Moscow isn't the main one as far as I'm concerned.

I agree.

I understood why MON did what he did at the time, although I might not think it was the right decision, I can see why he opted to do that.

Football should really be about winning things, not finishing in the top four, but unfortunately, for many many people and clubs, it is.

What O'Neill did in Moscow is understandable.

The crushing sense of failure in that Stoke game just after, though, is something I won't forget in a hurry.

[Ads]

I am pretty sure I can recall a comment along the lines of 'I felt we would have lost with a full strength team anyway'.

Are you sure you're not mixing MON and Russia up with Houllier and that Man City away game in the cup?

I think that was a mix up. MON blasted my mate at the dinner and put me off O'Neill there on out.

I would also say that with a full strength side, we'd have come close to beating them, especially if Gardner's goal hadn't been wrongly disallowed.

[Trinitymiddle]

It's mad to try and quality for the Europa League and then want out - it seems to happen every season these days for at least one club.

I think the aim was Champions League qualification. Europa League was the booby prize that got in the way of Champions League qualification the following season.

[Steve R]

Victory over Stoke would not have vindicated the decision, getting fourth place might have.

We had not played well since the Arsenal 2-2 at Christmas. We'd racked up good run of wins away from home without being convincing - I can remember a 1-0 at Hull courtesy of a late own goal and a penalty at Sunderland. The fixture list had been kind.

However, at home we had lost to Chelsea and got a 0-0 against Wigan. The team already looked jaded, I doubt that either Moscow or Stoke made much difference to the defeats that immediately followed against Manu, Tottenham, ManCity or Liverpool, although we did play well at OT.

Those that went to Moscow were entitled to feel short changed and deserved some acknowledgement from the club. O'Neill's reported comments are beyond belief.

The real shame of the episode was that the justified furore/meal did obscure what was a fine performance by the lads that did play in Moscow.

[Trinitymiddle]

It goes from bad to worse for MONderland - Stephen Fletcher is out for the rest of the season.

Poor old Martin.

[Mister E]

I personally think too many fans are hung up on the team he took away to Moscow, his mistakes in that tournament came earlier (as far as I'm concerned).

I agree with this.  I thought it the right decision at the time and still do.  Yes, a bit of a pig if you were one of those going out there and hoping for better but in all truth that competition is a curse and one we were better off out of.  Had we got the win against Stoke would his decision have been justified, would we still be banging on about it as a defining moment?  I doubt it.

There's plenty to beat MON with a stick over but Moscow isn't the main one as far as I'm concerned.

I agree.

I understood why MON did what he did at the time, although I might not think it was the right decision, I can see why he opted to do that.

Football should really be about winning things, not finishing in the top four, but unfortunately, for many many people and clubs, it is.

What O'Neill did in Moscow is understandable.

The crushing sense of failure in that Stoke game just after, though, is something I won't forget in a hurry.

Yep, said so at the time. We'd have avoided going to Moscow in the middle of their winter had we'd played (been managed) more cannily in earlier games. This was the point where the MON myth was spiked for me.

[Jimbo]

After forking out a fortune to see us field a team of kids against Hamburg, I always thought that was his huge mistake.

[dave.woodhall]

I don't know if it was because he didn't take the competitions seriously but O'Neill's cup teams rarely seemed to play well and the squad players hardly ever took the chance when they got a run-out. 

[mr-villa]

It goes from bad to worse for MONderland - Stephen Fletcher is out for the rest of the season.

Poor old Martin.

Where is this being reported?

[ez]

I don't know if it was because he didn't take the competitions seriously but O'Neill's cup teams rarely seemed to play well and the squad players hardly ever took the chance when they got a run-out. 

Yes, as I remember there were no cup runs until his last season when the draws were kind to us. Then as soon as we played someone decent we lost.

[PeterWithesShin]

The Guardian a couple of hours ago.

Sunderland will almost certainly have to win their fight against relegation without Steven Fletcher. The £12m Scotland centre-forward will find out later this week whether he requires surgery to repair the ligament damage injury he sustained to his right ankle while on international duty on Friday night.

Even if an operation is not needed, Fletcher is expected to be either ruled out for the remainder of the season or sidelined for around six weeks. Swelling around the injury has made a definitive diagnosis difficult but, after undergoing further scans, Sunderland's key striker is likely to see a consultant on Tuesday or Wednesday who will provide an accurate prognosis.

With his side only four points above the relegation zone and not having won any of their past seven games, Fletcher's absence is the last thing Martin O'Neill needs.

Sunderland's manager, who also expects that knee trouble will sideline Lee Cattemole the rest of the campaign, faces a run of testing games against Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa over the coming weeks.

Although his goals have dried up since the New Year, Fletcher has scored 11 times in 28 Premier League appearances for O'Neill's team since arriving from Wolves last summer and is by far Sunderland's most dangerous forward.

In his absence the team will have to rely on Danny Graham, a £5m signing from Swansea in January, and the £8m England Under-21 international Connor Wickham, neither of whom have scored a league goal for Sunderland this season. Meanwhile Stéphane Sessègnon, who can also operate in attack, has recently been hampered by groin trouble.

[olaftab]

That's a real shame for the player and their supporters.

[eastie]

That's a real shame for the player and their supporters.

Not for their manager though