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

[Chris Smith]

I emailed a Sunderland supporting colleague this morning to get his take on it. He's pissed of with the appointment and is seriously considering stopping going. He's got a 12 year old son' "how do I explain it to him?" was the question.

[Clampy]

I emailed a Sunderland supporting colleague this morning to get his take on it. He's pissed of with the appointment and is seriously considering stopping going. He's got a 12 year old son' "how do I explain it to him?" was the question.

I know a Sunderland fan as well, i'll have to ask him what he thinks.

[eastie]

I emailed a Sunderland supporting colleague this morning to get his take on it. He's pissed of with the appointment and is seriously considering stopping going. He's got a 12 year old son' "how do I explain it to him?" was the question.

I know a Sunderland fan as well, i'll have to ask him what he thinks.

I have many relatives in the north east and love going up there as my old friend davey b will testify , the majority are sunderland fans and were full of joy at mons appointment but in the main are glad to see him go - not sure di canio is a popular appointment though .

[Des Little]

My mackem mate thinks PDC is a prick of the highest order and they're doomed

[ktvillan]

While I have found this thread to be one of the most tedious ones I have ever seen on this site, here is an article about MON from The Irish Times, which probably hits the nail on the head....

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/martin-o-neill-from-a-human-exclamation-mark-to-a-despondent-figure-1.1345315

"Buying British is now an expensive way to end up with a mediocre squad."

And there in a nutshell is MON's legacy to us.  However,  he did get them to over perform.

[Dave]

However,  he did get them to over perform.

Did he? The players who are really good like Ashley Young, James Milner and Martin Laursen performed pretty much like you would expect really good players to.

I didn't see much over-performance from most of the players. Just good, hugely overpriced players playing at the level one would expect.

[Pat McMahon]

However,  he did get them to over perform.

Did he? The players who are really good like Ashley Young, James Milner and Martin Laursen performed pretty much like you would expect really good players to.

I didn't see much over-performance from most of the players. Just good, hugely overpriced players playing at the level one would expect.

I dunno Dave - Milner was solid in his first spell for us in 2005-6 but I never thought he would play for England. Similarly, I was at Watford away in Sept 2006 and didn't come back demanding that we sign Ashley Young. Both Collins and Dunne were far better than I feared ( same for Luke Young) and I had heard from friends in France that Carew was washed up at Lyon. Agbonlahor probably had his best ever spell around 2008-9 too, likewise Barry the previous season.

God knows there were some dross and overpriced signings, but there were some good ones and some improvements to existing players too.

[cdbearsfan]

However,  he did get them to over perform.

Did he? The players who are really good like Ashley Young, James Milner and Martin Laursen performed pretty much like you would expect really good players to.

I didn't see much over-performance from most of the players. Just good, hugely overpriced players playing at the level one would expect.

Agbonlahor, Dunne and Collins seemed to overachieve under O'Neill, certainly considering what they've done since. Then again, I think Dunne was pretty highly-rated at Man City too.

On the other hand, there are absolutely loads of players who seemed to have potential who he did nothing with and we sold for nothing/peanuts. Examples being Davis, Davies, Reo-Coker and (worst) Cahill.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Warnock was class when he first arrived but it didn't take long to drag him down to our level.

[john e]

if Di Canio was a true racist he wouldnt survive in the game playing and working with so many black players, he just wouldnt be able to get away with it,

the racists i know dont care who knows about there views, i know he has said and done stuf in the past. his right wing views are very much an italian traditional thing, if his politics are that of the right i dont see it as a massive problem, mine are of the Left but so what he's a football manager

i think the big problem is when he describes himself as a Fascist,
the conotations there are dreadfull but maybe he just sees it as a right wing position and i really dont think he is going to start rounding up jews for slaughter, or any other kind of extremist actions.

he's probably regretting his book and the things he's talked about in the past, but Nick Grifiths he is not IMO
maybe i like to see the best in all people, and i would always give someone another chance, if he says he's not racist and doesnt hold extremist views i would take him at his word and let him get on with the job
dont forget Cheryl Cole was considered a racist once, having slept with nothing but black men and marrried the most odious one since, i dont think the allegation stands up anymore

people do make mistakes, they shouldnt have to live the rest of there lives with them hanging round there necks

[taylorsworkrate]

However,  he did get them to over perform.

Did he? The players who are really good like Ashley Young, James Milner and Martin Laursen performed pretty much like you would expect really good players to.

I didn't see much over-performance from most of the players. Just good, hugely overpriced players playing at the level one would expect.

I dunno Dave - Milner was solid in his first spell for us in 2005-6 but I never thought he would play for England. Similarly, I was at Watford away in Sept 2006 and didn't come back demanding that we sign Ashley Young. Both Collins and Dunne were far better than I feared ( same for Luke Young) and I had heard from friends in France that Carew was washed up at Lyon. Agbonlahor probably had his best ever spell around 2008-9 too, likewise Barry the previous season.

God knows there were some dross and overpriced signings, but there were some good ones and some improvements to existing players too.

Thats way too sensible a post for this thread.

[Rigadon]

However,  he did get them to over perform.

Did he? The players who are really good like Ashley Young, James Milner and Martin Laursen performed pretty much like you would expect really good players to.

I didn't see much over-performance from most of the players. Just good, hugely overpriced players playing at the level one would expect.

I dunno Dave - Milner was solid in his first spell for us in 2005-6 but I never thought he would play for England. Similarly, I was at Watford away in Sept 2006 and didn't come back demanding that we sign Ashley Young. Both Collins and Dunne were far better than I feared ( same for Luke Young) and I had heard from friends in France that Carew was washed up at Lyon. Agbonlahor probably had his best ever spell around 2008-9 too, likewise Barry the previous season.

God knows there were some dross and overpriced signings, but there were some good ones and some improvements to existing players too.

Thats way too sensible a post for this thread.

But true enough.

[Nev]

if Di Canio was a true racist he wouldnt survive in the game playing and working with so many black players, he just wouldnt be able to get away with it,

the racists i know dont care who knows about there views, i know he has said and done stuf in the past. his right wing views are very much an italian traditional thing, if his politics are that of the right i dont see it as a massive problem, mine are of the Left but so what he's a football manager

i think the big problem is when he describes himself as a Fascist,
the conotations there are dreadfull but maybe he just sees it as a right wing position and i really dont think he is going to start rounding up jews for slaughter, or any other kind of extremist actions.

he's probably regretting his book and the things he's talked about in the past, but Nick Grifiths he is not IMO
maybe i like to see the best in all people, and i would always give someone another chance, if he says he's not racist and doesnt hold extremist views i would take him at his word and let him get on with the job
dont forget Cheryl Cole was considered a racist once, having slept with nothing but black men and marrried the most odious one since, i dont think the allegation stands up anymore

people do make mistakes, they shouldnt have to live the rest of there lives with them hanging round there necks

He can hardly complain about politics being bought up when he himself strode around the pitch making the gestures he did. He bought all this upon himself and it will dog the rest of his career.

[davevillan]

if Di Canio was a true racist he wouldnt survive in the game playing and working with so many black players, he just wouldnt be able to get away with it,

the racists i know dont care who knows about there views, i know he has said and done stuf in the past. his right wing views are very much an italian traditional thing, if his politics are that of the right i dont see it as a massive problem, mine are of the Left but so what he's a football manager

i think the big problem is when he describes himself as a Fascist,
the conotations there are dreadfull but maybe he just sees it as a right wing position and i really dont think he is going to start rounding up jews for slaughter, or any other kind of extremist actions.

he's probably regretting his book and the things he's talked about in the past, but Nick Grifiths he is not IMO
maybe i like to see the best in all people, and i would always give someone another chance, if he says he's not racist and doesnt hold extremist views i would take him at his word and let him get on with the job
dont forget Cheryl Cole was considered a racist once, having slept with nothing but black men and marrried the most odious one since, i dont think the allegation stands up anymore

people do make mistakes, they shouldnt have to live the rest of there lives with them hanging round there necks

He can hardly complain about politics being bought up when he himself strode around the pitch making the gestures he did. He bought all this upon himself and it will dog the rest of his career.

Cheryl Cole is now one of the media's most loved celebrities, im quite sure the toilet cleaner she smacked in the face a few years ago, probably doesnt share the media love in of her.

[Risso]

I emailed a Sunderland supporting colleague this morning to get his take on it. He's pissed of with the appointment and is seriously considering stopping going. He's got a 12 year old son' "how do I explain it to him?" was the question.

We sacked the old manager and appointed a new one.  Easy.