Mon to manage Republic of Ireland?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

His demeanour in pre season told a tale that his heart wasnt in it any more.

His demeanour in pre season told a tale that he'd been found out.

[dcdavecollett]

...or, of course, he realised that he wouldn't be able to strengthen his squad for a further challenge, as he couldn't bring in new players until others left.

Sadly, we know how it goes: if clubs know you need to sell, buyers offer derisory fees or wait till the end of the window, hoping you get increasingly desperate to sell and make a killing.

Frustration drove O'Neill away, in my opinion -not that he should have spent all the cash he did without some clear oversight in place.

[cheltenhamlion]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

[rob_bridge]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

Agreed. He pissed off the moment things got a bit tough. Wouldn't want that twunt in any trench in prior times. A fraud.

[Matt C]

And I think he thought he was going to get the Liverpool job.

[supertom]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

Agreed. He pissed off the moment things got a bit tough. Wouldn't want that twunt in any trench in prior times. A fraud.

I think O Neill probably realised deep down that we'd regress. Better to leave a top 6 club than wait a year and leave a club that finishes 10th I guess. Regardless of the impact of our manager sodding off a week before the start of the season, there was very much a feeling over the whole summer despite getting our highest points haul since Little, we'd hit a wall. We'd got as close as we were ever going to get to breaking the top 4, and the well had run dry trying to do it.

It also seemed inevitable that we'd start shedding players like Milner and Young etc as they wanted to be playing in the CL.

[SoccerHQ]

Just caught mons aftermatch press conference - seemed more interested in having another pop at di canio than anything else - clearly PDC has ruffled his feathers.

He's always been a tense niggly character. Remember when Wenger had a pop at us one time for playing long ball, MON was still bringing it up in interviews after games three weeks later.

[SoccerHQ]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

Agreed. He pissed off the moment things got a bit tough. Wouldn't want that twunt in any trench in prior times. A fraud.

I think O Neill probably realised deep down that we'd regress. Better to leave a top 6 club than wait a year and leave a club that finishes 10th I guess. Regardless of the impact of our manager sodding off a week before the start of the season, there was very much a feeling over the whole summer despite getting our highest points haul since Little, we'd hit a wall. We'd got as close as we were ever going to get to breaking the top 4, and the well had run dry trying to do it.

It also seemed inevitable that we'd start shedding players like Milner and Young etc as they wanted to be playing in the CL.

I think that aswell but that season despite the chaos we still finished 9th (somehow) and I'm sure we weren't miles off 6th or 7th pointswise.

I think we'd have got a pretty boring season of being in around 7-8th but after the near misses of the previous two seasons we wouldn't have been in top 4 contention so I think he'd have gone at the end of that season.

[Pat McMahon]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

Agreed. He pissed off the moment things got a bit tough. Wouldn't want that twunt in any trench in prior times. A fraud.

I think O Neill probably realised deep down that we'd regress. Better to leave a top 6 club than wait a year and leave a club that finishes 10th I guess. Regardless of the impact of our manager sodding off a week before the start of the season, there was very much a feeling over the whole summer despite getting our highest points haul since Little, we'd hit a wall. We'd got as close as we were ever going to get to breaking the top 4, and the well had run dry trying to do it.

It also seemed inevitable that we'd start shedding players like Milner and Young etc as they wanted to be playing in the CL.

I think that aswell but that season despite the chaos we still finished 9th (somehow) and I'm sure we weren't miles off 6th or 7th pointswise.

I think we'd have got a pretty boring season of being in around 7-8th but after the near misses of the previous two seasons we wouldn't have been in top 4 contention so I think he'd have gone at the end of that season.

IIRC we were in the relegation mix until we won our last 2 games against Arsenal and Liverpool.

I reckon you are right though, at the time I thought MON had one season left in him and would leave in the summer of 2011.

[dcdavecollett]

If people don't want 'this conversation', they can always choose not to post...

[Damo70]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

Agreed. He pissed off the moment things got a bit tough. Wouldn't want that twunt in any trench in prior times. A fraud.

I think O Neill probably realised deep down that we'd regress. Better to leave a top 6 club than wait a year and leave a club that finishes 10th I guess. Regardless of the impact of our manager sodding off a week before the start of the season, there was very much a feeling over the whole summer despite getting our highest points haul since Little, we'd hit a wall. We'd got as close as we were ever going to get to breaking the top 4, and the well had run dry trying to do it.

It also seemed inevitable that we'd start shedding players like Milner and Young etc as they wanted to be playing in the CL.

I think that aswell but that season despite the chaos we still finished 9th (somehow) and I'm sure we weren't miles off 6th or 7th pointswise.

I think we'd have got a pretty boring season of being in around 7-8th but after the near misses of the previous two seasons we wouldn't have been in top 4 contention so I think he'd have gone at the end of that season.

IIRC we were in the relegation mix until we won our last 2 games against Arsenal and Liverpool.

I reckon you are right though, at the time I thought MON had one season left in him and would leave in the summer of 2011.

Some people seem to have blocked most of the Houllier season from their memories. I keep hearing how we have been involved in relegation battles for the last two seasons. Despite the eventual ninth place finish we have been in relegation battles for the last three seasons.

[supertom]

We were also quite lucky to finish 9th on only 48 points. IIRC in O Neills first season we finished 11th on 50 points, which is around about right for that tally generally ( he says without double checking).
That we finished 9th flattered us, and we also played Liverpool and Arsenal at the right time really. They'd both got one eye on their holidays.

[Irish villain]

In 2010-11 it was a relegation struggle to about the 34th game or so? I remember us being on 33 points after 30 games with a very tough run in.

Beating Newcastle and West Ham in that run more or less guaranteed our safety and the unexpected points against Arsenal and Liverpool put a nice shine on a rotten season.

[Concrete John]

Nope. I am not doing this conversation again. My very quick position is simple. He got asked to do what plenty of managers had been before, thought it didnt fit with his press portrait and fucked us off.

Agreed. He pissed off the moment things got a bit tough. Wouldn't want that twunt in any trench in prior times. A fraud.

I think O Neill probably realised deep down that we'd regress. Better to leave a top 6 club than wait a year and leave a club that finishes 10th I guess. Regardless of the impact of our manager sodding off a week before the start of the season, there was very much a feeling over the whole summer despite getting our highest points haul since Little, we'd hit a wall. We'd got as close as we were ever going to get to breaking the top 4, and the well had run dry trying to do it.

It also seemed inevitable that we'd start shedding players like Milner and Young etc as they wanted to be playing in the CL.

I think that aswell but that season despite the chaos we still finished 9th (somehow) and I'm sure we weren't miles off 6th or 7th pointswise.

I think we'd have got a pretty boring season of being in around 7-8th but after the near misses of the previous two seasons we wouldn't have been in top 4 contention so I think he'd have gone at the end of that season.

IIRC we were in the relegation mix until we won our last 2 games against Arsenal and Liverpool.

I reckon you are right though, at the time I thought MON had one season left in him and would leave in the summer of 2011.

I think we were in with a mathematical chance of relegation before those last two games, but really speaking had pulled clear.  The run we had the 2nd hlf of that season post signing bent was top 6 form.

How the season would have gone if MON has stayed is pure speculation.  Personally, I think we would have stayed 6th or at least very close to it.

[eastie]

Seems that Ellis short is a bit of a dodgy one - di canio says he wanted to buy British and that none of the 14 players in the  summer were bought by him or chosen -poyet says he's been shown 4 names regarding January and if one of them comes in poyet will walk out - surprised mon didnt walk himself if such constraints were put on managers.