Has this season been a partially successful one,or has it been a failure?If we could put out our so-called best side,would we be good enough to be a top-ten team?We now have the exciting few weeks of watching Martin assemble his own squad,and it promises to be great to see.I believe it is vital to keep hold of Sess,Mclean etc. and to build a side that doesn't include too many loan-players.Do we keep Craig Gordon?I honestly think that we don't need to tinker too much with our squad..just add a bit of class up-front that will score goals,and get a proper left-back,and a speedy right-winger,and we'll be fine.Easier said than done,but we have the right manager to do it.Thoughts,lads and lasses,please.
Going back to what our expectations were at the start of the season then you would probably have to say failure. Football is a funny game though and IF we win tomorrow then a top 10 finish and a quarter final FA Cup appearance will probably be classed as a successful season. My own personal opinion is it has been a nothing/waste of a season. I would keep Craig Gordon as I honestly believe he is one of the best keepers in the premier league if we can keep him fit, I think Marty will release him though. I would let Elmo, Turner, Bramble, Gardner, Meyler and Ji go and replace them with a couple of strikers, a creative centre midfielder, left back and competition for our wingers as well. I'm still unsure about Sess as well, he sort of seems a jack of all trades and master of none. I still don't know what his position is and have a little doubt that he might just be hindering tactics by the team accompanying him as he is our best player, but that is not always the answer.
What I don't get is, you were tenth with Bruce last season, this year you won't be as high under O'Neill. Is it unreasonable to assume that Bruce could have got you tenth again this year, after all you were 17th only a quarter of the way in. I don't get all this "we would definitely have gone down under Bruce" malarkey, not THAT much could have changed in the few months between finishing 10th and him getting sacked. In fact you IMPROVED your squad. I know that's not totally relevant to your post mate, but IMO you could have been equally successful with Bruce still in charge, he got you top 10, no reason he shouldn't do it again.
We were about to be in relegation land, but Mon pulled it around. so as always, as a Sunderland supporter, I wait for next season.
the problem was with Bruce, start of last season we were flying apart from that drubbing we got off you. his last 38 games he got i think 35 points (not looked for awhile though) which is relegation, it was 2 home wins in the whole of 2012 until he got sacked, and i was a BIB but was his time to go. Then we were great, then the bubble burst, personally i think they were on holiday, not so much the honeymoon period went out the window.
Bit of both, I'm just glad we weren't in a relegation scrap this season as at the start that is all I could see. I know we seem to say this every season end but I think we now have the right leader and with a little tinkering could be a very good team. To me, this is now it folks, it is now time to build and move onwards and upwards I think every Sunderland fan deserves it.
when wes brown gifted wigan's winner back in december, it has been a complete success imo, as a whole we must remember we are not 1 of the heavyweights of the premier league, we are a potentially massive club with great support and now we have a great manager who i think will fulfill our potential over a period of time. Overall 11th place is pretty decent this season, hopefully with a bit of luck and hard work tomorrow, we can nick 10th
I can see why you would say that, but, with all respect we see a lot more of the team then yourself and under Bruce we were getting relegated this season. He had only won 2 home games all year (not season), taken 11 points from the first 14 games and just lost at home to the equally worst team in the league at that time, Wigan. It was quite clear Bruce had lost the dressing room and the players were completely shot of confidence. I dont buy the thinking of the players needed time to gel as O'Neil came in and had them winning straightaway.
Good point mate, do you think it could have panned out much,much differently had O'Neill's first game V Blackburn ended 10 minutes earlier?
Cheik,games last for 90 minutes plus,and the teams that keep going to Fergie time and beyond are the teams with the PMA and the winning mentality.
A typical Sunderland season, great-crap-great-crap and we will probably beat Man U tomorrow, its what we do.
if pardew next season has a similar record to what bruce had with us this season then i'm 99% sure the majority of newcastle fans will want him out, regardless of pardews record this season, in fact i'm convinced 1 of our members will change their name to agent pardew. Bruce lost the dressing room imo, he couldn't motivate his players, but the next managerial job he has will be intresting, will probably be in the championship like, maybe birmingham?
Erm. Big failure here. Dont try and pretend MoN is in anyway at all to blame for this season chum. Bruce was a massive problem (not neccessarily his squad) and we were on the brink of a relegation campaign. His failure to recruit any striker worth the name has cost us massively this season but wont the next one. Our goals conceded is a match for most and our goals for only a few from yours with your 2 strikers but we just didnt have the firepower to turn tight games. If we finish top 10 it will be a miracle given where we were in December. If its to be 11th or 12th then we take it on the chin and re-group under a very good manager. Things will be far better for us next season and we can only improve. Your lot on the other hand are more likely to lose ground, or if you finish 5th next term, will that be a failure?
No-one in his right mind could criticise MON if we don't better last season's finish (which was a last gasp thing and only papered over the cracks tbh) ! I honestly thought Bruce had assembled a decent squad pre-season but events have shown that was over-optimistic. The squad is a mid-table one and we have MON to thank for avoiding a relegation dogfight and getting it back to where it should have been under Bruce. Would Bruce have done the same ? I seriously, honestly doubt it.
Yeah I agree entirely I'm not questioning that, I'm just saying IF he hadn't got off to that winning start, what cold have happened? It's all about opinions and in mine I think you would be in a similar position to where you are now whether you had sacked Bruce or not. I reckon the run you're on now is worse than any you ever had under Bruce (but don't quote me on that). O'Neill is a good manager, I'm sure you remember me heaping praise on him as soon as you appointed him, and I expressed my hopes that you wouldn't appoint him as soon as he became a front runner. However as a person I don't find him very likeable, and so since he took over from Bruce he has done a good job and nothing more imo. As for us, we expect now to be challenging to play in Europe every season, that doesn't mean we have to get it, just to be challenging. Although no doubt you'll claim that we all said anything other than top 3 would be a disappointment, as you somehow managed to do by claiming that we think we're as big as Man U, City and Real Madrid, lol.
Well, you appear to be about 18 ............ and all the naivity that brings... That's not a criticism, just an observation. Means that you have little common ground with seasoned mackems and creates a difficulty in having meaningful dialogue with you, especially when you embark on your predictable veiled attempts at WUM .. If you want a better 'discussion' you need to grow up a bit more.. Sorry.
The problem with you is that you're so bitter about the ****eness of your team, you regard every single post as a "veiled wum attempt". It wasn't even a slight wum, it was an honest observation shared by many mackems I know, so in short, **** off you pathetic, twisted old man
