Absolutely, once (last season) was ****e, but 2 years in a row and if we didn't ask the questions, we may as well give up and start going shopping of a saturday afternoon. If he stays i back him, if he goes i wish him well, i'm not giving my opinion on what should happen on the back of today, as i'm on a bit of a high, i'll wait and ponder
Not being funny personally I had you guys down to finish 11th, which you are currently on track to beat. You have also progressed under Bruce and he has to be worth at least one more season.
It's gonna be a funny one, i think we're likely to finish top 10, which we'd all have taken at the start of the season, but these bad runs, 2 years here, and the year before with Wigan, there's just summat worrying about it. That's for everyone to think about later, all that matters today is we won, and if we win next week, totally achievable, Fulham home, we could be nudging 7th again. When you look at that, it's really hard not to look at his run as a waste and a bit of a ****ing tragedy, i'm sure you understand that point
Mr Short wanted top half last season, he admitted that was perhaps a season too soon. Anything less than top half this season will be viewed as a failure in his eyes... Rightly so.
It is a waste but you did have a bad run of games, yes you shouldn't be losing at home to West Brom and should be disappointed to lose at Birmingham.
I'm with you Bill, Idid not expect the wabbles agian this season, I was promised something better............
Still not happy with SB one good result doesn't do anything to paper over the cracks that have appeared over this and last season. Yes we have been unlucky with injuries but he should have the stones to give the kids a chance now as I think we will be safe with 1 more point. Watched the game last night on catch up and MOTD and thought we played well as good as we did at Birmingham where we got zip. As soon as Bardo went off I think we all feared the worse again but, the team and crowd galvanised and I actually thought we played better if not without the scary moments now and again. Plus points 4 goals, Jordan getting his game back on track, and what sounded like a decent crowd. Negatives 3 more injuries to key players Bardo looks okay but sure he can't play for a week if concussed. Welbeck broke down and didn't look good on TV. Gyan is the big worry looked like a hamstring leaving us with no strikers at all bar Noble, so give the lad his chance we have in my opinion 1 more point to get and with 2 home games that should be very achievable.
WE were also in front with 10mins left at Stoke, and were leading, and dominating Spurs. It was realistic to expect 7points from those 7 games, and if we had done so, we'd be 2 points of Europe. Seems a character thing, and that falls squarely in the gaffers court, he has been a good manager for us, brought the standard of footballer up massively, the question is, can he take us any further? I look at Owen Coyle, without ã50million quid, and Moyes, same, and i wonder.
where does this ã50 million spend come from? Bruce was shagged by Bent being sold, this is what stalled our season, pure & simple, the results do not lie - how many of Bents goals gained u s points - you cannot sell a player making that much of a contribution, not replace him and expect us to maintain the form. You cannot just dismiss the good form and performances Bruce got out of the squad before the bad run started, to do so is breathtakingly naive and a trait of some Sunderland supporters - with this attitude no manager will ever be good enough - and we will forever be starting from scratch with another new manager. Better to let us see if Bruce can build on the progress that has been made this season inspite of Bent being sold on the cheap. How long did it take Fergie to bed in at Man Utd - are we so arrogant to think we should achieve relative success quicker than he did? All premiership teams have had a poor run - this is football, it happens. Bruce should not be sacked - to do so would put the club back by 3 years and cost a fortune in compo and money on the new players he would want to sign - it is the wrong time to undertake that exercise for so many reasons, not just football related.
Like I said one more year to prove his ability but, outside top ten next year he HAS to go IMO. He has been fortunate to have been able to spend so much money now Ellis will want something in return..
It would also be 'breathtakingly naive', as you put it, to disregard 2 runs in consecutive seasons amounting to 25 games without a win. I think Bruce will be here next season, but he has to get it right. It's his team, his players and he's the manager, so failures, regardless of excuses are HIS responsibility. I will be delighted if Bruce gets it right, as i like the man and always have, but my club comes first, and if push comes to shove, i wouldn't give a flying ****e if god was managing us and we'd had a run like that, i'd be asking questions. One thing i will say, is i'll never boo or jeer the team, when i'm inside the SOL the club gets my 100% backing from top to bottom, i'm a very tolerant and patient man, but i'm also a realist, and that run we've just had, and the lack of fight in the players, was criminal. Blaming Bent, although it clearly was a factor, is a big ****ing cop out.
Managers have to be given time to build a squad..An example being the most successful manager this generation, Sir Alex Feguson, who also had fans wanting him sacked after his first couple of seasons.
