Just a figure of speech mate. Gil, I'd sooner have herpes than have Wilko back but then I'd sooner find out I was related to Tash and smelly toe than have Martinez as manager.
I don't want to be a Swansea as I'd be even more bored to tears and I'm don't want a change of manager. What I want is to play like Villa did under O'Neill; and Leicester; and Celtic. Fast, free flowing attacking football where we they were not losing games by boring the **** out of the home fans. Pace and skill were the hallmarks of previous O'Neill teams and regular top half finishes. I trust in time this will happen but its a painful experience at the minute.
Believe me Cest I'm as pissed off about the games this week as anyone but, for me anyway he should be given the time to build his own team then next season if it ain't working then we get shot. There are some on here who would change managers after every defeat or ****e game **** me rigid with a rag mans trumpet we'd be a laughing stock and be paying out compo to every Tom, Dick and halfwit who we get to manage our team. All we as fans need is a little bit of patience mate.
MON needs 5 years. Look at the most successful clubs that don't have unlimited finds: Everton and Arsenal don't go mad spending and sell a lot of the time. They have stuck with their managers and have done well. Man Utd don't spend the money City or Chelsea do but they have a manager who brings players through the academy and supplements them with the odd big spend. If we have any chance of getting into the top half regularly and maybe one day winning something we need to stick with MON. We have money, not on the level of City or Chelski but certainly on par with Villa and Everton etc... MON will build a team but at the moment he is still stuck with a lot of Bruce's players. Look at MON's signings: Fletcher, Rose superb. Johnson should be doing better but we all wanted him. Cuellar is ok for a free and squad player. NDiaye, Graham and Mangane are yet to be given the chance to show us what they can really do. Most of our team is still Bruce signings. 5 years give it a chance otherwise were just going to be bumping along relegation fight to relegation fight changing manager every 2 minutes and spending a fortune. We were close under Bruce when we got Gyan, Welbeck and Bent with players like Cana and Mensha but it did not quite work out. I have written this season off, its a transition as long as we stay up its onwards and upwards.
Talc the last thing I want is rid of the manager who for me has been number one on my wanted list for almost 20 years. I want MoN to succeed here and to do that he will need time and patience. My point is that there are some fans now who are reaching a point where they are happy to consider an alternative to the dire attractive style of football we play these days and worryingly there seems to be more and more of those fans by the week (as evidenced by some poor attendances recently at the SOL) who are also deciding to stay away. I know of at least 2 lads who wont be renewing in March as they are bored to tears at games and have had enough. These are not Johnny come lately fans but ones who have been going since the early 70's. I just don't understand why Martin is setting us up so negatively and fear this will shorten the patience of some fans to allow him the time to build his own team. The nightmare scenario is he wont get that time.
I agree but the problem is if we have another stuttering start to next season too with games where we just don't have attacks or shots at goal (especially at home) there wont be many more than 30,000 there to watch us do it. Our fans are voting with their feet and that will only worsen if Martin cant at least show some attacking flair and entertainment?
We are set up that way because he doesn't trust the majority of the team and, his signings yes even DG are shackled to play with the **** tactics he is employing to try and at least get something from the game. I agree with the majority on here it's terrible to watch at times okay most of the time but, as I said a little bit of patience and nerve holding is all we need. I know most of the lads on here are looking out for the club and that's fine we all are, I also think that venting on here is far more constructive than doing it at SOL. We will come good it'll just take a bit longer than we all want
You could be right, I personally did not want MON as our manager because I knew this would be the case. My other halves family all support Leicester and my mates all support Villa so I have seen MON teams many many times. The fans of those other teams all complained about the same things we are now complaining about. I think though that will be forgotten if we can finish in the top half and win something. The majority wanted MON so we have to stick with him and give him a decent amount of time to build a team. It took Moyes a while and look at Everton now. I think our play will change as MON gets in the players he wants. If we end up with 30000 maybe are fans are not what we thought they were. If I was local I would be there every week. In fact if I was in a different line of work I would do the 400 mile round trip for every home game like I did for 4 years when I had a different job. I think the people living near the SOL are so lucky.
Lads, if we were winning a bigger majority of these games, or even nicking points when we play badly, then the tactics and style wouldn't even be discussed. The problem is as long as we don't, then there will be a growing minority of our support that will moan. I hope that we don't lose MoN before he has properly put his mark on the club and I to be honest, I don't remember many Leicester or Villa fans moaning when they were either winning trophies or top 6 in the EPL year on year? They only maybe did so after he had left them?
Villa fans moaned mate believe you me. Mind you they are the biggest moaners I have ever met. One of my best mates is a Villa fan and he moaned, but he would have MON back now in a heart beat. MON just needs time, I am like everyone else, its a bitter pill to swallow when we lose especially when I can see the potential we have.
I've never been more desperate for a manager to succeed here than O'Neill. I think he is a class act on and off the pitch and over the next 12 to 24 months I think things will click. However, modern football dictates that time is not a commodity with a long shelf life and unlike Man Utd and Everton where SAF and Moyes were afforded 3 or 4 years of poor form and struggle before they turned it round, fans, media and especially owners demand far quicker returns on their investments. I'd love Martin to be here for the kind of time Moyes has been at Everton but due to his age I reckon he will have planned a 5 or 6 year reign maximum period to take him to his mid 60's. If he gets that time then we will be far better off.
I don't think we'll see a foreign manager for a long long time - we are too old fashioned as a club. Yes we are foreign owned but I just can't see it...very difficult to see who would join us. I think O'Neill will be around for a long while.
CEST, are you changing your mind about O'Neill old man LOL I give it 2 months & most of you will be saying what I been saying for months.
Since people keep making comparisons with Moyes, don't forget he had one commodity (Rooney) whose sale steadied the club's finances and gave the manager funds to buy steady players who maintained the club's PL status. Everton are still not well off but are well managed and looked after by the chairman; they also do have the attraction as a big city to tempt players. Our status has not been high for several years and given an offer from the bright light clubs players will opt for that rather than us. The only way to defeat would be to pay over the odds wage wise.. ES's meeting with the other club chairmen in December about wage caps could also be a factor in the club's buying policy and he could be looking beyond next season. Neither he , MON or Margaret Byrne are dummies and I think the team we have now is the one we are part stuck with until their wages are off the books to make way for players that MON wants.
I don't mind people wanting a manager out etc. What I do mind is supporters thinking & talking about top 8 finishes when we win 2 games, then relegation & sack oneil a week later when we loose one. Some people on here are making us sound like the most fickle fans around. I'm really embarassed by a lot of you at the moment.
I was using Swansea as example. The club has a philosphy and appoint managers to suit that. Instead of hiring a manager every few years who needs to completelty overhaul the club.
Absolutely not. I'm 100% behind him as ever, which if you could actually read and take in written information,you'd see by my words. I'll try pictures for you next time.
Two words...Transition Period. Few more transfer windows of pain ahead, mind you he has been let down by some of his purchases when at the time the whole footballing community thought Adam Johnson was a great signing at £10 million but hes having a very slow start and MON is taking some flak because of him.
We need stability, and you don't get that by changing the manager every 5 minutes..So for me, I hope we are just at the beginning of a long and successful journey..
We need a great run, in to about 47 - 52 points to please me. Wins should be H Norwich, Fulham, Stoke, Soton, A Villa = 15 points. Draws A QPR, WBA. H Everton. = 3 points. Defeats H Arsenal, Man U. A Chelsea, Spurs, Mags = 18 points total 46 points.
