Martin O'Neill: Were We Warned? By ChrisWeatherspoon on Oct 10, 3:00p Martin O'Neill has brought with him to Sunderland a very specific style of play, and a similarly specific way of managing a football club in general. With some red and whites currently a little anxious, we thought it'd be a good idea to take a look back at a piece we did last year, when we interviewed some fans of previous clubs O'Neill has managed and asked them what we could expect from our new manager. Cast your minds back to ten months ago. It is early December, it is cold, and Martin O'Neill is the new manager at Sunderland AFC. Steve Bruce has departed in a cacophony of soundbites - "tenth", "injuries", "my roots" - and in his place has arrived the man many Wearsiders had wanted for years. With the club's support in rapture, you may remember that we here at Roker Report decided to get in touch with fans of his previous clubs, asking them their thoughts on our new gaffer (the piece can be found HERE). Now, almost a year on, and as some are beginning to question O'Neill's style of play, we thought it best to ponder the question: were we warned, from day one, of what to expect under the Ulsterman? His Playing Style? Despite the five match unbeaten run that has started this season (seven if we include the League Cup), plenty of Sunderland fans have been left worried by what they perceive as a negative playing style. The O'Neill mantra on Wearside is firmly one where defending takes priority, with more creative players expected to build upon this solid base. As the latter hasn't happened yet this season, plenty have wondered whether or not the manager is capable of changing things in such a way as to get the best out of his attacking players. Looking back at that piece from a year ago, fans from clubs he had previously managed each highlight a feature of his style that has continued on to the present day: pragmatism. From Wycombe Wanderers to Aston Villa, those we asked all agreed that O'Neill brings to his sides a high level of organisation, combining it with good, old hard work to try and gain the maximum end result. However, there are some more negative aspects that were alluded to, ones that we have seen arise on Wearside over the past ten months. Philip Wright, a Norwich fan, suggested that O'Neill sides could garner a great result or two, then follow it up with "a complete no-show". There were certainly signs of this at the end of last season. As well, he suggests that while Norwich under O'Neill did not become a route one side, they did "rather overdo the long ball". Sunderland under O'Neill have tried to stay away from this, but it is worth noting that, when things are going wrong, this is sometimes resorted to. Our man from Celtic perhaps gave us the most comparable story to our current situation. He suggested that O'Neill would supplement his side with a few expensive but high quality players (see Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher). Although O'Neill at Celtic started with a 3-5-2 formation, we were told that it eventually morphed into a 4-4-2, one complete with "dominant (if limited) centre-backs, and a style that marries counter-attacking football with an emphasis on set-pieces". Now, Sunderland do not currently play a 4-4-2 formation, but it is not difficult to see the parallels in the two sides' styles of play. His Best Quality? Our respondents were unanimous on this one: his ability to motivate his players. Such an attribute is one that is never likely to change in a manager, and last year's superb run following his arrival underlined how important O'Neill's motivational skills are to his management style. Our Celtic follower was, again, perhaps the man most on the money. He suggested that O'Neill was not a tinkerer, and instead a manager who drills his squad continually with his preferred systems, and does not seek to change those systems at the drop of a hat. Certainly, we have seen that on Wearside - indeed, it is the primary factor in the current rumblings amongst some of the fanbase. O'Neill remains steadfast in his game plan even when pressure is mounting on his side; West Ham away last month is a perfect example. His Biggest Failing? Now, this was an interesting one. Wycombe, Leicester and Celtic were all fairly happy to say he had few failings - O'Neill having left on amicable terms. Norwich and Villa? Not so much. Taking the Norwich critique first, we were warned of O'Neill's failings in the transfer market. In truth, it would be unfair to compare this just yet. His loan signings of Sotirios Krygiakos and Wayne Bridge last season left some uneasy, but they were little more than stop-gaps until the summer came. Now, having signed Johnson, Fletcher, Carlos Cuéllar and Louis Saha (and Danny Rose on loan), his new boys must be given time before we make a judgment. However, if Fletcher's form is anything to go on, this critique could be one O'Neill banishes to the past. With regards to Aston Villa, there seems to be plenty of rancour with the state the club was left in upon O'Neill's departure. Arguments about whether or not this was his fault are not within the scope of this article (though it should probably be pointed out that O'Neill wasn't the man responsible for determining how much his players should be paid), but the criticism that the Irishman only seeks to buy what he knows has proven unfounded so far at Sunderland. Thankfully, Emile Heskey has yet to don the red and white stripes... What does stand out from the Villa critique is that O'Neill's style of play is limited and that "his use of the squad is limited". We were warned that he would soon have his favourites and pick them week in, week out. Again, given the injury troubles we usually have, this is a difficult one to assess. However, given James McClean's recent form and the decision to throw Carlos Cuéllar straight back into the line-up on Saturday, it may well ring true. That said, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and few were bemoaning Cuéllar's inclusion before his poor performance at The Etihad. Conclusions Our final question to his former fans - how he is viewed now he has left their club - clearly has no relevance here. When he eventually leaves the Stadium of Light, perhaps then we can revisit their opinions and draw our own comparisons. However, for now, it seems the answer to our question of whether we were warned is fairly mixed - though it does lean towards a 'yes'. The forewarnings of O'Neill's non-tinkering, organised and pragmatic approach to play have all rang fairly true. That is not to say these are negatives, indeed Sunderland's defence is arguably more solid than it has been in years, but it does make one wonder what will happen if his game plan begins to fail.
Like I said before he was appointed - get ready for effective but very boring defensive counter-attack footie under MON. Just hope its enough to beat the CRAAS!!!! Bart
Since he's been out of the game, football has changed in the way it is all possession football with teams moving in packs when attacking and also defending. This allows teams to get back in position quicker when possession is lost and leaves less holes to break into when counter attacking. It worries my that O'Neill has no plan B...
Okay, we don't play like Barca, but we need a reality check here. We're trying to cement ourselves as a top half prem side, building a reputation that will attract better players which will (slowly, there is no overnight fix!) progress our league position. MON is without doubt the best manager we could have attracted, and there are a number of teams which would take him at the drop of a hat. Would he be the man to make us a force in Europe? Maybe not, but we shouldn't run before we can walk, just getting their would be a huge step for us. I think he is the best man to stabilise us, progress us and challenge for domestic cups which he does have a pedigree for. We would all prefer to watch outright attacking football a la Spurs, but they have history and geography on there side to attract the players to play that way. I still have very fond memories of what we did under Reidy, but we ended up being victims of our own success after a couple of purple seasons. We have to manage with the talent we have until we build something solid. I've never had the relative success we've had for so long as a Sunderland fan, I don't want to stagnate, but I don't think MON does either!
If he can replicate the success he brought to Leicester, Celtic & Villa here in the next 3 or 4 years then I really don’t give a rat’s arse if I'm entertained along the way. This club has been starved of any kind of glory, success or limelight for the best part of 4 decades and certainly in my time the last 5/6 years have been the most successful (following that humiliating 15 points season), in that we have never stayed this long in the top flight in my time since 1974/5. Martin O'Neill hasn’t risen to the lofty heights his management has by being an easy touch and he certainly isn’t someone (very Clough like) to doubt his methods or style so we wont be seeing a change anytime soon imo. I fully expect us to be top 10 this season with ease and if we get a bit of luck and 2 or 3 of our slower starting key players get their fingers out, we could do a lot better. We've never had such a crucial opportunity to realise our potential as we have currently under MoN. Lets just run with it and see where it takes us. It wont be relegation and it wont be the title but I do know it will be much better than at any time in my lifetime and potential cups and European football are far more likely than not under MoN. Martin O’Neill’s red & white Army.
Who did you want ShieldsCat? Hughes? Be realistic in your thoughts though, as there is a limit as to who we could have attract to the club back in December and still could attract now tbh. MoN IS the best man for the job here at the SOL. He was back in December and is even more so now. That doesnt mean we cant moan a bit if we play badly, or offer our opinions as fans about certain players, tactics etc but one thing is for certain, my faith and support of MoN has actually GROWN since his unveiling last year and seeing the likes of Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher here cements that faith totally.
Still early doors in the MON era. A couple of decent signings in the future, coupled with a general improvement in the play of the players we have now and we'll be mid-table easily. Frankly, Europe is a bit unlikely, so we're back to (a) avoiding relegation (should be straightforward, but hey, it's us) (b) having a good run in the cups & (c) beating the mags.
Spot on Cest! There's one slight difference to MON this time as to all others though... no John Robertson. At all other clubs from Wycombe to Villa, he had his right hand man with him on the touch line. I'm sure they still discuss things once in a while, but he has chose to go solo in the absence of Robertson which may see a slight change of fortunes, who knows? Would Clough have had the same success without Taylor? They didn't succeed apart!
Cest, I'm in your corner about O'Neil still being the right man for the job, however, I can understand where some supporters are coming from. We have been outplayed off every team this season, including Wigan until the sending off. We don't look threatening, Fletcher isn't going to keep scoring with every shot so we need to start creating, O'Neil is known as motivator but Sessegnon, McClean, Johnson haven't fired at all yet. We have only won 3 home games since February and I can't think of a single performance that has got me excited. I'm still behind him 110% but if performances and results don't improve by new year, I think some fans might start becoming a little restless. Having said that I've a gut feeling we will all be at Wembley for the league cup final.
Well, it's a funny one ain't it. As a developing club first & foremost we need to be getting results, on that score we are doing well. The natural progression from there is to want to see your team play good football, and tear the odd team apart. MON is fine for now, but if we do start to regularly compete in the top 8, would the negative style keep fans away? I have no question we will be a stable, difficult to beat side forever under MON, but the last time we were trying to push the top 7 under Reid, the buzz, the crowds, the expectation was backed up with the most vibrant & attacking football seen in my lifetime by us, how I'd love to see that. The Chelsea 4-1 (could have been a cricket score..) was an example of Reidy sending a team out saying 'keep the ball, and just drive at them, overrun them', we did just that & that afternoon I walked out of the SOL like I was floating on a blanket of air, the town was buzzing for hours after. The players we have now are more than capable of playing like that, we have a similar player to each individual in that time (just lacking a CM akin to Schwarz later Hutch), bt with Gardner moved forward to link from & back surely this side could play a similar system (could Saha & Fletch make a mean pairing, there ages are similar to the great Quinn/Phillips at it's most potent!). I'll say right now, there isn't a better manager we can get than MON, he remains far & away the best man for the job, that doesn't mean I don't hanker for possession, and the buzz that builds only from applying sustained pressure.
If this is the case, the impatience of our supporters is going to hold us back. We NEED stability, and i'm prepared to let it build slowly. This isn't the squad that will take us to Europe, we need to remember where we have come from and expect improvement not miracles. I hope MON hasn't built a rod for his own back with how we performed when he first arrived!
imo mon is the right man for the job and if he gets the backing of his players and ellis short we will reap the benifit in due course.
I have to say that our style of play under MoN is one of worry. But I do think, long term he his the type of manager this club as been wanting for a while, unfortunately it was needed before Bruce was appointed, but due to the circumstances in MoN private life it was never going to happen. We need to have belief in MoN that he will turn the club around, but he needs time and I'm sure he has the club at his best interest. Under Keane and Bruce our squad as had some major upheavel, the one thing that stuck out for me watching a game here was that MoN actually went on the pitch after a game and went towards the fans and acknowledged them. Did Keane or Bruce ever do that?
The first rule of every good football team from the past 100 years is be hard to beat. Once you are hard to beat then you can start to add flair to the wins. We are hard to beat (Man City game apart) we have proven to be a very hard defensive unit and difficult for opposition teams to break down. Points gained against us are hard earned and thats not always been the case for SAFC supporters over the decades. Its not that pretty granted but I don't have any fears of relegation that have haunted EVERY single season bar 1 or 2 in the last 39 seasons I've gone to watch the lads. MoN hasn't even been here 10 months yet and its going to take him at least another 12 to 18 before we see any real benefits of his plans. I have always said it takes a minimum of 4 transfer windows to make the necessary changes for a new manager and so long as there is progress that works fine. I think we will add to our squad again in January and net summer but not the 4, 5 or 6 every window. I think another 1 maybe 2 max in January and 1 or 2 main signings in the summer will be all we bring in. Martin O'Neill IS the man to build us back to a real force in the English game. He has to be given the time to achieve this without the crowd getting on his back.
Spot on Cest. We are very lucky to have Martin O'Neill as the manager of our football club, especially when you look at what has happened to QPR under Mark Hughes, who seemed to be a few people's preferred option.
Dont worry lads, i know what i'm doing ;-) Some great points here, the main one for me that strikes a chord is time out of the game? You can watch all the football u like but when it comes to the evolving attitudes of players, that is something you cant see. Make no mistake, martin is a genius of epic proportions, and will suss it all out and become a bigger hero than he already is. This is what he does, susses things out!
