What do you think?

Posted this on the other one, but thought it was worth an airing elsewhere..

So what do you make of this piece?

A damn good article imo..

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The Times.

Bit of an epic read mind..


Martin O’Neill does not toss words around like confetti. He is not the kind of manager who can be led towards revelation against his will; he is studious at Sunderland press conferences, pondering on the questions posed of him and how best to to answer them, spotting traps and swerving them. He is not beyond the odd “crap joke” as he likes to put it but, in blunt terms, he is not a gobs****.

When O’Neill stated at the start of this week that “not only am I the best man for the job, but the only one,” it was not bravado on his behalf, not an unguarded moment of irritation, nor was it a boastful claim that only he is capable of confounding recent history and bringing success to the Stadium of Light. It was a fact (or as near as you can get to one in this ludicrous business).

In some respects, it has been a tempestuous season at Sunderland. On the pitch, results have tested morale and faith, with early obduracy unable to disguise a lack of fluency while, off it, there have been regular bouts of rumour-mongering, on Twitter and elsewhere, regarding O’Neill’s position. Quite often, although not always, in the context of resignation.

Gossip remains a currency in the North East. It’s an old cliché, but there is truth to it (a bit like the shirt sleeves in winter and love of a night out). Everybody has some - blokes in the pub, taxi drivers, doormen - because our cities are small and intense and football people are known and recognised. I’ve never had a problem with the ‘goldfish bowl’ description, because that intensity is part of what makes us.

A small digression: in the wake of signing his eight-year contract, it is interesting how little speculation has surrounded Alan Pardew at Newcastle United. This is both welcome and right - fifth place in May, manager of the year - but, not too long ago, the twitchy paranoia and sense of entitlement at the top of the club would have filtered down and a sequence of one victory in 10 matches in all competitions led to trembling foundations.

While predicting the whims of Mike Ashley has always been a hazardous, futile task, Newcastle’s business plan is now pretty entrenched in the consciousness and stability is at its heart. So while there has been a vigorous debate about tactics, form, personnel and Pardew’s role in all of that, the atmosphere surrounding him has not been fevered. On Tyneside, this is a sea-change of sorts.

It is important to point out that, during matches, support for O’Neill has never been less than firm within Sunderland’s ground, but the froth and chatter away from there has been loud and tedious. The one place where it has not infiltrated is the boardroom and this is the subtle message that the Ulsterman was getting at on Monday. The only man for the job? Yes, the only man.

Just as O’Neill repeats constantly his determination to steer Sunderland to where they want to go, so Ellis Short is not looking beyond him to reach the same goal. The club has endured a long wait to attract a manager of his calibre and track record (never mind his boyhood affiliation with them), and, assuming Pep Guardiola is destined elsewhere, sees no better, more appropriate option out there.

Short did not need to make a tour of Sunderland’s pressroom prior to Tuesday night’s soothing 3-0 victory over Reading to enforce this impression (to repeat, prior to the match) - and journalists, by and large, are not responsible for the muttering - but it was helpful. It set a tone to an evening which had the potential to be fraught and the effect should linger; O’Neill is going nowhere.

It was unfair of Alan Shearer to claim that, had O’Neill been a Geordie like Steve Bruce, he would already have been “hounded out” of Sunderland. Unfair because, over a number of dips in form, Short demonstrated rare patience with Bruce and only made a change when, after a dreadful year, the bond finally snapped between dugout and stands. Unfair because Bob Stokoe, the greatest manager in the club’s recent past, was a Geordie.

What Short accepts and what the rest of us are beginning to understand is that the challenge facing O’Neill is not what we initially thought. The team’s brief sojourn in the bottom-three a year after O’Neill inherited an identical situation makes it appear that no progress has been made, that after that glorious flurry of positivity, players have again slumped into underachievement.

But there is an alternative narrative. It is not what Short will have wanted to hear - he has spoken publicly about breaching the top ten - and it is not comforting for fans, but what if this, actually, is a fair reflection of Sunderland’s capabilities? What if the inspiration which O’Neill engendered last season was the exception? What if it was unsustainable? What if he did not share the optimism which coursed around the club at the start of the season?

When Bruce signed a full team of new players the summer before last, somebody - I can’t remember who - made a fairly cutting remark; Sunderland now had a squad of squad players. It was not the whole picture - historically, the club had found it difficult to sign thoroughbreds - but there was an element of realism, too. Not enough pace, not enough variation, much of a muchness. An unwelcome possibility: not good enough.

Whether you subscribe to that theory or not, it has become obvious that Sunderland simply do not have options. With Adam Johnson, Stephane Sessegnon and James McClean all struggling for long stretches - the signs were much better against Reading - creativity has been absent, but for now, O’Neill must work with what he has. He cannot afford to criticise or banish and does not have the resources to switch things around.

To join the dots, to square the circle, it is my belief that O’Neill saw this coming. He spoke about it, after all. There was always the possibility that Sunderland could go on another brilliant run and it was not in his interest to crush all positivity, but in that nuanced way of his, he set out a warning as the end of the transfer window neared and has done so ever since. They needed more.

As he says quite often, he has only signed two players for money (the £22m spent on Johnson and Steven Fletcher). What that effectively means is: this is not my team yet, it is somebody else’s, so give me time and reserve your judgement. And as he said before Sunderland’s first fixture: “our squad is definitely not strong enough. If anyone has seen us in pre-season, we lack serious depth in it and that’s important.”

The arrival of Johnson and Fletcher did not alter his opinion, although it changed the landscape for Sunderland and perhaps, swept away a little, reporters and fans did not pay close attention. We should do so now. While O’Neill does not think recovery and prosperity are years away, there may be grueling moments ahead, but he remains key. He is the right man for the job. And, as far as his employers are concerned, the only man.

 

Really good article. I met O'Neill in pre-season and wished him luck for the coming season. He told me, "we're gonna need it" and looked quite downcast when he said it. This seems to fit perfectly with the reporter's opinion about the squad. I still think we've got some good players but I doubt we'll have many of them left in a couple of years time.

 

we have a few good players but that's it there just good we need quality and that won't happen instantly

 

Spot on mate. Give MON time and he'll come good. Hopefully we'll get one or two in January to help us through the rest of the season and move us up the table.

 

He said exactly the same to.me when I met him prior to the West Ham game. Im glad if he thinks the squad isn't good enough because it ain't.

 

Hopefully Ellis is of the same mind and is prepared to back MON with some cash

 

Well i think thats bloody terrible tbh.

You dont tell complete strangers and ppl that want to buy into your product, that its **** and you need all the luck in the world to get anything decent out of it.

so much for positive mental attitude and no wonder we have been **** and this after spending £22 million in the summer. I still back MON but i think that is terrible.

 

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good article mate enjoyed the read thank a lot

 

I disagree totally. It refreshingly honest and 100% correct.

If he went on and said that we have one of the best squads in the country and everything was rosy, I dare bet you'd be the first on here to say what a deluded buffoon he was.

We ALL knew our squad wasn't good enough - after all, the same players were shocking under Bruce as well - so its hardly breaking a sacred code to admit it. Bruce's legacy is exactly as the article puts it so well. We have a good squad of squad players - that's a perfect description of the state of our club right now.

Martin squeezed enough juice out of these barren fruits to get us out of the ****e last season but the simple facts are that Fletcher, Saha, Rose, Cuellar and Johnson are just the start of his revolution and not the end and lets not lose sight of the fact that Saha and Cuellar were freebies and Rose is on loan. Were it Martins team, then he would quite rightly be under the spotlight right now big time but it isn't and we cannot overlook that point. In a further two transfer windows, we will imo start to see the real MoN team emerge for the darkness and better times will ensue. I am absolutely and totally convinced of that personally. Right now though,like our owner Ellis is, we have to stick with him through this time of famine and trust a top class man to deliver the solution in the longer term.

Great article fu king and spot on.

 

so when goldberg or bernstein or whatever his name was stood up and said, "the jewelery in our shop is ****e" that was a good thing? Everyone might think it is anyway, but if you tell people it is, and they walk in and see £2000 for the stuff then they are not going to buy it are they.

and no i dont expect him to say we are fantastic and the best team in the league but I expect him to say, after spending 22 million, we are fine, we wont win the league but we wont go down either, and rome wasnt built in a day but we can get there.. not good luck and his reply, we will need it.

I think thats crap tbh and I thought he was a good man manager, if he is telling the players that then we need more than god to help us.

PS: my post was in reply to parker and nomad not the OP btw

 

You have a bit of a thing about O'Neill despite trying to hide it by saying you support him but..........?


He has at no point done a Gerald Ratner and said we are ****e - either on or off the record. He did make an off the cuff comment to answer a good luck call with thanks we will need it? Big deal?

He HAS however said we will be okay under his stewardship, that the players are giving their all, stuck by players to let them play into form and actually said he was the ONLY man for the job this week and was castigated for it? I guess if he goes bullish he is wrong in your eyes and if he goes timid and honest he is slaughtered by you too?

O'Neill says the right thing most times for me and I agree that he is the ONLY manager for us. Long may it continue