Managers, past and present

So many false dawns and so many times clutching at straws

Dick Advocaat 17 Mar, 2015 Present WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT STOPPED FOR A TEABREAK
Gus Poyet 08 Oct, 2013 16 Mar, 2015 DELUDED
Kevin Ball 23 Sep, 2013 08 Oct, 2013 TRIED HIS BEST
Paolo Di Canio 31 Mar, 2013 23 Sep, 2013 MAD AS A BOX OF FROGS
Martin O'Neill 06 Dec, 2011 30 Mar, 2013 BORING AND BAD
Eric Black 01 Dec, 2011 04 Dec, 2011 ?
Steve Bruce 03 Jun, 2009 30 Nov, 2011 AAAAAAAGH
Ricky Sbragia 05 Dec, 2008 24 May, 2009 TRIED AND TRYING BUT OUT OF DEPTH
Roy Keane 30 Aug, 2006 04 Dec, 2008 WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN WITH A BETTER TEMPREMENT
Niall Quinn 25 Jul, 2006 30 Aug, 2006 SAVIOUR
Kevin Ball 07 Mar, 2006 31 May, 2006 TRIED HIS BEST
Mick McCarthy 12 Mar, 2003 06 Mar, 2006 HONEST ATTEMPT
Howard Wilkinson 10 Oct, 2002 10 Mar, 2003 FEKIN IDJIOT
Peter Reid 29 Mar, 1995 07 Oct, 2002 GLORY YEARS
Mick Buxton 26 Nov, 1993 29 Mar, 1995 OKAY?
Terry Butcher 05 Feb, 1993 26 Nov, 1993 AAAAGH
Malcolm Crosby 30 Dec, 1991 01 Feb, 1993 OUT OF DEPTH
Denis Smith 09 Jun, 1987 30 Dec, 1991 OKAY?
Bob Stokoe 16 Apr, 1987 09 Jun, 1987 DIFFICULT
Lawrie McMenemy 08 Jun, 1985 16 Apr, 1987 NOT THE MESSIAH, JUST A VERY UGLY MAG
Len Ashurst 04 Mar, 1984 23 May, 1985 LIMITED
Alan Durban 01 Jun, 1981 02 Mar, 1984 OK?
Ken Knighton 07 Jun, 1979 01 Apr, 1981 CAN'T FEKIN REMEMBER
Billy Elliott 13 Dec, 1978 24 May, 1979 WENT ON TO DO A MUSICAL
Jimmy Adamson 01 Dec, 1976 25 Oct, 1978 NOPE AGAIN
Ian MacFarlane 18 Oct, 1976 01 Dec, 1976 NOPE
Bob Stokoe 23 Nov, 1972 18 Oct, 1976 GLORY YEAR OR TWO
Alan Brown 01 Feb, 1968 01 Nov, 1972 TRIED I SUPPOSE
Obviously my opinions, but there is some daft, idiotic and plain insane choices mixed in there. Oh if we could just have someone to take the club forward as Bob Paisley (born in County Durham) did for Liverpool.
You don't have to be mad to support SAFC it is compulsory and I'm as mad as a box of spiders
KTF

 

Cant speak for the older managers but I would say Denis Smith was more than an OK. He got us out of div 3 first time and for that, as with Keane from the championship, I will be eternally grateful. There's been some shockers hasnt there.

 

Dennis Smith was my favorite time

 

A bit unfair on Sbragia. The lad didn't want the job in the first place, but Niall pleaded with him to take it with one remit - save us from relegation. So he took it and he delivered the goods. Within two hours of us being secure, he resigned. I can't really fault that. He did what he was asked for the good of the club. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Good post, but Alan Durban was better than OK imo.

 

Aye lads you are right, just my memory only goes back a few days and I forget; old age. The pain of McMenemy being put in charge still seared the through the brain though. That turned out to be diabolical, especially with all the hype during his arrival; wilkinson was another shocker.
Interesting that there were 15 managers in 34 years from 1968 up until Peter Reid finished in 2002. Since Reid there have been 13 managers in 12.5 years........5 since Steve Bruce went 4-years ago. I would imagine a lot of back room staff would have been coming and going as well, a complete rolling goat **** tbh.

 

All I know is that if Alan Brown was in charge of these lazy unfit tossers we have now he would freak out, they would be running up and down the cat and dog steps for ever more.

 

Aye, but come Saturday they wouldn't play for him like eight of the cup winning team wouldn't (Porterfield was a McColl signing, and Stokoe recruited Halom and Guthrie. The rest were all Brown's and stood joint second bottom of the second division). Brown was a good scout and a good coach. But a manager? - the worst ever in my view.

 

Peter Reid was the best that I have seen, did like MickMac though. But we have had some real shockers - MacMenemy & Wilkinson what a pair of HIGHLY paid clowns!!!

 

Steve Bruce? Aaaagh? Put together probably the 2nd best team over that period. Made a total balls of it and started the ball rolling towards the ****e we have to put up with today, but his spell is probably the last time I had at least a hint of prolonged content.

 

Yes I did love it when he brought in the likes of Cana, Gyan, Cisse and of course when we signed Bent!!!! Pity most of them were plan old mercenaries and the slightest whiff of extra cash they looked off!!!

 

This will always be the case for us though. Majority are mercenaries nowadays. I wish we were now in a position where other clubs were willing to pay stupid money for our current players. It would mean we are doing something right. We cant get rid of half the ****ers nowadays. Even during Bruces darkest days I cant remember us being as inept as we have for the vast majority of the time since.

 

We could have really gone places under Durban but that ****er Cowie fell out with him.

 

bruce is also the last manager to see out a full season.

 

All relative but stats are: total games: games won: games drawn: games lost

Brown: 210: 61(29%) : 65 (31%) : 84 (40%)
Stokoe: 192: 88 (46%): 49 (26%) : 55 (29%)
Durban: 130:37 (28%): 40 (31%) : 53 (41%)
Mcmenemy: 85: 26 (31%): 22 (26%) : 37 (43%)
Smith: 229: 87 (38%): 63 (27%) : 79 (34%)
Reid: 353 :159 (45%) : 95 (27%) : 99 (28%)
Wilkinson: 27 : 4 (15%) : 8 (30%) : 15 (55%)
McCarthy: 147 : 63 (43%) : 26 (17%) : 58 (40%)
Keane: 81 : 28 (35%) : 25 (31%) : 28 (34%)
Bruce: 98 : 29 (30%) : 28 (28%) : 41 (42%)
ONeill: 66 : 21 (32%) : 20 (30%) : 25 (38%)
Di Canio 13 : 3 (23%) : 3 (23%) : 7 (54%)
Poyet: 75 : 31%) : 22 (30%) : 30 (40%)
Advocaat: 18 : (23%) : 5 (27%) : 9 (50%)

A bit unfair really as there are so many ways of looking at the stats and some managers may have turned things around ( unlikely I know) had they been given more time. Essentially though, Reidy on top and Stokoe second. Wilkinson the worst.
Fek, being unemployed gives me too much time to waste looking at pointless statistics

 

Mine too. The 2 seasons under Reid were immense but I think we jumped too quickly with smith. He began something and girls us from dig 3 to dig 1 then went down and Murray got rid of him too quickly.

My dad said Durban should've been there longer too. Before my time though

 

He was the first manager I remember, all my early SAFC memories were in that time.

 

I know what you mean believe me.

 

Bob Stokoe will always be my hero. What that team achieved would have been rejected if it were a film script!

But Reidy gave me a few years of real, real pleasure and pride. Forever grateful for that. But at the same time, bitter-sweet that we came so close to being a consistent top half PL club, but ultimately failed.

 

Nice stats but you need to have a look at the "SAFC Effect"
Perfectly good managers suddenly go from world beaters to absolute pants within months of joining us