Dear Alex Neil

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AN navigated us through the play offs where others had failed so thanks for that.

It was all very exciting but that excitement clouded reality to some degree imo.

The key players, in that team, were already there when he arrived and still are. Sunderland were two points off top when he arrived ... we finished eight points off top.

We beat Sheff Wed who failed to be promoted automatically again this season and Wycombe who have even failed to make the playoffs. Wigan, who went up as champions have been relegated. Just because he was arguably better than Johnson doesn't make him the genius he thinks he is. I doubt we'd have made sixth with him this season.

In short, f**k him.
 
It was all very exciting but that excitement clouded reality to some degree imo.

The key players, in that team, were already there when he arrived and still are. Sunderland were two points off top when he arrived ... we finished eight points off top.

We beat Sheff Wed who failed to be promoted automatically again this season and Wycombe who have even failed to make the playoffs. Wigan, who went up as champions have been relegated. Just because he was arguably better than Johnson doesn't make him the genius he thinks he is. I doubt we'd have made sixth with him this season.

In short, f**k him.
Didn't fancy her anyway.

Slag
 
I too (sort of) want to thank Alex Neil. He did help get us out of the hell of division one and to be fair we should all be grateful for that! Then even better, he graciously stepped aside when he knew he wasn’t up to the job, and gave us the chance to progress, grow and play some beautiful football under the better equipped, gruff, down-to-earth Tony Mowbray :1980_boogie_down:
 
Proof that the grass isn't always greener. He'll have more money in his pocket right now, but his earning chances in future will be curtailed. It's not like playing where It's a short window to earn as much as you can, it can be thirty years or even more. When Roy Hodgson started at Northwich Victoria, did he go to Burton Wanderers for two guineas a year more in 1896? No, and look at him now.
 
Alex Neil was the right man for the job last season. We were more than good enough to go up, but with a manager who wasn't up to the task
It's easy and maybe a bit salty to say so, but going up was the bare minimum we expected of him and he had more than a bit of good fortune (last min goals v Burton, Oxford, Gillingham & Shrewsbury) but he got us there, he kept everyone calm and we did it.

He left for more money/control over transfers and that felt like a hammer blow at the time, but it was probably the best thing that could have happened us - even though it didn't feel like it at the time. I don't believe we would be in the play offs with Neil in charge.