Would you be a Moyes, Ken Barlow type and stick with the safe and pretty secure. Or would you be a lets take a chance at bigger fish. So many managers seem to have good jobs, chairman and fans who value them, good incomes and life styles. Then along comes that offer, a bigger club, in Brucies words, shopping at Harrods and the big time. Then it goes belly up and you are a failure and out. Then again how many times have we seen the loyal manager stay, a bad season come along and they are out anyway so what price loyalty. Of course in the football world, well certainly at the top end, getting the sack is a lot different to you or I getting the sack. We worry about our CV and the next job then off to sign on, I know, I have never been sacked either but play along, they tend to catch a plane to their villa in Portugal for some golf. We scan the newspapers and job centre ads, they go on sky or radio for a few thousand a time. I was never very good at the safe and secure, left the secure job in engineering with regular pay cheque, overtime and security for the commission only world of sales. For me it was the best thing I ever did, took me to places I would never have seen and to heights I could only dream of, also cost me 2 marriages well certainly contributed. I suppose its why I had, and still do, have time for Bruce, he came and tried and yes, he is wealthy but people like the Bruce's and Dagliesh of this world don't do it just for money, if they did then they could give up now, they have made theirs. Of course the bottom line would appear to be that in football its a club, managers come and managers go and never at a loss financially. Players also, at the top end, always seem to do OK and people like Bendtner and Bridge may look failures in many ways, especially Bridge but a very wealthy failure. The ones left are always the same ones, we fans, we get laughed at by others, feel let down by our clubs, certainly feel used and taken for granted a lot but next game, along we trot, take our seat or tune in to our radio and hope this time, please this time, be different. Stay that rare breed of manager Martin and stay loyal to us, come on Sess you like it here so stay loyal like we fans do to you, but, on ya bike Elmo and Bruce and, well, whoever else is no longer in fashion. Not sure how my ramble reached this point but it looks like we may deserve each other, we football family.
I think loyalty in football, as in life, is an undervalued characteristic and rare in the over financially compensated modern game. If I were a football manager (by the way anyone care to comment on the 2011/2012 Sunderland NOT606 fantasy league!) I would be loyal, because that's the sort of person I am. I have moved jobs because the ethos did not suit me, even to the detriment of my pocket. I always needed to be in a working environment where people pulled together, not looking out just for themselves and/or stabbing each other in the back all the time. Moyes is loyal, but still ambitious, with the good common sense to know the grass is not always greener. He recognises the value of having fans and a Chairman who know you have what is best for the club as your main driver, rather than what looks good on your CV. I also think MON is different and understands that being true to your personal values, including being loyal, says a lot about you as a human being, which is more important than any job. I suppose the Villa faithful would disagree but it is not yet in he public domain what happened there and one day it will come out(hopefully in MON's biography, after he wins the Champions league with Sunderland!!) I believe MON intends this to be his last job in football and his most successful. As a fan I can only do my part to support him and the club and hope we gain the success we surely deserve.
Recon if The special one does not get the follow on job from SAF, Moyes will be in strong contention. his loyalty is beyond doubt, and a decent bloke, And without doubt he has great man management skills, and as we have seen all too often, a prety good coach, had we not got MoN he IMO would have been more than a strong contender for the job. but back to loyalty, he would not have taken the job.
I wonder what Martinez is thinking at the minute, supposedly courted by Villa and Liverpool, but seemingly very happy at little Wigan who have a great chairman who backs him to the hilt. Then along comes Syd's scenario and the bigger fish pond comes along, does he stay the big fish in his little north west pond or leap into the shark infested bigger pool with chairmen who might not be as tolerant as Mr Whealan, what do you do?
That is going to be the hard part for Martinez, throughout the season, Whelan showed enormous public support and loyalty to Martinez by continuing to say he was the right man for the job and even if Wigan were relegated, Martinez would still have a job at the club. He has to feel that and may need Whelan to push him towards going for the job, Whelan has always said if a top club comes for his players he would never stand in their way. Will he do the same for his manager and what will he expect from his manager in this situation?
With the spectre of "King" Kenny removed from the LFC supporters minds, maybe the new manager will have a better chance than Hodgson was given. Not sure if Martinez or fans could cope if the results do not show an immediate positive next season.
Martin O'Neill is ready to re-shape his squad, but how much work will take place? Newcastle United have been attracting the plaudits in the North East, and rightly so with their creditable and unexpected fifth placed finish. Sunderland had a mixed bag of a season, terrible under Steve Bruce, excellent for the first three months under Martin O'Neill, and lethargic over the past month and a half of the season. That final month and a half will have taught O'Neill just as much as he learned when they were winning. He will have seen his players weaknesses, where his squad needs strengthening, and learned plenty about the character of his players. He chose not to make any signings in January, giving the players a chance, and now will be the time for him to put his own stamp on the squad. Sunderland under the ownership of Ellis Short have been big spenders in recent seasons, and the American will surely back his new manager again this time around. However after a season of standing still, he will want a return on his investment, and O'Neill's challenge will be to push for a European place, while fans will want to finish ahead of rivals Newcastle, who also have Europa League football to balance. Since 2008, Sunderland have spent heavily; £24.6 million in 08/09, £31 million in 09/10, £22 million in 10/11, and £24 million last season. They have made sales too, most notably the £24 million departure of Darren Bent to Aston Villa and the £20 million sale of Jordan Henderson, but sit fourth in the Premier League net spend table over the past five seasons. This season, they will again no doubt be busy, but will have to do their fair share of selling too. In the departure lounge will be goalkeeper Craig Gordon, now third choice, possibly a reportedly unsettled Craig Gardner, and off-loading record signing Asamoah Gyan from their books, who has let the club down badly with his sojourn in the Middle East. One key point is to retain Stephane Sessegnon, and fend off interest from London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. As for targets, the club will be after strikers, for sure. Nicklas Bendtner is unlikely to return, while Connor Wickham is yet to show the potential which convinced Steve Bruce to spend £8 million on him. Jordan Rhodes is a name linked, but after Wickham, the club may be wary of signing a free scoring prospect from the football league to lead the attack. O'Neill has already been linked with Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand, on loan, and a surprise swoop for Tottenham midfielder Steven Pienaar. Not so excitingly, Karl Henry has been touted, and fellow Wolves player Steven Fletcher has said he has turned down a move to the Black Cats. Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha has been linked too, as has free agent Carlos Cuellar, who recently left Aston Villa. Intriguingly, the season has not even been over a week, and the transfer window has not even officially opened. The transfer targets and speculation will increase, and arrive in waves. Sunderland will make their moves, and once again be one of the league's busiest teams. It promises to be an exciting summer in the North East.
