Tbf I think Speakman's priority is just bringing in quality players, he definitely wont sign players just for the sake of it. We will get frustrated at times - I was raging when we didnt sign a striker - however, it's 100% the right thing to do. So pleased we didnt sign a striker in January just for the sake of signing one, hopefully though we bring in a couple this summer
If LJ was in charge we would be in L1, dont think he has the tactical knowledge to get a team over the line. AN probably around 14th, TM is a better manager imo and more importantly TM has bought into what KLD and Speakman want to go with the club - that is huge. Its no surprise that as soon as AN left we announced the signing of 3 exciting young foreign lads - amad, ba n michut. We need everyone at the club pulling in 1 direction and supporting the vision, its the only way we will succeed
Obviously, there is no point, like Reading did, bringing in some old useles lump of a pony-tailed idiot, that was a disaster. However you are much more clued up than me, and presumably Speakman has overseas contacts... there are good short-term players out there.
We wouldn't be near where we are with AN. He'd have a permanent grump-on about his inexperienced squad and wouldn't get the best out of the young players like Mowbray has. Amad and Michut probably wouldn't have even got any decent game time. When he was here Dan Neil didn't get a look in and AN cited burn-out - bollox, we've only got his word for that - he just didn't trust him. Stoke may finish higher than they were when AN went there but so what, he wouldn't have got Sunderland any higher. Stoke will not finish higher than us this season, next season or any other season. That's because despite what AN thinks, Sunderland know what they're doing in the transfer market and behind the scenes and have got the right manager to support what they're doing. If AN was a bit more open minded he could have had a wonderful career with Sunderland, now he's a non-entity.
I reckon most clubs have their perpetual doom mongers, chicken-littles, cassandras, jeremiahs, pessimists and glass half empty so called fans. Not sure Sunderland is that exceptional, certainly till this last year there was plenty to be pizzed off about. This year there have been some green shoots a phoenix rising from the ashes that had cheered most of us up.
