BBC Website: Martin O'Neill wants to establish Sunderland in Premier League Martin O'Neill says he is determined to establish Sunderland in the Premier League, but warned it could take a little time to achieve. The Black Cats host Aston Villa on Saturday looking to secure only their second league win of the season. "Take out the top six and the rest of us can't talk about being established in the Premier League," said O'Neill. "Eventually, in time, Sunderland will not only want to be established, but also competing at the top level." To add to their disappointing league form, Sunderland were also knocked out of the Capital One Cup in midweek, losing 1-0 to local rivals Middlesbrough. "I understand that people here want success, they want it as quickly as possible and there is obviously disappointment when we go out of a cup competition as we could have progressed into the quarter-finals," added O'Neill. "I am very disappointed with that, it is my responsibility and therefore I will do everything I can to change that round in the course of time. "I am not talking about 10 years, which you don't get in the game, but I am talking for a period of time and I really want to make a team here that can compete and be successful." In my opinion, and granted its not everyones at the minute but I truly believe that he is the best manager we have had in my lifetime and if we give him the tools, the support and the time he will make us a force in this league. We are swimming against a 50+ year tide of failure at the club and this is the best period (6th consecutive top flight season) since our inaugural relegation in 1958. We are not anywhere near a relegation campaign at all, despite some panic stricken fans and when we win today we will be as comfortable as any club outside the top 4 or 5. We have not played well I admit but to still be comfortable mid table playing ****ty is hardly relegation is it? We have invested well over the summer with Johnson and Fletcher and they will be big players for us this season. MoN is still having to juggle with players he didn't buy to forge a team of his liking and its going to be another 2 maybe 3 transfer windows before we see the full effect of his managerial ability imo. We owe it to ourselves and to him, to stick with him in this sticky patch because if we do we will be rewarded. We do need Sessegnon, Johnson and McClean back to their best and having Bardsley back is a massive plus, not only defensively, but also releasing Gardener to his prefered midfield berth. I fancy him to score today to celebrate his return and I also think Fletcher will get back on the score sheet in a 2-0 victory. KTF lads. Martin O'Neill is a top, top class manager and we will prosper under his reign like never before. Just have the faith and support the man today and the team and we will be on 12 points by 5pm after our first 9 games. Pardeau is in the papers today saying they are on course for a top 4 place? If we win today we will be 1 point behind them with a game in hand? Now Partridge is just a slimy cockney barrow boy who talks utter cak imo but you can't knock the blokes confidence and swagger. He talks big and wants much and yet they are no better off than we are and have carried some massive slices of luck this season in 4 or 5 games. We will be top 10 this season and if we can start to click sooner rather than latter, and we can bring in another 1 or 2 influential players in January, who knows maybe much better. I have absolute faith and belief but I agree Martin needs to start and deliver and more importantly, so do the players. Today is the day.
I Agree, the perspective says it all ......we have a full-squad to choose from, and the players/coaching staff need to give their all and give us something to back, shout and scream about.
Tuesday was never going to be the walkover some seemed to think mate but, we did expect a performance that is sorely missing so far this season barring the Arsenal and possibly Swansea games. Thing is why are we playing ****e? Is it MON? Too early to judge for me. Is it the players (my bet by the way)? We have in my opinion far too many average players who can do okay in the PL but that's it. Whatever it is we need to sort it asap before this season runs away from us and, today is the perfect game to start that.
Having only been appointed on December the 3rd last season, the January window came too quickly to react imo so he has only had one real transfer window to operate in and with the likes of Fletcher, Johnson, Rose, Cuellar and Saha he has shown he is capable of operating there. I reckon there are targets for January AND the summer in place now and moves afoot to bring them in. Mon is having to rotate players he didn't buy or maybe wants but he has organised us into a team that is very, very hard to beat. What he must now imo, do is get our flair players to perform as well and we will start to rattle in the points. You can't make a silk purse from a sows ear and MoN is having to work with Bruces pigs ear of a job at this time. If he was replaced by Pep Guardiola, we wouldn't be any better, as he too would only have this slightly above average squad to pick from. He needs between 2 and 3 seasons to make his stamp. We surely owe this top manager just that.
Not sure about being comfortable in midtable with only 4 teams between us and a relegation place, the most worrying aspect is MONs ability not to have a plan B and this includes dropping or bringing off players who are not doing it. I am confident that we will improve and fight for a top ten finish. But with the season almost a quarter of the way through we need to start putting it right from today, which means playing a proper 4-4-2 formation and take the game villa. A 2-0 win today and we will be 1 point of our neighbours but level games not a game in hand Cest.
BTW Talc, Tuesday was ****e and I'm not protecting the manager from criticism for that debacle, or the players come to that but a defeat to Boro won't define our immediate or long term future. Martin O'Neill could do that though and for the better imo if we support him and give him time.
Agreed mate always knew this season was about building his own team maybe that's why the players don't seem too bothered. Next season is the time to start questioning things, by all means vent about poor play/decisions then that's it get back behind the lads. p.s. ****e doesn't even cover Tuesdays game mate.
Liverpool will beat the craas imo, so I was thinking more after the weeknd results not just today but that's nitpicking a bit pal if you want me to be honest. Look, we are 7 points from the bottom and 7 points from a Champions League place after 8 games. We are not going to be relegated and we are not going to be in the Champions League either. To make it a more realistic stat, we are 5 points from a relegation spot and 5 points away from being joint 6th and we have a game in hand on every club above us. We could quite conceivably be sitting here today on 12 points now and 11th in the league? Comfortably mid table and we will be top 10 comfortably imo by the end of May. Its all about whether you believe in the man in charge or not this argument and I do believe in the man in charge in a way I never really did about Bruce for instance. MoN is a top class manager and will get us going in the right direction but not even the worlds best managers could make us a top 6 or 7 team in 11 months mate and with 90% of the players not of his choosing? You need to be far more realistic about the situation as it really is not what you want overnight?
Not sure how I can be more realistic Cest, like I said I think we will improve and fight for a top ten place but I cant ignore the level of performance we have produced this season . In my post Cest I said I think we will win 2-0 and things will look rosier , but MON has to start 4-4-2 and take the game to Villa.
Getting beat off boro and the absolutely w*nk performance will hopefully give the players a kick up the arse and make them realise they are professional footballers with a privileged lifestyle who should be giving summit back to the fans. They haven't this season apart from the Arsenal game imo. MON will get it right so hopefully some big intimidating CM, another forward and some pace will be injected into the team come January.
What the **** is MON talking about saying he wants to establish us? This is our 6th consecutive season in the premier league so we are already established. Cest you talk about us being 'comfortable' mid table and Newcastle being no better off then we are, I'm sorry but your deluded mate.
Cest' can you please stop posting positive posts pre match as these keep being followed by a rant at the end of the match saying how ****e we were lol!!! We need to break this cycle! Ha
You can't make statements on where you are in relation to other teams simply by predicting the teams around you to lose ffs. Pards did it for us, it's possible. . MON is cleverly trying to buy time by saying he is working towards something that you have alreayd achieved. And Cest has fallen for it. And yup, he's an idiot.
We've had some very good managers over the years who sadly, were drastically underfunded. Alan Durban & Denis Smith come to mind. If we'd kicked on then who knows what might have happened. Marty says it will take time, of course it will but I really fear for this season. The only thing that may keep us up is that Saint's, QPR & Reading are all taking thrashings. Aroung 37 points may well be enough the way things are going.
Don't get it myself but it's doing the rounds on Facebook. It's a piss take, there's a picture of a goal and an arrow pointing at it saying 'this is a goal, kick it here' aimed at taking the piss out of us
