Alternatively you could say he spent a decent amount of money to make them the best of the rest and wasn't happy when the chairman didn't back him with the cash needed to break through and progress. He's done a good job wherever he's gone.
Aye, can't agree with SB on this. For a real mugging look at what Roy Keane did at Sunderland. Spent gazillions on sh*t and got nowhere with them. O'Neill spent far less but got 3 top-6 finishes in a row along with a Cup-Final and European Qualification. His record is far better than Hughes in fact.
I wouldn't, though I confess to a big blind spot to his talents. Did well with Leicester and Celtic, walked out on Norwich after 6 months because he didn't get his way in signing Dean Windass, had signed a contract to walk out on Celtic to go to Leeds but Rissdale left scuppering that, walked out on Villa 5 days before the start of the season. Doubtless he is a good man manager and motivator, but I just would not trust him not to have a hissy fit. I'm fully aware that I'm in a tiny minority on this and don't expect to convince anybody else!
Don't forget Sparky's not afraid to down tools and walk out on Clubs either! I had to chuckle today reading Hughes' waffle in the Mail about his "ambition", whilst remembering Happy's article last night. He obviously gave that spiel when he was at Fulham too!
Yeah, Sparky's going to take a long time to live that down, though I think he just declined a new contract rather than walked out. His comments were daft though. O'Neill always seems to come off as the morally correct party, it's all about his 'integrity'. Probably a great first team coach, just not in my opinion a great club manager.
