Hughes took a very poor Wales side to within touching distance of a major tournament, purely by playing to the individuals strenghts. He then went to Blackburn, spent little, and got them into the top 10, playing some wonderful football. He went to Man City, and admittedly didn't do enough, but they were doing ok, only the new money deemed it not enough. He then went to Fulham last season, and guided them to a top ten finish despite the loss of their top goalscorer for a massive chunk of the season, again getting the best out of players like Duff & Murphy, and playing to the teams strengths. MON spent millions at Villa, got them to a point, then whinged he wasn't being backed, and spat his dummy out. My mother could have managed an SPL side with a world class striker like Henrik in it. I won't be turned on this, i do not want this man in. For the record Cest, i have no opinion on him as a man, i want the best manager for my club, and i don't think he is anywhere near it, if he was a bellend and a great manager, i wouldn't care a jot. His league cup wins were 11 years ago, one of those was against Tranmere Rovers.
Poyet would be a fantastic appointment for you. Not sure he'll want to leave Brighton though , he's building something really special over there.
They were desperate to have him back half way through the following season mate. 100% agree I'm sorry? Come again? 3 consecutive top 6 finishes? On the verge of challenging the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal? SAF rated MON as the man to fear until Randy Lerner decided to renege on promises he made to MON the close season he left. He went out of a sense of being lied to not just money. It was a principle thing and one I would do the same if my firm went back in promises they made to me.
I agree on both sides. That is a club that is primed to go places, have been for years. The stadium dram, if anything, now it's passed has galvanised the whole club, i really want to see them make it. I'd still nick him though, he is a class act.
I'm sorry BB but your bending stories to suit your argument. Hughes is a decent manager alright but even in your own defense of him you admit he is a nearly man. Nearly did well with Wales; nearly got Blackburn going and nearly did it with Man City. As for spitting dummies out, I see you also failed to mention the absolutely bizarre walking out of Fulham last year? What was that about? Hughes is okay and I wouldnt be gutted to see him here but to say he has a better managerial record than MON is simply ridiculous. Oh and who got Henrik Larsson, by his own admission, to play his best football at Celtic BTW and to that UEFA Cup final? However, you have since rubbished that achievement in that league, thus you must also think Larsson a poor footballer as well? You cant have it both ways kidda. Hughes would be a fine manager but MON has a far superior record. Thats not opinion there, thats a fact.
Never said he had a better record Cest, your the one twisting the words now. I see a younger, hungrier more modern day coach, with massive ambition in Hughes. To 'nearly' achieve things with Wales and Blackburn is a fantastic achievement, i've never questioned MON's record, i have questioned parts of it's relevance (ie Celtic in the SPL), and pointed out his biggest achievements at Leicester where in a different footballing era. To say i'm questioning Larrsen, after describing him as a world class striker in the post you quote, then claim it's ME twisting words, is ridiculous. You know i won't back down, so we will beg to differ on this one, that's life mate.
Let's stop the hissy fits because I differ from your opinions eh! My years of experience of supporting Sunderland has led me to believe that our supporters are far worse than most when it comes to not having patience with managers/players etc...If you listen to any opposing manager when they talk of playing at the SoL, they always say that if they can keep things quite for the first 15 minutes, then half the battles done because their crowd loses patience: in my opinion, this is the reputation that we deservedly have in football circles. I'm not too chuffed myself at our start to the season, but I find this psychopathic over-reaction to what has been an iffy start to a season (with what is in fact a new team) just a little pathetic.
Personally, I would take Mark Hughes over MoN all day long. He done well at Blackburn, Man City and Fulham, playing decent football along the way, unlike MoN's boring defensive style of play. I want to be entertained for my 30 quid a game.
Well, just opened this article and yours is the first and only comment i've read so far BB. I must say i agree with you entirely. Sometimes in football, stats would appear for all the world to suggest one thing when actually the exact opposite is true. See it all the time. You just have to listen to MON. The man talks absolute nonsense. I can't listen to him. On the very few occasions he's done some punditry, the other pundits have looked and laughed at him like some kind of novelty characted. Not many people take him seriously. He plays crap football, too. I like the idea of Hughes. I want a manager who understands attack and how to create a team that can attack. Hughes must understand. If we wanted to take a risk, Poyet could be worth a go. Another man with a great mentality, the kind of fella i can see being a good manager.
Mate, his days were numbered after the 3rd pathetic showing against a poor Newcastle in my opinion. In bruces own words it's unforgivable to the vast majority of Sunderland fans to loose a derby. After 3 no shows on the trot he's a dead man walking
Would you take Peter Reid back Cest? He got us 2 7th place finishes in a row and in both seasons we were 2nd at christmas. Villa did similarly in those seasons they started like a house on fire and had slumps after the new year. Ring any bells. I think O'Neill's coaching is out of date and he is a manager similar to Keegan that throws his toys out of the pram when things arent going his way. His achievements with Leicester were good but in a similar age to that of Peter Reid's with us so I leave that in the past. Celtic should win 3 leagues in 5 years which is what he did and he was only battling Alex Mccleish at the time. As has been mentioned I would rather have Hughes than O'Neill but I guess id rather have O'Neill than Bruce so i kind of take your point.
Having read all comments on here now, i see a number of people are also suggesting Hughes and Poyet. I'm sure neither of these men would settle for packing the midfield with 3-4 defensive midfielders, no threat from full back at all, one striker. These were two players who could score goals and understand that side of the game but also were knew how to get stuck in. Bruce has no other thought to how to win a game of football than to play for 0-0 and hope one of the long balls pays off. If MON were our manager, january transfer arrives and we'll sign Heskey and Agbonglahor and it'll route 1 football for us.
I don't mind Bruce. I'll support any manager we have until they've left or been sacked, i think this should be how all fans should act but sadly its not. I've always liked MON, somebody that shows alot of passion on the touchline. 6th with Villia for 3 seasons in a row is a good recond and i wouldn't hear any complaints if that happened with us. Steve Bruce is a premiership manager, however i think his average finish is somewhere between 9th to 14th unfortunatley, something that will drive him mad. I think he's invested reasonably well during the transfer window, with some areas that need addressing in the January transfer window, HAD we won the derby we would have had a fantastic start, but we didn't, and we've had a tough fixture list to start off with (yes, including swansea, all promoted teams are dangerous until christmas IMO) and hopefully it will ease out soon. Bruce doesn't help himself at times with his tactics and if he starts with anyone but Bendtner and Ji and Stoke i'll be abit surprised because sess with be destroyed upfront next week by stoke, he needs protection from the two big lads. We need a positive attitude right now, but its not going to happen due to the doom and gloom brigade who are out and look to be staying so for a while yet. ONE good performance next week and once again everyone will be on a high. Should this not be the case in about 3/4 games then i fear Mr.Short may be sharpening his axe on brucies head. Who would come in, i don't know. Moyes ? Unlikley. Hughes ? No thanks. MON ? possibly.
I think SB has to go but for who would replace him, Cest favours MoN, he could be right, Hughes could be good as well, its a pity that Bally is not up to it, we could really do with an ex-sunderland player who has gone on to become a good manager. Personally I am not sure who I would want in, other than a striker, LW and a LB and somebody who gets then motivated and up for derby games!
Said Bally should go to another club for a couple of seasons and sharpen his managerial claws a while back mate. I'd love to see KB as SAFC manager sometime. He is what this club is all about for me.
Hated Reid the bloke. Loved Reids football. I'd have those heady days of SKP and Quinny in a flash. Without doubt the best era in my lifetime at the club. We really could have done something if it hadnt all fallen apart. Reid was afforded far too much power at the club. If that could be curtailed, I'd take Reidy back tomorrow and that attacking flair. Now thats a statement I'd thought I'd never hear myself say out loud.
Well its obvious we all don't agree. I agree with some things said i liked O'Neil 10 years ago, he walked out on villa because he said they would not give him money. What makes everyone think Short is going to give him millions because i think he will have very little to give him Hughes has done no more than Bruce in my opinion. All i want is someone who can pick a team in the right positions and get them motivated. At the start of the season we did not ask for much We wanted a recognised striker (we have no one) We wanted a good cup run ( lost to Brighton) We wanted a good performance against Newcastle (we got beat because we did not have a striker on the pitch) I can't defend Bruce anymore but i don't want a **** manager to replace him either (remeber Wilkinson)
Not sure MON is the answer Cest definitely not Poyet, Hughes is a possible but I'm not sure he would come to us or Short and Quinn would want him. Still think all this manager talk is academic as the people at the top do not have the stones to make the big decisions. Bruce has brought in 10 or so players this season which says to me that he will be with us till January at the least. One of SBs selling points to us fans was his ability to attract the top players and organise a defence, he hasn't done either for me and the patience is wearing thin for all of us even those that support him. Not sure who will be our next manager but, I'd like to see us try a foreign manager maybe even Scottish
I feel sure MON would be a big improvement on what we've got. I think[/COLOR] Hughes would be an improvement[/COLOR] on what we've got. Please let it be MON.
