I really want you to lead us to a successful season. The match going supporters have been generous in their support - they want you to do well as then the team will do well.
The cup final win was brilliant and I for one will forever be grateful - what a day!
But now, first Liverpool, now Spurs. The better teams dominate us - sort it out or go.
I think they would make a play for Kieran McKenna although he would be insane to go to Man U. In fact any half-decent manager who looked at the fate of recent managers there would be bonkers to go there
Yes, who would be bonkers enough to accept £5m or more per year, get sacked a year or two down the line, picking up a multi-million pound pay off for their trouble…
Except that I genuinely think the vast majority of managers ( there will always be a couple of exceptions) don’t think like that. They want to be successful and don’t want to be sacked (even if they get a payoff)
I think Man U have made so many mistakes in appointing the right man that anybody remotely capable will wait for other opportunities to become available.
Their best option at the moment might well be to swallow a great deal of humble pie and go back to the special one.
I actually think The Tartan Diego Simeone might actrually do a job for them this time round. They might even get some silverware – The Moyesiah did it for us…
Saints were better in the second half but…was never likely to be enough when you’re 3 nil down at half-time. I was also puzzled by the tactics. Keeping the ball and knocking it around etc etc but no real penetration. The game was almost certainty gone so what’s to lose by going really going for it?
Teams need promotion for the money (sadly) but fighting for something (promotion) in the Championship rather than to avoid something (the drop) in the EPL will always make for better Saturday afternoons imo. If a point a game is the target to stay up several teams already in serious trouble.
You could see the hurt in Russell Martin, in the interview he gave on the Beeb website, about the way we rolled over after the first Cherries goal. It creates complicated mixed feelings in me. He’s doing it his way. He is upfront about how he feels about tonight’s performance. But the table doesn’t lie.
It seems newly promoted teams get obsessed with having to play like Man City by playing out from the back.
Norwich tried it twice and were humiliated on both occasions.
At the time I remember Roy Keane saying “there is nothing wrong playing it out from the back but you need better players than Norwich have”.
I think his remarks are pertinent to most promoted teams since.
I hate to say it as a Norwich fan but Ipswich are avoiding this mistake by shifting the ball quickly forward.