so, on top of the fact we have amassed more points than 5under1and in the games since MON was appointed, we are actually only eight points off breaking any point tally he achieved while at Villa and sitting comfortably in as high a position in the PL as he ever achieved. Aston Villas 60, 62, and 64 point 6th place finishes were achieved in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons of his time there and involved a total spend of £84mil, or £21mil per season. It's interesting also to look at his win %. When the slightly distorting 75% win rate achieved with Celtic is removed*, he has a figure of 41.8% for wins, which is pretty good, better than a lot of toon managers, but still not anything special So, is he really that good ? Next season will tell us I think and we should not be too worried about his having a full season at our rivals. * a similar inflation is seen with Chris Hughtons record at NUFC due to our being out of place in The Championship - he has the highest win ratio of any manager of the toon.
We will be in for a harder test next season. Mon is a good manager and will probably bring in some good players at Sunderland. Pardew has suprised me I honestly didnt think he was this good, but he has been brilliant for us this season. Ashley hopely will back him in the transfer market.
This! Aside from that Lee Ryder article about Danny Simpson being the top RB in the league (Surprised me a lot, and made me rethink my oppinion on him, but definitely doesn't show the whole picture) I think there are 3 places we can strengthen that will immediately improve our starting 11...RB/LB, CB and RM (for playing 4,4,2) As for O'Neill's record, he's clearly an immense man manager and is great at instilling belief in his players, but judging his tactical ability at Sunderland has been difficult given all he has really done is played Sessegnon in the right position (instead of a loan target man!)
Not really interested in them except for derby days. For me though he is a good manager. He has a certain style of play (counter attack) which he has stuck to and its served him well. He is a bit patchy in the transfer market but he does pick up some decent attacking midfielders. He gets players playing for him which is important. In relation to us they clearly have ground to make up but everything can change for good or better in a transfer window in modern football. You'd have to believe we will continue progress based on recent evidence
They will be loosing betnder (sp) in the summer so they will spend a good chunk of money on either buying him or replacing him.
I must admit on the point they signed him I was very worried, but having had a closer look at his record I am less so, I actually think we have is better than anything he's demonstrated so far in this league, even with a lot of money
