Never wanted Bruce, as I thought he was a **** manager. He got my support from his signing on the dotted line, but I was proved right in my first thoughts on him as a manager and he was quite rightly allowed to go. When O'Neil came I had concerns if he had come to us too late, but was still chuffed when he became our manager. Yet we managed to play some of the most boring, negative football it has been my displeasure to watch. No matter how much I liked the bloke his days were numbered here, he looked to have lost any passion for the game. People were saying he should have been given more time and he hadn't had a fair crack at it. Yet these same posters were saying get rid of PDC after 3 or 4 games into a season. Last seasons games under PDC shouldn't count against him as he was trying to motivate the **** he inherited. When Short brought in DiCanio we knew what we were getting, a maverick with very set ideas about how he wanted to be a COACH and to run a team. (Notice I didn't say MANAGER.) I hate the idea of a Director of Football and always have. I have the horrible feeling that a lot of the players brought in were brought in without PDC having the final say. It has ended up he is having to pick a starting 11 from players he doesn't rate. TBF I don't rate a few of them either. We definitely didn't get the players that PDC was mentioning he wanted in interviews. When Sess was being hawked by the club for sale, PDC made a statement saying that SAFC have got to keep their best players. Next thing we know Sess is out the door. (Love him or hate him he could change a game on his own. Who the **** have we in the team that could do that now?) We had started to play football under PDC, not just kick and rush as we were doing under the two previous incumbents. The players looked fitter and more motivated. We deserved a hell of a lot more from some of the games this season, but our luck and the officials were ****. (Didn't help that a couple of players made huge mistakes that cost us.) No denying we weren't at the races for a couple as well. But bloody hell we are Sunderland not Man U or Chelsea. Getting beat 3-1 looks bad as a result on paper, it doesn't look so bad when you watched the game and saw how it came about. So we will be bringing in another COACH, when we actually need a MANAGER. And the DOF sits back and buys more **** and says this is what you have make the best of it. I am sick of overpaid footballers taking MY football club for granted. PDC started to put the greedy mercenaries in their place and I was fully behind him. I agreed with everything he said, even though it gave the anti PDC's a rod to beat him with. They have been making up their own stories to back this up as well. He has lost the dressing room, he has upset some of the Prima Donnas etc etc. Bullshit. If they are so thin skinned I want those ****ers out of MY club! Posters saying he isn't a good manager as he didn't pick their pet player. FFS! There are still people want to play Larsson no matter how bad he plays/ Supporters screaming about Cabral not playing, did they not watch how **** he was against the Dons? I liked the look of N'Diaye, but he threw his toys out of the pram when PDC said he wasn't a guaranteed starter. N'Diaye's words not mine. I said at the time the players needed to be held more accountable under MON. There are still quite a few should be held accountable under PDC. This is the stupidest decision I have seen made at SAFC for decades. People writing us off as relegation candidates after FIVE ****ing games absolutely ridiculous. Two wins would have had us in 8th place alongside ManU ffs! The next few games the ones calling for PDC's head will allow us to lose and it wont be the new coaches fault. Games any sensible supporter wouldn't have expected to win anyway. But would have expected us to put up a good show at least and hope to get something from them. Although I have read some of the other threads I haven't commented at some of the replacements being touted. Mancini?? Had a squad of costly players but couldn't form them into a TEAM! Redknapp?? Scattergun purchaser of loads of players and hopes for the best! De Matteo?? Looks favourite, yet how short some peoples memories are. This is the bloke who brought Tore Andre Flo out of retirement!!!!!! (Yes! That Flo, that was so **** he carried his own health warning.) He was also sacked by WBA after a horrendous run of losing games and they got rid to stop the rot. (Sound familiar?) Got the Chelsea job via the back door as AVB's assistant had a ready made team of stars that I could have won things managing. Yet people are claiming he is some sort of genius. I still think PDC would have turned it round given time. The signs were there in how much better we were playing. Nice how the ones wanting him out conveniently forget that! And just state the results as if we were hammered every game. A couple of breaks in games and this season would have started oh so different. No matter what happens I will be grateful to him for breaking up the player power at our club and getting the lazy bastards fitter.
Di fanti should be negotiating contracts, setting up meetings, doing the running. Angeloni should be given final say on all development players and be allocated a separate budget to do such and the Head coach should pick all his own targets with access to all scouting information. That's the only way I see it working. Any other way then I'm worried.
Spot on mackemsrule! Totally agree and I'm now totally gutted. Makes me feel that a guy sticking up for us has been told to **** off as it doesn't suit the rich blokes.
I'm reading between the lines by what was said during the window Bri. It seems to me Di Canio was getting handed players for a position rather than a team member. To me that is the way players should be brought in to fit into a team. Having now read that "senior" players may have spat their dummies out got him the sack makes me more angry than the sacking. Bunch of overpaid pussies, with no backbone. We have had to put up with players taking the piss out of the club and fans for years, now when someone says **** off and pull your lazy fingers out, they whine like a bunch of girls. I hope it comes out who these senior players are, so the fans can voice their opinion on them. After all PDC was only being honest and saying out loud what we all think.
Spot on mate, very well put and echo's my sentiments exactly. I wanted him to succeed and beleive we would have been comfortable mid table finish if he was allowed to carry on, the signs were there that the team was turning for the better. I have to say that i am more worried about my club than ever before, Ellis Short isn't exacly instilling us with confidence is he? that's four managers in as many years FFS. I just hope he has a Plan B.
Like it or not mate, players do have all the power and you need a manager that can work with this not fight it. The days of the all powerful manager is gone with Fergie. You have to earn the right to do what PDC was trying and he just forgot to take the players with him. He talked a great fight but in reality had any manager or coach lost his dressing room as quickly? If we hadn't acted quickly then IMO, too much damage would have been done for anyone to save us. Di matteo has shown he can work with what he is given and his results with 3 previous clubs is good. All managers get sacked sometime so there will always be examples when it went wrong. PDC has only been a manager for 2 years and has had more fall outs than successes. His temperament was always questionable and so it proved his undoing. We now need a calming voice to unite the dressing room and the fans and for me RDM fits most of that. No he isn't a genius or the best in the world but he ticks a lot of boxes and is a calming quiet professional I feel most of us will get behind. Whatever happens now, it's vital whoever comes in gets our support and backing for at least 2 years and stops the rot of manager turnover here. Never a dull moment at SAFC but time for us all to stop being angry and start being fans again. Me as much as anyone. FTM
We are all so split on this. I have my own opinions and gripes, however, I'm so furious I still don't know if this decision was the right one. I can't fathom out if it was, 'knee jerk' despite all the rumorus about him losing the dressing room and I 'm sick of some of our dim supporters still thinking he himself brought all these new players to the club. Yes he handled things differently, yet he got it right with his fitness theories and he managed the big ego's well enough too. Oh and don't forget, he isn't shy in coming forward to speak to the press either, so beware, as the truth, warts and all, WILL follow soon ! FFS ! Quinny's view :- http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/8937057/
What really pisses me off is the various "experts" saying "Martin O'Neill would've kept them up" and "Di Canio has had a lot of money to spend" - O'Neill was taking us into the Championship - everyonw says "He'd have won 2 games" - WHERE!! I watched the side and there was no way we'd have won 2 with O'Neill in charge - Di Canio kept us up - I honestly don't think he's been sacked for football stuff but more the "I can't keep my fat gob shut" stuff - he's too public with his outbursts (IMO) and that was doing the opposite to motivating the team. As for the money he had "given to him" - his nett spend was around £1m wasn't it??
I think anyone of us on here would like to see RDM as the next manager, he is the obvious candidate and i think he would do a decent job plus he has the aura to be able to attract a better class of player come January. I just hope that whoever comes in is given time to make his mark, lets not forget, we still have an horrendous fixture list in the near future so any manager will find it hard to make an immediate impact. It's going to take time and i hope he is afforded that luxury.
Like MR I'd like to know who these "senior players" are? maybe the same senior players who don't play that much or the same senior players who are not supporting their manager? For too long we have had the players not getting on with a manager so just binning it. Bruce love or hate him was done by the players not giving a toss, MON same detail and now PDC ****ing twats all of them. No doubt when the new man takes over they'll be world beaters for a couple of games then he'll upset them by maybe training a bit too much and it'll be back to square one. With Rackem as well totally split on whether it's a good decision or a really bad one? Cest you say give managers 2 years, great all for that but, going on PDCs reign it be more like 2 months.
I'm pretty shocked and disappointed the way this has happened, but it is the club that is bigger than any individual. Whoever takes over the reigns will have my full backing, starting with Bally tomorrow night..
I'm not happy with the set up we have. I was excited about it but now it's clear that PDC didn't get the players HE wanted there's clearly something wrong
This! O Neil would not have beaten Newcastle and Everton! The only 2 games he could have won, on paper, were Stoke & Soton! But the way things were going, we wouldn't have! We couldn't beat 10 man Norwich ffs!
My sentiments exactly marra.... People have very short memories and don't look at the facts fully. YES Di Matteo has a 'double' to his name... BUT... Chelsea got hammered by Napoli in the last 16 and somehow managed to get out of jail. Semi Final they were abysmal and again somehow got thru..?! The final vs Bayern was the most one sided football match I have ever seen... They got battered for 119 mins.. And again managed to fluke the win. The same happened in the FA Cup final against Liverpool. I think RDM was in the right place at the right time... And if it wasn't for Drogba.. He'd have won nothing. I will never forget the 'Press conference' when he was unveiled.. John Terry was answering all the questions and said "all the lads are behind Robbie"! The players had got rid of AVB.. And had got a 'manager' who was scared of the big names! The big egos at Chelsea (terry / lampard / cole / cech) we're picking the team and RDM was just a front man. I know it's only my opinion... BUT... RDM is not the answer for my beloved Sunderland. Rant Over !?!?
As a Swindon fan im sad to see Paolo not given more time after just five games. The same happenned with us at the start of his first season we lost our first five games and won two out of first 7 games which was due to all the new players he brought in at the start of the season. Once they jelled we then went on an unbeate run of 12 games winning and at home from Ocotber to the end of May we only conceded one goal at home and were the top scorers in all the leagues and had the best defensive record in all the leagues. I feel he would have turned it around but the problem with premier league players they have all the power and massive ego's and didnt want to play for him as they didnt like his methods. Clubs need to wake up and realise they pay these players massive salaries and are there to work but it always seems players have all the power and complained to the hierachy at your club. I really wanted him to succeed at your club ans im sure he would have done the problem for him now is he may not get another chance in the premier league. Anyway all the best im sure whoever comes in will get you up the league.
I just hope the next poor sod to take on our poisoned chalice gets more than 5 games before the players and fans spit their dummies out. If I was Short I would make sure the players knew they were "in his pocket" and would play the nads off for him and not repeat the "mutiny" with the new manager.
