What happened to Martin O’Neill?

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Football is a results business and Sunderland’s results have been rotten for months, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Martin O’Neill was dismissed as manager on Saturday.  But he is Martin O’Neill, who appeared to be able to walk on water when at Celtic.  What happened?

Martin’s teams played the same football at Sunderland as they did at Celtic and Leicester.  Direct and, if supported by excellent players, incredibly effective, but Martin was the antithesis of the tinkerer manager.  He had his plan and stuck to it, a fact which Alex McLeish successfully exploited.

Of all the recent dismissals in England his was least surprising.  Sunderland thought they were heading for relegation but still have a fighting chance, the right change could produce the short-term boost required.  As for our old pal Paulo, I’m in David Milliband’s camp. He and ‘Arry can go the same way.
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949 Comments

  1. MON wouldn’t come back to us even if there was a vacancy for a manager, which there isn’t and won’t be for at least another year. MON is a cheque book manager who is only concern is with the first team in the present. He has never worked on long term planning, bringing in potential and developing it, he spent on proven quality that would fit his style of play.

     

    Great 5 years under him but never go back. Managers should be like players, young, hungry and with something to prove.

  2. My dear,dear,dear,friend… Tiny Tim

     

     

    Hiya,pal?

     

     

    Nice tae greet ye.

     

     

     

    Yep.. Ah Luv Mr. O… like a Brither, tae..

     

     

    Howevahhhhhhhhh..

     

     

    Mr.O. is as a Manager.. and He WAS a Guid Wan, alright..

     

    wance Upon a Time..

     

     

    Is..as they say aroon the Campfires…

     

     

     

    Awfy.. High Maintenance..

     

     

    on account of…

     

     

    Mr.O. Likes Tae SPEND the Dough..

     

     

    He is No Interested in

     

     

     

    Bargain Hunting..

     

     

    And

     

     

    Sadly.. that is Why.

     

     

     

    He wid No Be Welcomed Back tae the Celtic Fold, byMe.. In a Managerial Capacity..

     

     

    Also..

     

     

    In Ma Opinion.. Mr. O.. wid N be much of a Mentor fur oor Present Incumbent ,eethur..

     

     

    Mr.O…is Faur, Faur tae..

     

     

    Tactically Limited..

     

     

    He is a wan Trick Manager.. and ..well..

     

     

     

    Noo HIs Tricks are no Longer working..

     

     

    Hell. that Happens..

     

     

    Na..

     

     

    Ah Hiv Ma fond Memories of Mr.O at Celtic.. and Ah wull be quite content tae

     

     

    Leave it at that.

     

     

    We do no longer need his Services at Parkheid oan the Clyde.

     

     

    Kojo

     

     

    Yer Pal.. who always liked you the best.

  3. ….PFayr

     

    16:45 on

     

    1 April, 2013

     

     

    correct but they also need to be able to work within the constraints the club works in, MON wouldn’t be able to do that with us any more

  4. Ernie Lynch.

     

    He succeeded at Vill without him.

     

     

    However your point may still be valid .

     

    TT

  5. Well, well……

     

     

     

    Charlie Richmond Former referee:

     

     

    “I don’t think the standard of refereeing is going down, it’s levelled,” he told BBC Scotland.

  6. TinyTim

     

    16:50 on

     

    1 April, 2013

     

     

    Robertson was at Villa with MON. He retired after they left

  7. Players I’d keep, Defence F.F. Matthews, Wilson, Lustig & Mulgrew

     

    Mid-Field, Brown, Commons, Ledley & Forrest, Rogic, McGeouch

     

    Attack, Sammi, Lassad, Stokes & Watt

     

     

    Would only be punting Izzy, Ambrose, Big Vic & Hooper if there was good money going for them, which could be re-invested in team. No opinion on Gershon as we have not seen enough of him.

  8. Kayal

     

     

    Clubs do not need to be run as CFC

     

     

    Managers and players can be talented and experienced …..we have chosen the young, hungry route for financial reasons …..

     

     

    Our signing policy is as formulaic as our team selections

     

     

    CL aside , I have concerns for our level of performances this season

  9. Kojo

     

     

    IMHO

     

     

    MON left Celtic because the purse strings were about to pulled.

     

    The same with Villa.

     

     

    I believe that he would adapt to the situation.

     

     

    However he was a handful to manage.

     

    Brian Quinn kept us on the right path.

     

     

    MON would need to go back to his Wycome and Leicester days.

     

     

    He succeeded there without lots if money.

     

     

    Maybe at 60 + he no longer has the desire.

     

     

    Only he knows.

     

     

    TT

  10. Staggering the comments about Joe Ledley. Ask any of the players he has played with how good he is and how much of a contribution he makes to the team.

     

     

    For those who go to the games, solely watch Ledley for 5 mins.He is one of the finest athletes we have.

     

     

    He is an exceptional player who is a huge asset to our team.

     

     

    We are fortunate to have him.

  11. ….PFayr

     

    16:54 on

     

    1 April, 2013

     

     

    Exactly, I agree with you. We are where we are and the point I was making, badly, was that MON at Celtic now would not work, he’s not the type of manager who works they way we operate now.

  12. Reading that the red-card for V67 could mean he misses 2 games; Hibs (SPL) and Dundee Utd (SC Semi).

     

     

    Being quoted as: the automatic punishment for serious foul play is a two-game ban, covering all competitions.

     

     

    Anyone confirm?

  13. Eurochamps67 on

    Remember Lenny saying about Sammi, he is the type of player who could get him the sack?

     

    Lenny has big decision to make.

     

    Ledley is reliable and someone you can trust, Izzy if back to first season P.O.T.Y, is in the top 3 players we have.

     

    Chas is last season’s P.O.T.Y. And has excellent delivery. Sammi can do that what no other can and Kris is capable of brilliant inventive play

     

    However, Lenny IMO, should not play all of them at the same time as it lends to us being unbalanced

     

    .

  14. No-one manages on their own.

     

     

    Good managers form good managerial teams as their first move.

     

    MON did.

     

    Neil Lennon did.

     

    Each member of that team has a different job.

     

    Replacing one of these is much more difficult than replacing a player.

  15. cannot understand the tone of the lead srticle, why bring that waster McLeish into the comparison??

     

    In my opinion MON will always be a better manager than McLeish could dream to be, his recent spell at Forest spoke volumes, he must be laughing that Sir Furious still rates him.

     

    Anyway I have just read back a couple of pages so apologies if I am going over old ground.

     

    MON – a Celtic great, simple as that the turnaround in season one, Seville, Hampden in the sun, Henke`s farewell , Demolition Derby, Beach Ball Sunday…….me and my bhoy were never closer or had happier days at football…..God bless him.

     

    Di Canio – if Tommy Burns could tolerate his politics then that`s fair enough. The whole thing is getting dragged up beacause he is now in the EPL, the league race is over so they have nothing else to stir up. Are Celtic fans now an inclusive club when it suits us? If he was supporter of Palestine or ETA would we be debating?

     

    For all that I still think Sunderland will go down, MON looks to have lost the will to motivate young millionaires who should know better. His talent will be needed in a cash strapped league where he can showcase players for bigger stages and the players understand the size of the prize, that is not the EPL.

  16. praecepta

     

     

    Correct. Vic will get a 2 game ban if the appeal is dismissed.

     

     

    If the above happens, then the club along with other teams should be pushing for a complete overhaul of the refereeing within this country.

     

     

    Start with John Fleming.

  17. Sure to get response but here goes anyway! Of the current first team squad, who would get in the Henke, Lubo and Sutton side of not so long ago. For me only Victor and possibly, Mathews.

     

    Who’ll bite first.

     

    We still need Marc Crosas

     

    KINGLuBO

  18. Tmwtl

     

     

    I remember we were told Fleming was a good guy

     

     

    Meet the new Hun same as the old Hun ……

  19. Ten Men Won The League

     

     

    Thanks – didn’t realise it affected the SC Semi nor did I think the tackle could be construed as violent conduct.

     

     

    No doubt when we appeal – its a certain to be fast-tracked (to our detriment).

  20. Re Joe Ledley , he was anonymous yesterday.

     

     

    That said for Wales against Scotland he had a good game , and was a step up in standard from those playing in dark blue ( made me wonder why Commons was not playing; but hey that’s wee Gord for you ).

     

     

    So why can he turn it in for Wales and indeed certain big games ( I can think off 2 goals he scored against deidco , LC Final and 28th 1 0 winner ). The same applys to Samaras who was a disgrace yesterday with his lack of effort and others nowhere near the level they are capable off.

     

     

    This is down to Lenny and is his responsibility to fix. There seems to be a lack of motivation and the team is rudderless at times without Brown to harrass the team.

     

     

    The domestic fare has been dreadful this year and the fans are sick off it. That plus the Lawwells pursuit of the GB will result in the lowest season ticket sales since Fergus took over.

     

     

    Celtic really are at a crossroads ; SPL is a one way way street to oblivion even when Sevco finally pitch up. Celtic need to find a way out ( even if it involves Sevco as they will find their level ).

     

     

    Celtic will end up with 30k season tickets next season and our CEO/Manager have played their part in that ( not just the economical situation many are enduring ).

  21. KINGLUBO

     

     

    17:17 on 1 April, 2013

     

     

    Fraser Forster.

     

     

    I’d also like to see what Sammi could have done in that side.

  22. ernie lynch

     

    17:26 on

     

    1 April, 2013

     

    KINGLUBO

     

     

    17:17 on 1 April, 2013

     

     

    Fraser Forster.

     

     

    I’d also like to see what Sammi could have done in that side.

     

     

    Driven MON to drink…