Martin O'Neill

[SikhInTrinity]

The deal had been done in principle when MON was there, however if we remember the reason why the deal took so long was due to Ireland wanting a pay-off from Man City to compensate the difference of drop in wages, same happened with Dunne and Given.

[LondonLax]

Yes, MON put the transfer in place then left before the details were finalised.

Whether we could have backed out after he left, no body on here can answer that.

[VillaForever1970]

This will be good for a couple of reasons.

MON will be found out good and proper.

briny will hopefully stop being his bodyguard now he has another job.

[briny_ear]

I don't see myself as MON's bodyguard,

 

Just from time to time pop into this thread to see if people are still talking complete nonsense about him, and put them right. (It's the nonsense people talk that gets me reaching for the keyboard rather than any particular affiliation to MON. I think I'm rather bored with him by now.)

 

Have to add the Republic of Ireland thread to the list now.

 

 

Still, at least I've learnt of another MON achievement today. The first manager in the history of football to sign a player to a club after he had resigned from it. His might truly knows no bounds.

[BOF]

Ah yes, the truth according to Stephen Ireland, who himself was once believed to have been one of the few men to have buried both of his grannies in the space of a week.

[Mantis]

This will be good for a couple of reasons.

MON will be found out good and proper.

briny will hopefully stop being his bodyguard now he has another job.

He's been found out already, first with us and then with Sunderland.

[Nigel]

MON just on SSN talking about the Sunderland job.  He just called Dicanio a 'managerial charlatan'

 

'Mee ow'

 

Fight fight fight

[BOF]

MON just on SSN talking about the Sunderland job.  He just called Dicanio a 'managerial charlatan'

 

'Mee ow'

 

Fight fight fight

Here ya go. I can't say I disagree with him

 

Paolo Di Canio ridiculed as 'managerial charlatan' by Martin O'Neill

Martin O'Neill has launched a stinging attack on Paolo Di Canio, the man who succeeded him at Sunderland, branding the Italian a "managerial charlatan".

Di Canio was appointed after O'Neill's sacking in March but lasted only 11 games before suffering the same fate. Di Canio was critical of O'Neill's tenure and, specifically, the fitness level of the players he inherited from the Northern Irishman.

O'Neill has now taken charge of the Republic of Ireland in a controversial partnership with Roy Keane. When asked if he was disappointed by comments made about his Sunderland regime by Di Canio, O'Neill replied: "Paolo Di Canio? That managerial charlatan – absolutely, yes.

"Paolo stepped in there and basically, as weeks ran on, he ran out of excuses. I had a wry smile to myself."

O'Neill clearly took particular exception to allegations that his players were not fit. The 61-year-old said: "It's like a 27-year-old manager stepping in and the first thing you do is criticise the fitness of the team beforehand. If you've ever seen Aston Villa play, you'll see the one thing I pride myself on is teams being fit.

"What you'll find interesting is that when he started the team wasn't fit for the Chelsea game. Then the following week when he won at Newcastle, not being fit wasn't mentioned.

"Then about two weeks later they got mauled by Aston Villa, someone asked him about the fitness. Suddenly, he didn't know where to go. Because the team, as it progresses, should be getting more fit.

"And then, at the start of the season, when he lost by a late goal at Southampton, he was asked about the fitness regime, that he was going to have them the fittest team in the league. Suddenly, the fitness wasn't for that game but for Christmas, when the winter months set in. You know, I did have a wry smile at that one."

O'Neill garnered similar amusement from Di Canio's decision to ban various foodstuffs. When in charge of Sunderland, Di Canio explained: "We need to have lectures about why we can't have every day things like mayonnaise, ketchup and Coke."

Speaking after he was officially introduced as Ireland's manager on Saturday afternoon, O'Neill said: "I'm hoping at some stage or another [sunderland's captain] John O'Shea asks me at dinner table to pass him the tomato sauce and I will dispose of it immediately. But then if I feel you can't win games without tomato sauce I will empty it on his plate, with the chips.

"John Robertson [O'Neill's former assistant] once said that if every team in Italy has pre-match pasta for their meals, how come three get relegated each year? It's an interesting point. Ability might come into it. I'd have loved the opportunity to sign 15 players like Paolo did. I never got that opportunity.

"I was very disappointed at the outcome. I think I would have garnered the five points necessary to have stayed up and [had] the chance maybe to have changed the side."

The phone of Di Canio's agent Phil Spencer was ringing out yesterday.

[Mantis]

What a sad, hypocritical bitter man

Edited November 11, 2013 by Mantis

[Zatman]

pot kettle and black really springs to mind. as one of words ive always used to describe MON is a charlatan

 

 

bit of immaturity on his part to have a go at Di Canio when some people said PDC was childish to moan about MON training style

[BOF]

It's possible to be sad, bitter, lack objectivity and still be correct in what you say

[Richard]

It's possible to be sad, bitter, lack objectivity and still be correct in what you say

But not possible for people to agree with MON given entrenched ,  longheld views.

[Zatman]

FWIW I dont think MON would have saved Sunderland last year and PDC did get 8 points from his 6 games to keep them up while MON team were plodding towards drop zone

[Pongotastic]

Trouble is the press love MON. Someone should have pointed out that he did sign in excess of 15 players at Villa: Shorey, Davies, Knight, Sidwell, NRC - the list of overhyped British mercenaries goes on. We're still recovering from his tenure.

[adw95]

Trouble is the press love MON. Someone should have pointed out that he did sign in excess of 15 players at Villa: Shorey, Davies, Knight, Sidwell, NRC - the list of overhyped British mercenaries goes on. We're still recovering from his tenure.

 

I assume he meant in one transfer window, which is what Di Canio did (I think).

[Mantis]

 

It's possible to be sad, bitter, lack objectivity and still be correct in what you say

But not possible for people to agree with MON given entrenched ,  longheld views.

 

 

I don't see anybody here disagreeing with what he said about Di Canio.

 

[Cizzler]

Paolo Di Canio ridiculed as 'managerial charlatan' by Martin O'Neill

Martin O'Neill has launched a stinging attack on Paolo Di Canio, the man who succeeded him at Sunderland, branding the Italian a "managerial charlatan".

"If you've ever seen Aston Villa play, you'll see the one thing I pride myself on is teams being fit."

 

John Terry didn't think so.

 

Quote "Terry, who made the observation after Chelsea had thumped Villa 7-1, implied that O'Neill's side suffer from fatigue and have a habit of fading in matches. "We knew Villa would tire after 55-60 minutes and that if we kept passing the ball, spaces would appear and chances would come," the Chelsea captain said."

 

FWIW, I can't stand either of the arrogant muppets.

[Rovers13]

If he doesn't ever show up at training how can he be sure his teams are so fit?

[roonst83]

 

Paolo Di Canio ridiculed as 'managerial charlatan' by Martin O'Neill

Martin O'Neill has launched a stinging attack on Paolo Di Canio, the man who succeeded him at Sunderland, branding the Italian a "managerial charlatan".

"If you've ever seen Aston Villa play, you'll see the one thing I pride myself on is teams being fit."

 

John Terry didn't think so.

 

Quote "Terry, who made the observation after Chelsea had thumped Villa 7-1, implied that O'Neill's side suffer from fatigue and have a habit of fading in matches. "We knew Villa would tire after 55-60 minutes and that if we kept passing the ball, spaces would appear and chances would come," the Chelsea captain said."

 

FWIW, I can't stand either of the arrogant muppets.

 

 

Ironically though we had very good results under MON against Chelsea - both home and away and scored goals at the death against them - all of which Terry was playing in, so one result doesn't define our fitness and Terry was daft for suggesting so after being on the end of defeats and poor results against O'neill's Villans.

[VillaChris]

I picked up on the fitness thing aswell. In the games we played against the top teams we were generally flagging near the end and hanging on for grim life, I can think of a few Spurs games where that was the case and obviously the final two Chelsea games (in fairness MON had a very good record against them). Part of it maybe fitness, part of it lack of technical quality compared to the others.