JockyWilsonspants

Yup, I saw this as well. The commentator was fuckin hopeless and never missed an opportunity to have a dig. "They[home fans] don't know the rules down here!"........5 mins later Shinnie(?) gets booked for a tackle in which he makes zero attempt to play the ball and the commentator goes apeshit. The guy made Dick Donnelly sound like a refined young hipster.

Loved Reyna as a player. Ran all day, could play multiple positions and very very rarely misplaced a pass. We also bought him for a relatively small fee for the time.

Was that last sentence aimed at me? Because at no point in my post did I doubt the manager. Maybe you ought to reread my post. I simply said no cunt on here has the slightest clue how he will do here. He could be the next Josie Mourinho or he could be the next Ian Cathro. Im happy to admit my ignorance, I wish others would too. Giving a lecture at something laughingly called a "masterclass" has zero bearing on how he'll do as manager.

Football is full of successful assistant coaches who turn out to be worthless as managers. There is little link between how good a coach/assistant manager is and how well they do in the top job. That's not meant as a criticism of Pedro. But lets be honest none of us have a fuckin clue how good, bad or indifferent he will be as manager here.

Tbf the scouting & recruiting process is always being addressed. Every fuckin incoming regime promises a top class youth development system and scouting set-up. Im convinced that gig is made for total shysters who possess a smooth way with words. I would put zero stock in what anyone says they are going to do behind the scenes. For every 10 charlatans in that role there is 1 good un.

I think a general rule of thumb is that if 50% of new signings in any season are a success then its probably been a decent transfer window. Any more than 50% is an added bonus.

I would hope we have a sell on clause, or that we get extra for McKay playing a certain amount of games. Still, im not going to change my mind on the guy. He was good in Scottish lower leagues but hardly stood out in our top league. These type of lower league standouts are ten a penny. Let's see if he's still on good form by christmas. One or two good games does not make a top notch player.

First Brexit, now this. Sunderland has fast become my favourite English city.

Is it too much to expect that his financial advisor told him to put X% of his football earning into a pension fund and that he was sensible enough to do so? That this money cant be touched by his creditors but its sitting there waiting for him when he decides to cash it in? edit: I dont know if its relevant but some documentary years back mentioned how often this happens to US sports stars(this was before the really funny money in football). I think they said its often mortgage related issues that get these people bankrupt. They get a mortgage on some huge fuck off sized 24 bedroomed mansion but cant keep the payments up once they retire. No idea how accurate this is though.

Goram Hutton Butcher Gough Numan T Steven Durrant Reyna Van Bronkhurst Caniggia Hateley

The fee looks about right to me, if marginally low, but im hoping there is a sell on clause just in case he improves. Scottish players have hardly set the world on fire down in England in recent years. I think the fee takes into account the woeful standard of Scottish football and the poor record of Scottish players down in England. Tbh its not as if us or Forrest have had a huge amount of games to judge McKay on where he has played well against strong opposition. In fact against mediocre opposition McKay has himself looked fairly mediocre himself.

I think it's safe to I have no idea what level of performance we will put in, neither does anyone else know and that includes our manager. We are all just hoping.

No specific memories to mention other than he had that X factor as a player pre-injury. You could probably find dozens of players you could put together a more impressive "highlights" video package of on youtube. But Durrant had the ability of scoring goals as a midfielder from open play. Such an ability is gold dust in modern footballers.

Gazza for me, just. Laudrup just didnt do enough in Europe for me. Tbh neither was Gazza exactly outstanding for us in Europe, but I always got the impression Laudrup could and should have delivered more for us on the European stage.

This. A local coach doesn't have to have had played for the club. Better getting in a coach who has proven his worth in a previous coaching role; a coach who has shown at the very minimum some competence and professionalism.

I thought that was a pipe our manager was smoking. Come to think of it I believe we need a pipe smoking manager; something very old school about pipe smokers. I imagine Herbert Chapman as a pipe smoking manager and look what he accomplished in the game.

Agreed. I distinctly remember Le Guen coming in and calling us "his project". Some posters on another forum were drooling at the phrase. I guess it sounded oh so continental and progressive. These interviews can be interesting to watch but ultimately mean fuck all. There is probably little correlation between how well a manager speaks in front of a tv camera and how good he is at actual football management.

All sides are trying to spin their story out to the media, even if its behind the scenes. In these situations its best to trust neither side. I would say that I was never convinced at Warburton's commitment to the cause long-term.

Channeling David Weir's coaching techniques Fergie will have our midfield playing some outstanding football.

I think that's only true if you aren't confident of getting another gig. Warburton pretty much announced he was leaving his last job before getting a new one. Of course he was paid and employed to the end of the season at Brentford. But without knowing the precise details of this "resignation" he has previous for messy ends to his managerial jobs. Again, im speaking through ignorance here but I suspect he wanted out, preferably at the end of the season, and preferably with at least a nod and a wink from a future employer down South.

The thing is we don't know what Weir's strengths are as a coach. Just because he was a good defender doesn't make him a good coach of defenders. I would kinda hope Weir works with the defenders more than he works with the strikers, but this is far from being a specialist defensive coach. Plus, even if he were a defence specialist his hands are tied in terms of set-up. I would think most specialist defensive coaches would advocate 10 men behind the ball at all times. If Warburton's demanding attacking football then the defence coach is fucked from the very start. I have the sneaking suspicion that many assistant managers are employed purely because they are trusted by the manager; not trusted to coach but trusted to be the managers eyes and ears, a good man manager etc. I think many assistant managers are fairly mediocre at coaching the technical stuff. I am however speaking through ignorance on Weir as a coach/assistant. I really have no idea what his strengths are other than he seems a fairly decent guy when he's interviewed on telly.

I came on to say exactly this. We have no idea if Weir is used as a coach specifically for the defence. Every coaching team is different and without any of us knowing the details of Warburton and Weir's working relationship we can't assume he is employed that way. Weir might just be given his gig by Warburton because he is a motivator, communicator, cone placer, or a sounding board for the gaffer.

I am stating the obvious in that Warburtons style is risky. When it goes wrong it goes horribly wrong; when it goes well it is pleasing to watch. There is no middle ground. With promotion we have stepped up a significant level, and either the system or players cant cope. Warburton has to take responsibility for this, but imo we have to give him the chance to turn it around. Last season we played against some utter utter dross. It's almost impossible for a manager to tell which players will step up to the next level. Some players thrive against better opponents, some struggle. Warburton will be seeing which players are struggling and hopefully sort it out. Im saying all this as much in hope as in expectation.

I think when he sticks to signing young hungry players he's done ok. If his past record is anything to go by he needs to stay away from signing seasoned old pro's.

No, he shouldn't go. We are in the MW project for the long term. This is as much due to any lack of alternatives to Warburton as it is in my confidence in him. He needs another year. If we are going through the same shite this time next season then he has to go.