Liverpool FC Forum

Morning all,

At the risk of being flamed by many on here, this is a serious question from me to you all as I am genuinely curious. I would like to know in a little more detail why Martin O'Neill is dismissed by pretty much everyone on the board and seemingly bundled into the same category as the lower division managers and Woy ( ) which I can't quite understand. Pretty much every club he has gone too he has made them more successful and has made finals and won trophies. He is a current manager with a proven track record in the top flight, ok he hasn't won the premiership, but has never been at a club that could realistically compete in my opinion, in most cases I think he over-achieved and I think the decline of Aston Villa following his departure points a little to the quality that he possesses in comparison to the following 2 managers there (and many others in the premiership). I personally think he carries a lot of the old school mentality and values that we hold dear at the club and perhaps is a little more adept at dealing with the 21st century media than KK was.

For me he would be a choice I could see a lot of people getting behind once the decision was made and we have resigned ourselves to the fact that KK is gone. Not the big name that some would want, but also not the untried newbie we're all concerned about. I think he matches our predicament quite nicely actually as we are not performing at the highest levels ourselves. I can fully imagine him coming in and making a direct impact, with the capability of identifying the heart of the team that needs to stay and enhance it.  I would expect him to have a good transfer window which I think we are all agreed is essential. 

So that's my take, but I know/see that he isn't particularly rated on the board. I hope that you are willing to discuss this one rather than have a go because I am genuinely interested in what we are all looking for in a manager

Cheers

No one rates him because his hasn't won anything of worth. No one is going to take a manager seriously whose only significant trophies are from the Scottish league.

To be fair he changed the way Villa played and Could have made them a top team but they refused to back him. Now look at the job at Sunderland he is doing.

I would pick Oneil over Martinez and Rodgers

I like your enthusiasm but Martin O'Neill?

serious question: Why Martin O'neil?

He's a long ball merchant and nothing else, overated.

for a start he was part of that clough forest team that everyone hated, for my generation it`s a bit like having gary neville managing us in 30 years time.
plus the footy he plays is abysmal, it`s all long ball and huff and puff, there`s nothing wrong with having a big man up front but to the likes of o`neill the target man`s first job is to buy a free kick in the opposition half so he can move all his big men into the opposition box.
look at the way heskey used to flop on the floor, he learned that under o`neill at leicester.
you wont go far with that style of footy.

He is certainly not a long ball merchant dunno what O'Neill team you've been watching. O'neill sides get the ball wide at every opportunity, I wonder what £35m player we currently have on out books that could be beneficial to? 

Another media darling who the press love over here because he's perceived as having "charisma" and "passion" because he jumps around a lot like a kid on the touchline.

Truth is he's a classic "impact manager" as i call it. Did ok at Villa but signed so much dross on inflated wages it was unreal. In one summer he was the third highest spender in Europe. He then had the audacity to walk out on them when the owner basically told him to get lost after wasting most of his money. Oh and he's another one who thought it was ok to sacrifice winning a european trophy to chase the unrealistic aim of getting 4th.

Now he's gone to Sunderland, had his usual immediate impact but then completely plateaued and ended 13th after his honeymoon period ended.

Oh and his football is dire. The fact that Sunderland are now being linked with Kevin Davies sums up the type of football he wants to play.

burjennio » Thu May 17, 2012 10:57 am wrote:He is certainly not a long ball merchant dunno what O'Neill team you've been watching. O'neill sides get the ball wide at every opportunity, I wonder what £35m player we currently have on out books that could be beneficial to? 

your joking arent you mate, the footy he plays is like watching paint dry.
and just because you have a target man doesnt mean you have to churn out the dross he does, look at our late 70`s side with dave johnson up front or our late 80`s side with aldo leading the line.
i`d be f**king devastated if a yes man like martinez or AVB gets the job but i think i`d actually start crying if o`neill gets it!

It may not be everyones cup of tea, personally Im not a fan of the classic "blood and thunder" British style of yesteryear because I think the game has become alot more technical and alot less physical and I believe that, as Im sure we're going to see in a few weeks time when Uncle Woy takes his English side to the Euros and proceeds to play his "two rows of four" and gets a football lesson by a France side that is loaded with young, technically gifted players that will have the England midfield chasing shadows for 90 minutes - and considering that Hodgson in his infinite wisdom has selected a central midfield foursome that is an average age of 32, all that English p*ss and vinegar will be out of steam at about the 75min mark 

O'Neill isnt a long ball merchant though, he looks to get the ball wide and whip crosses in, not hoof it from the back. Theres a big difference there.

If you look at the players that we signed last season though, they'd fit right into that O'Neill philosophy, and I dont know what a cultured European manager is going to do when he turns up for training his first day in the job and gets a look at Henderson, Downing and Carroll, but he'll probably think he's just stepped out of a time machine!

Thanks for all responses so far....I can't say that I feel as passionately against as some of you do, but I understand the reasoning....so what do we have

Media darling - is he really? Is this a concern for us in choosing a new manager?

Long ball game/boring football - perhaps a matter of opinion, but this could well be a defining criteria that we should focus on the debate for who next.

Impact manager - I kinda agree with St. Mick here, although arguably he had reasonable tenures at Leicester, Celtic and Villa. I suppose it depends on what standards you want to measure it here. I have not been able to explain the reason behind the dramatic impact he initially had and the relative decline in the last few months. Would be interested to hear comments and reasons for that.

Can't comment on him being the Gary Neville of his day, but you definitely paint a picture with that image.....if that's how you feel, then I can fully understand it 



So based on the feedback so far, the 4 major criteria for our new manager are:

1. Must have more than 20 years top flight experience and have won multiple trophies and titles?
2. Must employ sexy football at all times?
3. Mustn't be a media darling?
4. Bears no resemblance to Gary Neville 


Not looking to start an argument with anyone here, but I see so much discussion around who it should or shouldn't be, but little agreement on the criteria that we would judge the acceptability of a manager for the club. Playing a little devils advocate to get to the crux of the discussion.

Love you all people..

burjennio » Thu May 17, 2012 10:57 am wrote:He is certainly not a long ball merchant dunno what O'Neill team you've been watching. O'neill sides get the ball wide at every opportunity, I wonder what £35m player we currently have on out books that could be beneficial to? 

He's a route 1 manager. Always has been, always will be.

He is a serial "ship jumper"
When the going gets tough so does MON

Igor Zidane » Thu May 17, 2012 5:35 pm wrote:COS HE IS F.UCKIN DOGSH1TE

that's essentially what i was trying to say. just more eloquently