Gary O'Neil

Was just asked on social media what I thought of the new guy. It concentrated my thoughts. I wrote the following.

I do not know very much about him. I feel pretty sure, though, that he is an upgrade on Gary O'Neill.
As much as he undoubtedly saved us from relegation, O'Neill only won 11 out of 37 matches while he lost 20. We may have had those great wins over Liverpool and Tottenham, but we threw away two goal leads against, Spurs, Leeds and Arsenal.

So my final verdict on O'Neill is good but really not good enough. It is very possible that he would have been sacked come November anyway, so better to do it now than wait.
Let's give the new guy a fair go.
 
Neil Dawson said:
It wouldn’t surprise me. Speak to senior pros that left over the last few years and we deal with these things appallingly.
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If true, it's almost as though they want to be seen as mean... so we're taken more seriously maybe? By potential players, current players, referees and the FA?
 
I have never had as little feeling about a sacking before. It just seems right. GON did the job of keeping us up, but those last 4 games have no sign of a plan, of momentum or of hope for me. To come in as a PL manager under pressure with no managerial experience is a hell of a thing.

He may we'll get appointed as a manager with a championship or league 1 team with a track record of keeping us up. If we'd struggled after 10 games he'd have been sacked and that would have been a different story. His stock is relatively high. He will have the chance to show what he can do in different circumstances. I suspect he will do well.

The new bloke might be a disaster, who knows. But I welcome the change.
 
RobTrent said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but thats how relegation works isn't it? Banging on about luck and xG nonsense, when we finished clear of the bottom three.
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If we play like we did last season next season, we'll very likely be in the bottom 3. I'm pleased action has been taken to try to prevent that. Feel for O'Neil, but replacing him will give us a better chance of staying up. Maybe the new guy won't keep us up either but hopefully we'll be entertained more. I was bored stiff watching half our matches last season..
 
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Difficult one for me chums.
The appointment of Iraola genuinely excites me.
He will give the whole club a shake up and his style of play could bring the entertainment we have lacked a bit since young Edward.
However I just say I do feel for Gary O’Neil.
He did what was asked of him and his reward is the sack.
I don’t think this decision reflects well on the club.
My heart says it is the wrong one…but then my head says it could be right.
Iraola just could do something special for us.
In the meantime I genuinely hope young Gary bloody well finds big success with another club.
He is owed a huge debt of gratitude.
 
AFCBade said:
surprised the manager only gets a 2 year deal when players signing up for 3-5 years.
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As far as I can tell that may be Iraola's preference, heard he was using single year contracts at Rayo by choice. I guess it makes it easier for him to progress to new clubs when he impresses, so could be a sign of self-confidence. Seems an exciting, attack-minded manager, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he does here.

And since this is the GON thread and I'm a bit late to the news, thanks for everything Gary. It was a difficult situation he came in on, but despite tactical struggles as a first-time manager, he was excellent at motivating the team and that was enough. I hope his separation has been amicable and he gets a new manager position soon that he can keep developing in.
 
Johnny Comelately said:
A manager doesn't have any resale value and is likely to be given the boot sooner than a player.
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maybe, although if he is as brilliant everyone thinks then likely to be approached by bigger clubs quickly eg Kompany after one championship season at Burnley
 
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darwinsdummy said:
As far as I can tell that may be Iraola's preference, heard he was using single year contracts at Rayo by choice. I guess it makes it easier for him to progress to new clubs when he impresses, so could be a sign of self-confidence. Seems an exciting, attack-minded manager, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he does here.

And since this is the GON thread and I'm a bit late to the news, thanks for everything Gary. It was a difficult situation he came in on, but despite tactical struggles as a first-time manager, he was excellent at motivating the team and that was enough. I hope his separation has been amicable and he gets a new manager position soon that he can keep developing in.
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You could be right on this - per my current comment to JCL. Gives him freedom but not necessarily a 3-5 year manager?
 
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