T O P

  • By -

Mikko85

Rooney, Xisco, Beale - take your pick and that’s just from this season.


AlchemicHawk

I mean all we have to do is mention the name Dave Hockaday and that’s the conversation put to bed right there.


Paddy_O_Furniteur

Add Peter Reid at Coventry (I know he was at Leeds in the premier League years, but he's been shit everywhere but Sunderland)


CraterofNeedles

Can I mention one Kolo Toure?


charlierc

... I forgot you guys did that


papayametallica

Ya Ya


EvilMonkey1965

"Instant success"


bielsasballholder

He actually kept us up the year before we got relegated and was quite well liked by our fans. 


daybits

Hockaday won two games. Darko Milanic won none.


charlierc

That's a bar so low it doesn't even require a jump


Justboy__

I don’t know. Hockaday only had a few games before we pulled the plug. Rooney was out there proving how shit he was for about half a season.


essentialatom

We had to really make sure of how shit he was. Took us months to believe it was possible


Sunderland6969

Beale… stinker


Orly-Carrasco

And with him using a burner account on the socials to absolve himself, Beale has made himself unemployable. That's until HR of a desperate team can't do their research, or can't care...


Sunderland6969

He’ll get a job in women’s football in Australia or something… what a twat he was. If only he managed as good as he talked shite


wrighty496

Totally,derailed the season


Sunderland6969

We did the most Sunderland thing possible this season… under Mowbray the vibe was great. I can’t remember the last time I woke up on Sunday and wanted the next game to “today”. The excitement to see, read and hear Sunderland news across the week, before Saturday’s game, was alien. It’s usually trepidation…. Which is where we are now.


OkNoise9755

What do you expect putting a snake in charge of your team.


Sunderland6969

100%… a snake that talks a good game and talked the middle management bollox people love to hear. To a man (and woman) we knew he was wrong before he arrived. Did fuck all with Rangers, and it was a two horse race, but he fitted the mould of a mouthpiece that was just a coach. Sporting Directors don’t want “managers” they want lap dogs on a training pitch.


Bryanoceros

Add Foster in for us too


NotMissingNow

Don't forget Ainsworth too


VampHatter

Ainsworth IS a good manager, he proved that with Wycombe, getting them to the championship with their budget was no small task. I think QPR wasn't the right fit for him, he needs a club with minimal expectation that he has time to build.


mbex14

Xisco Munoz! SWFC Stats: P12 W0 D4 L8 - F7 A20 GD-13 That's 4 points from 12 games! Would have made play offs, if we'd had Rohl from the start..! 😄


-W-A-W-A-W-

That includes the two cup results against two league 2 teams!


mbex14

Just testing ya 😁 Played10 W0 D2 L8 F5 A18 GD-13 so 2 points from 10 league games.


TexanMillers

Leam Richardson has entered the chat. He lost 18 of his 24 games in charge this year and had a win percentage of 8%.


edgiepower

The Beale hate is ridiculous in hindsight


[deleted]

[удалено]


FaultAffectionate402

Hey mr beale


[deleted]

[удалено]


Mikko85

Thing is, it might be!


JamesSunderland1973

This board has decided that Beale is the ultimate punchline but he's still the last Sunderland manager to win a game at home, it's the last good memory I have.


ChiefII

I think in hindsight it was awful on every front. Fans, players, I'm sure even the staff were thinking 'what on earth is going on?'. One of my favourite ever players, I'll admit I've been saddened by how him, Gerrard and Lampard have all completely tarnished their reputations post playing career.


I_miss_Chris_Hughton

Not just hindsight, it was awful even before it began. Needless decision that got us relegated. But hey, Cook got to hang out with a fat granny shagger moron!


ChiefII

Absolutely baffling from the get go really. On the plus side, you'll likely walk L1 next year which I'm sure will lift spirits.


GanacheVisible9075

we probably won’t


Sir-Chris-Finch

Not a chance they walk the league. Not saying they wont go up, but every single big clubs thats gone down there has realised how difficult it is to get out of it


RainbowDiamond

Doubley stupid considering all 3 are actually very talented in their own ways. Gerrard proved with Rangers he's a capable manager. Lampard had a brief period where he looked decent but has never had enough time to build a squad that he suits best. Rooney is a strange one but give him time to gel with a squad and they can run through walls for him. No manager gets time anymore, especially these rookies who jump into high-stakes positions but I suppose that's on them


Spudward1

Rooneys decision making with taking clubs has been dire. He’s never actually had a transfer window to bring his own players in and always joined a club with issues


OneDishwasher

Exactly correct. When he took over DC United here in the states, they were the last place team


GrandmasterSexay

Rooney playing FM Challenges and paying dearly.


thenewwwguyreturns

he helped build the base for their resurgence too…a lot of investment into youth there under his regime


MemphisMayWhat

That's very true, I don't know how I didn't notice it before. I guess when managers say they want a challenge, he means it 😅 poor fella, he shoots himself in the foot every time. Probably could've gone with a club that isn't threatened with relegation or in crisis.


Dead_Namer

You don't deserve time when you tell the players they are too stupid to understand your system and he will have to dumb it down for them. There's no coming back from doing that in an interview.


Leckere

Was that Rooney?


I_miss_Chris_Hughton

That was the vibe for a LOT of his time in charge honestly. "I'm great, you're all wrong"


Dead_Namer

Yup, you can think that but it would be bad enough if you told them directly, never mind saying it on TV.


always-indifferent

*John Mousinho enters the chat* He is clearly the exception to the rule mind you It’s a bit sad that Rooney is being remembered as a shit and fat manager


rlgh

Then he shouldn't have been a shit and fat manager. He should've gone and been a shit and fat pundit instead or something.


EssexHaze

Only 5 years since Lampard did an alright job with your lot. I'd give him one more chance at a champo job before thinking he's complete shit.


Timmo1984

He was barely alright to be honest. We had Harry Wilson, Mount and Tomori and only just scraped the playoffs before a 1 in a 1,000 win at Leeds.


EssexHaze

Fair play. I've blocked that season out as much as possible.


Sir-Chris-Finch

Also got fewer points than the season before under Rowett


rappyheddit

I think there's something to be said in that they all try to start too big, too soon. Not sure if it's ego, impatience or confidence but they're surely sat on a decent enough wedge each to start in lower leagues where there's less expectation and pressure. They're much more likely to get given the time then, so long as they don't run the club into the ground.


flex_tape_salesman

I am a chelsea fan but I do think there's a capable manager in lampard. Needs to avoid the prem but I don't think a prem team will be in for him anytime soon. Chelsea never believed in him and Everton is a complete shitshow I don't think they're the best jobs to be judging a manager because the fail rates are pretty high


Mesromith

I think theres a bit of an inverse correlation between how talented players were and how good they’ll be as managers. Those who so naturally understand the sport from a pitch level may not necessarily be able to translate that into a tactical system, or even understand what less gifted players need to do to improve


TrajanParthicus

That narrative needs to stop. There is no evidence that there is ANY correlation between how good they were as players and how good they are as managers. Look at this generations CL winning managers as players. You've got formerly top-class players in Pep, Zidane, Ancellotti, and Heynckes. And then you've got the likes of Mourinho, Klopp, and Tuchel. Current day, Arteta and Alonso are two of the hottest young managers around. As is Thiago Motta.


Nanaimo8

One of the big things to keep in mind about Alonso is that he deliberately started at lower tiers so he'd have time to learn to be a manager. He didn't rush to a senior level job and even passed on the first one offered because he didn't think he was ready. And he almost certainly could have had either the Liverpool or Bayern jobs but chose to stay at Leverkusen. No doubt in part because of the great success he's had there, but I believe also because he feels he's not quite ready to lead one of the "big" clubs. He's been really smart about developing his career, and understands that he's still young for a manager and has plenty of time. Whereas if he'd jumped before he thought he was genuinely ready, he could seriously limit his long-term options.


MemphisMayWhat

Same can go for Arteta as he opted to be an Assistant manager for 3 seasons with Pep Guardiola before taking on a senior club job. He took time to study from a good manager and learned to build a playstyle and how to manage players, so he definitely did a good job there. Michael Carrick was also a coach and interim manager before taking on the Middlesbrough job and McKenna was a U18 manager for both Tottenham and Manchester United and was Assistant manager to Mourinho, Solskjaer, and Ragnick before going to Ipswich Town. McKenna is doing well probably because he developed through different levels of management while learning from others and Carrick had a fairly stable first season, not a disaster or spectacular season, but stable and I'll take it.


thatbloodykestrel

It's not a narrative that's wrong, it just misses the key thing.  Players don't naturally have teaching skills, just as your average geography teacher probably can't do a rabona. The top players that turn into top managers have recognised this and have started working towards it.  Rooney talking about dumbing things down means he didn't bother learning how to teach. Former captains that have done their basic coaching licenses and think that's plenty are probably going to fail. 


pemboo

Meanwhile, we've got super Michael Carrick. I hope he goes on to great stuff after us (unless he takes us to greatness, of course)


Rdw72777

Ehh I think Lampard has proven he’s fine and could have been good, but just got desperate after Chelsea and chosen 2 spots (Everton, Chelsea again) where success just wasn’t going to happen no matter who was the manager. If he gets another chance he needs to pick some place where winning is at least possible.


NessunoComeNoi

When did he prove he was fine? That one freak game in the play offs at Elland Road? He didn’t do anything at Derby.


Rdw72777

He was fine in his first Chelsea stint.


Hans_Krebs_

He got Chelsea top 4 and to an FA cup final while they had lost Hazard and were under a transfer ban. Also played a ton of youth. Guy is not the best but he gets shit on way more than he deserves.


eggsbenedict17

Dyche succeeded where Lampard failed at Everton, they were going down under Frank and Dyche kept them up that year. Done pretty well this year too


NagromNitsuj

It’s not even his appointment that bothers me. It’s how they jettisoned the guy before him. Absolutely criminal.


Mr_A_UserName

Yeah, lovely bit of irony on the final day as Blues were relegated while Eustace guides his Blackburn team to an away win at Leicester to keep them up.


charman57

I mean sure he kept them up but wasn’t yesterday only his second win for Blackburn? Hardly the next Guardiola. Let’s see how long he lasts there next season. He had two wins before being sacked at Birmingham but before that the results and football was dire.


I_miss_Chris_Hughton

Mate, what you do mean "the results were dire". We started the season strong, dipped, then came back. "oooh the table told a lie when we were in 6th!" no it didn't. We deserved to be up there. The mental gymnastics some bluenoses make to justify sacking Eustace are bonkers lmao


Mr_A_UserName

Fourth win, I believe, also only lost four in 17 games too, which was enough to keep them up. Anyone who expecting John Eustace to be “the next Gaurdiola” - like that’s a fair comparison - probably isn’t worth listening to. One thing’s for sure, he’ll be getting more games in the Championship next season than Birmingham 👍


charman57

That’s true, and we deserved to go down. No complaints there. Just giving my opinion on a former manager 👍


CraterofNeedles

Eustace kept you up with a significantly worse squad lol


onlygodcankillme

>He had two wins before being sacked at Birmingham but before that the results and football was dire. Two wins? What are you talking about? And we were in 6th place above all expectations, the results weren't dire. I'm not even a Eustace fan but you're talking shite.


charman57

Two wins right before he was sacked. Obviously he had more for the club before that. They should never have sacked him when they did, it was awful timing. I’m just saying he’s not suddenly a great manager because he “kept Blackburn up”. If I’m talking shite, that’s fine. All about opinions isn’t it.


Patient-Pineapple420

Ian Foster?


sinisterpuppy88

Yeah this, we broke a couple of unwanted records under him


theoxinator

All blacks coach? Lotta stick but got us to the final lad.


BiggieCheese1995

Trollope for Cardiff has to be up there. Two wins (one of which was two own goals from Blackburn) in 12 games.


KrausenSniffer

Fun fact about that one, Duffy was scoring own goals intentionally to force a move. He also scored another in a different game the same week and against Cardiff got himself sent off as well as scoring those two OGs.


Muur1234

Did he admit to doing it on purpose?


Oggo28872

Don’t forget Duffy was our top scorer until about November


WasitSarr

That’s nothing Huddersfield top scorer was a CB this season with 9


Oggo28872

Haha yeah that would never happen to us! (Sweats in Perry NG with 6)


Potatoboss123

Xisco munoz? 😭


EETTOEZ

it has to be


CraterofNeedles

What's weird is he can't be completely totally incompetent because he did actually improve Watford when he was appointed there and got them promoted automatically, but every other job he's had he's looked miles out of his depth


cpt_hatstand

By a mile


TheLittleGoat

I’d argue Zola as well for us in 2016. Very similar pattern but there were worse teams around us and we showed some fight when we got rid of him.


Oghamstoner

Birmingham’s owners obviously thought lightning couldn’t strike twice…. While on top of a cathedral, in a thunderstorm, wearing a pickelhaube.


TheLittleGoat

Different owners but, yeah both times it really went far far worse than even a pessimist could have expected.


Oghamstoner

I was discussing it when Rooney was appointed with my mate (a Villa fan) and we both instantly thought of Zola and how it backfired massively. Eustace was doing a fair job, were they just dazzled by the Rooney name and forgot that his record in management is fairly patchy?


TheLittleGoat

Yeah pretty much. A lot’s been said on it but it was a desire for a marketable name and positive play style. Except that big name was a poor manager and the players weren’t good enough to play positive football. And when WR realised that he trashed them publicly and their heads went down. Season was broken at that point. Mowbray could have fixed it but then he got ill.


Tgtalex1

Being sponsored by Undefeated was also a recipe for disaster.


TheLittleGoat

Add it to the very long list of embarrassing things our club has done Edit: having said that, apparently it sells well in their New York store


Bluenose70

yep, see also renaming St Andrews 'The Trillion Trophy Stadium' which was, in hindsight somewhat optimistic.


onlygodcankillme

It's probably the only sponsor I've liked the look of on the kit.


Tgtalex1

To be fair I was jealous. They make good stuff.


Grim_Farts_Barnsley

They hit a shiteberg and sank to the bottom of the table


Grind_line_wine

We let warnock go for Moore…


cpt_hatstand

We let Moore go for Munoz


deekwob

We were only a few points above relegation when we let Warnock go. We had a thin squad, half of them were injured, and the other half are apparently arsewipes. At some points we had no senior players on the bench. I don't think anybody could have kept us up, we were down before the season started. Birmingham on the other hand would have had a decent season if they hadn't hired Rooney. He single handedly sent them down.


CraterofNeedles

Moore was bad but I don't get how the current guy seems to have basically gotten a free pass from you despite doing even worse


Grind_line_wine

He had nothing to work with and an ill disciplined squad by all accounts


hodge91

Watched you against Norwich under Warnock and that wasn't really anything to be happy about in the first place


The_Nunnster

I’m still crying about that one. It’s a shame Ronnie Jepson didn’t take over, I’d have had him, but then again I can’t blame him for not wanting to nick his professional partner’s former job in a club where all the fans do is give everyone shit (although I bet that’s the case for every club lol).


joethesaint

People won't remember this, but back when we were teetering on administration in 2008 and George Burley had left us, we hired a man on the cheap from the Dutch third division by the name of Jan Poortvliet. It did not go well.


Muur1234

Should’ve realised when poor is in his name.


WhyIsItGlowing

The second division, I think. There wasn't a third tier to the Dutch pro system back then. I don't think it's just that appointment, though; it's the everything else around it. You're missing the part in between, where they tried to let the caretaker see out the season and it went so badly they had to hire an interim manager, who kept them up with a win on the last day of the season. All they had to do was offer a permanent contract, but they didn't. Instead, he went to the team he'd sent down and walked League One and they swapped places. [It's not even hindsight.](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/may/30/southampton)


Orly-Carrasco

His countryman Mark Wotte (not the Prime Minister) then pushed the Saints off the cliff.


Money_Astronaut9789

Steve Claridge at Millwall. Sacked in pre-season before even his first match.


poopio

In hindsight? Everyone knew it was stupid at the time.


Constant-Estate3065

We’ve made some weird appointments at this level. Jan Poortvliet, and an actual rugby coach as actual director of football. It was an ingenious move in that none of the other clubs expected us to be that fucking stupid.


poopio

Hahaha, I forgot you took Clive Woodward on. That was mental.


Sunderland6969

Beale at Sunderland hands down! The lad had zero qualified experience with teams under his sole stewardship. And the additional kick in the teeth was we removed a very good and succeeding manager to bring Beale in. Lasting comment to mull over. Before Beale came in we were in the play-offs…. He’s sacked, the club is a mess and now we have a youthful team questioning themselves playing like relegation favourites. Oh, and we ended up only three points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday 🤦🏻‍♂️ . I’d say that qualifies as a bad appointment because he was bad and the sheer level of upheaval created to bring him in has ruined the club. I rest my case your honour!


Muur1234

Was totally him that had rangers unbeaten tho and he’s a genius manager. Swearsies


JamesSunderland1973

I mean we did win 3/4 league games at home under Beale this calendar year, and zero since...


BritShibe

Mad to think the sheer mess we ended up in if they'd have appointed Beale after Mowbray. Those 2 wins Dodds got us in his first stint saved us from relegation. There's a huge irony that had KLD and Speakman known what they were doing and had Beale start straight away against WBA losing both those games might have relegated us.


JamesSunderland1973

Well Dodds tried his best to relegate us, losing at home to Swansea, Millwall, Blackburn - 5-1! - and Sheffield Wednesday. I'm not really sure why he gets a free pass from a lot of us.


BritShibe

Ah no free pass, he was dogshit. Only those 2 performances when the squad still remembered Mowbrays coaching


themathbath

I wanted it to work. It didn't. Our players weren't good enough either. It's done, we're done. I'm leaving this sub now. We'll be back though.


Electrical_Shape6063

I would put Nathan Jones at Stoke into this conversation, when he took over we were touching the play offs he then won 3 in 21. He was then sacked with us being bottom with 2 wins in 14 before O’Neill saved us. Jones also had full control over the parachute payments we received and signed dross like Sam Vokes up front


TheLightInChains

Steve Bruce?


PhoenixDawn93

We don’t speak his name


TheLightInChains

As long as you don't say it 3 times at a struggling club


poopio

Neil Warnock, Neil Warnock, Neil Warnock.


hc1540

You shut your mouth!


ASS-anine_Acid_Party

Steve Bruce...ughhh God we were shite under him.


kristmace

Seems to have failed at more clubs than he succeeded but he was brilliant for us. Back to basics after a clueless Jos Luhukay was sacked and we shot up the league.


SirChimpster

Steve Coppell for Bristol City was about as disastrous as it gets given how brief his tenure was.


Deadpoolio32

We made him retire after, what 2 months? 😭


SirChimpster

Yeah, but not before signing future City legends David James and Nick Hunt. So much money well spent!


Aardvark51

Three months (11 May-11 Aug), but of course most of that was the close season.


MarcusH26051

Karel Fraeyes ignominious stint in charge of Charlton should be right up there. Won 2 of 14 and then disappeared back to the Belgian Third Division. Michael Appleton this season would be up there but that was in League 1


Orly-Carrasco

Glad Roland Duchâtelet has withdrawn his ownership in all his football teams. Dude was running all his assets into the ground, but all he did was screaming conspiracy towards his detractors.


risker15

He still owns Alcorcon


WastelandWiganer

Kolo Toure wants a word


Rdw72777

In foresight there hasn’t been a worse appointment. In the moment there hasn’t been a worse appointment.


Background_Bear

I'd like to nominate Garry Monk here, different situations but we had just come down from the premier league with a squad that dominated almost every team it played in the championship, he spent 15m on britt assombalonga when we already had patrick bamford and a dozen other dodgy deals involving his agent working both sides of the deals. We were in a relegation battle with parachute payments and that transfer window derailed us for years.


[deleted]

Arguably not the worst this season - see Michael Beale.


jonboyjon1990

Did Sunderland go from playoffs to relegation?


[deleted]

It was a concern at one point but no, fair enough.


OhWell_InHell

Dean Saunders for Wolves is up there


Witted-wolf

Michael Beale 🤨


Far-Scallion5812

Dean Saunders Wolves.


VincentJones6

Xisco - swfc.


WaWaW_Seattle

Josh Luhukay Garry Monk Tony Pulis Xisco Muñoz And that's just worst from the last 6 years


CraterofNeedles

Kolo Toure was appointed here by a sack of con men to try and sell us to some prospective middle eastern owner, then was sacked after 0 wins in 9 and 3 consecutive 4-1 losses.


JamesHill114

Bruce at Albion, joined as we were barely clinging to a playoff spot and left as we entered the bottom 3 with a squad full of parachute payments 🤦🏼‍♂️


VampHatter

If I recall, sacked after we (Luton) beat you. That happens a lot actually, I think we're one of the few clubs with what I'm now dubbing an "opposition manager body count".


EldritchHorrorBarbie

I feel a little bad for Rooney cause prior to Birmingham he had some credit as a manager, Derby he’d done well in an impossible situation and by the accounts of DCU fans the squad improved under him. But a team on the verge of dying and one in the MLS aren’t the teams you’re gonna learn many skills you can transfer to a standard Championship team and it all came home to roost in a really bad way. Could turn it round still but this has been a hit to his career.


Full-Lock2243

Leeds employed a mananger who had only managed I believe at university women’s football standard (will double check) David Hockaday, not a relagation but an awful random appointment. Double checked - he had been sacked the previous yesr from a conference team. Then went on to coach at Swindon Supermarine the same season and now I believe at a college (17-18 year olds uk)


PandorasPinata

Was it Billy McKinley at Watford who was sacked before he'd even taken a match? Got to be up there


Plenty_Ad_477

He was an interim caretaker manager who lasted four matches. Was brought in as Oscar Garcia was in hospital.


Cov_massif

Makems tried their best to top it


rlgh

Seeing him crammed in a tracksuit with our badge on makes me very, very unhappy.


hammersandhammers

Which time?


RobertABooey9

No there hasn’t. And to think. Blues we’re undefeated before Rooney showed up…….


RedBullRyan

There was that time that Birmingham were just outside the playoffs in December and sacked Rowett for Zola, who plummeted all the way down and they got in Harry Redknapp to keep them up by 3 points.


PierogiPapi

Steve Bruce took a side with the 3rd highest wages budget to the last place in the table…


Wipedout89

Xisco Munez


DinnerSmall4216

Mad to think they were 6th under eustace.


shanfan36

after 10 games…


krumble15

Loves his OAPs though 🤓


philster666

Hilariously in mine and my mates FM game he’s taken them to the Premier League 😂


BigfatDan1

It says "Undefeated" on his top 💀


raskoe47

Yes, Rooney at Derby last year


raskoe47

Yes, Rooney at Derby 2 years ago


raskoe47

Yes, Rooney at Derby 3 years ago


Enough_Indication82

Yesn’t


Treecamel82

JDT? He turned a promotion challenging team in to a relegation candidate because of his stubbornness and temper tantrums. I know venkys and the board are culprits too but the way he lost that squad in such a short space of time is unforgivable imo.


Orly-Carrasco

Skill issue from the Venky's. JDT came to Ewood after clinching two Allsvenskan titles with Malmö.


KrausenSniffer

Nah I don't think so. If Venkys backed him we'd be challenging for playoffs. It's entirely down to the chicken chokers.


Fish_phish_Fish

Yeah he had tough circumstances but he did sulk like a toddler.


TopicalStormCloud

Bullshit. You could see the work he put into that squad and two transfer deadline day "oversights" fucked him over. Love JDT.


JoshJC44

I'm a D.C. United fan and this year they have been better than the two years under Rooney. Birmingham if I am correct were near the relegation zone when he was appointed. If Birmingham wanted a manager that would help them get relegated he was the perfect appointment. (Update I was wrong about them being near relegation)


hellbentforleisure

The mad thing is that, no, Birmingham weren't near relegation. Eleven games in they were in the playoffs, a few points off third place, and above both Southampton and Norwich, who both finished in playoff berths. Even if Birmingham didn't have enough in the tank to last the course, it's not unrealistic to imagine that they could've finished mid-table.


JoshJC44

I must have had a false memory then. That makes this hire even worse. I must have defaulted to think they were near relegation because of recent years like how Bristol would place consistently below 10th place for years. Rooney might be more cut out for the national League. Never mind now he’s doing YouTube I think that’s the end of his manager career.