As we draw closer to an appointment, and as we have fans of various different persuasions saying they'd be "well f**king p!ssed off" if such and such gets it, I just wonder what the OWNERS are expecting from the new man. My own guess is we'll improve in the league in any case providing we don't get a complete numpty, but are we really into a cycle of a different manager every 12-18 months if we don't get the success which they crave?
From a fans point of view, lets be brutally honest here. Regardless of who gets the job, as things stand we are going to find it very difficult to get into the top four next season. You would guess that man City definately will, and much as it pains me to admit it so will Man Utd. That leaves two slots, and as of today all of Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal would be very confident of finishing above us next season. The owners are reportedly prepared to throw 30 million quid at closing the gap, but given that all of those named teams will probably spend at least that much it certainly follows that we aren't going to blow them out of the water with the cheque book.
My own guess is that the likes of Carroll/Henderson and Downing simply cannot be as bad again, while we simply cannot be as unlucky as we were last time again. Given that I would expect us to be significantly closer, but what if we finish 6th next time, 5 points off of fourth. Is that relative success or are we then going to be looking at a new manager and a new plan?
In the last three seasons we've finished 7th under Rafa, 7th under Hodgson/kenny and 8th under Kenny. There's something of a pattern developing there, and I absolutely believe that the owners AND the fans have got to come to terms with where we actually are. All talk of great European nights, Champions League qualification every year etc etc is the stuff of dreamland at the moment. My hope is that whoever gets the job, whether it's the fans first choice, ninth choice or some fecker who they wouldn't trust with a pub team gets it, they are given time, money and 100% support.
The owners need to man up, they definately should not have got rid of Kenny in my view, and now when they make their choice they have to stand by their man. So must we, this is the most important managerial appointment the club has made in many a year. He must not fail, but he must also be given a chance and time to succeed.
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