ROKERITE

Swansea's supporters took against Duff six league matches into the season. Quite ridiculous but there's a lot of ridiculousness around these days. I think he'd be an excellent appointment for Bristol City and you have an advantage over other clubs. Duff loves the town of Cheltenham and, I'd presume, he could commute easily from there to Ashton Gate. So yours could be just the club where he can create something over a longer period. And your Welsh neighbours can gnash their teeth regretting their impatience as you reach The PL before they get back there.

Sacking Pearson was ridiculous but appointing a novice who'd been sacked by a third division club, that he was leading to relegation, less than a year before was madness.

I apologise for the delay but this is the first time I've looked at OTIB since your post. I don't think Manning is a horror choice but I'd say he isn't very interesting either. It is the fashion (and there shouldn't be fashions in football) to go for a young up and coming coach rather than an old head. Of course being young doesn't necessarily make them up and coming. I shared the general disappointment at Pearson's dismissal and believe Manning is not an improvement. Kieran McKenna's success till now at Ipswich Town has led many owners to believe they can find another McKenna; which is great news for young coaches. But there was as much to to make potential new employers wary of choosing Manning as attracted by him. He'd had one very good season with MK Dons though it didn't end in success. But the next season when he had to rebuild his squad to a certain extent his team didn't just fall away, they were deep in relegation trouble when he was sacked. Oxford United were only fifteen matches, albeit producing thirty-two points, into this season when he was poached by Bristol City. So he had about two seasons of matches all at a level down from The Championship and, though there'd been impressive results, had shown an inability to adapt when it was required for his second season at MK Dons. We've made the same move by replacing Mowbray with Beale. I hope both Manning and Beale can prove they are worthy of their employers' faith but I'd rather have Pearson and Mowbray.

When Alex Neil left us there were few Sunderland supporters who were excited by the prospect of Tony Mowbray. But 2022-3 was all about consolidation after the previous season's promotion. Tony Mowbray not only surpassed that target by taking us into the play-offs; he did it playing some of the most attractive football any of us have seen from a Sunderland side. This season started in the same fashion peaking with a 5-0 thrashing of Southampton. But the last couple of months had seen a falling off in both results and style of play, along with some strange team selections and certain important players being left out. There was not the overwhelming anger and disagreement that Pearson's sacking by you generated. There was still a sadness because "Uncle Tony" had given us such a good time but it's all about who replaces Mowbray now As ever there are some interesting names and some horrors.

I shared the general unhappiness on here the day Pearson was fired. I expected the replacement to be someone like John Eustace who had done fairly well with limited resources. Unfortunately your owners seem to have caught the Keiran McKenna bug. McKenna has done fantastically well at Ipswich so it has to be a young, fresh coach. But for every McKenna there are half a dozen Kevin Betsys. I was amazed when the news broke that you were after Manning. I had money on MK Dons last season and it was the classic "back them for promotion and they get relegated". I'd been impressed with how well MK had done the previous season and although he'd had to sell a couple of their star men he was able to spend much of the money received on replacements. But MK Dons under him were terrible last season. Falling away from challenging at the top happens but not dropping into the bottom four. He was fortunate to be sacked so the relegation isn't on his record. But to then judge him on not much more than half a season at Oxford seemed naive. You play us on Saturday so perhaps Bristol City will find their feet. I just think the mistake of sacking Pearson was compounded by the choice of his successor.

The fact that Johnson was allowed to manage for four and a half years yet somebody who actually knows what they're doing is gone in just over half that time says something. Nigel Pearson really seemed a good fit for Bristol City.

I backed you ante-post because of Pearson. He's the SEVENTEENTH EFL manager to be sacked this season and we're a third of the way through. I have never seen such a negative response to a manager being dismissed. I can't believe Mr Lansdown anticipated such a reaction. I'm not happy either.

Being discussed on Talksport as I type.

Congratulations on a fine win. I thought you'd do it today.

They were and still are by me. It's a much more attractive nickname than The Baggies. It's the same with other teams. Burnley The Turfites not The Clarets; Crystal Palace The Glaziers not The Eagles; Reading The Biscuitmen not The Royals. I'm sure there are many more, even my own username as opposed to Black Cat. But I'm an old fashioned traditionalist.

Yes Bolton of course, my mind's racing. There weren't any big fees as I recall but expensive Bosmans and loans. I actually said early on that surely even Johnson couldn't fail to win promotion with the squad that had been put together. But this month has seen additions which make ours the best group of players in League One. A Championship centre-half and two £10,000,000 rated midfielders either permanent or on loan. Any half competent manager/head coach should guide us over the line. As one of your fans has written the all too familiar Johnson signs were there that he would fall short again. We'll just have to see if we finally get it right this time.

I said when he got the job he was the nightmare appointment. At least that particular nightmare is over now. He survived losing 4-0 at Pompey and 5-1 at Rotherham this season but 6-0 at Derby was an embarrassment too far.

It shouldn't be but we'll have to see whether our young owner will wield the axe. Batth, Roberts and £10,000,000 Jack Clarke on loan from Spurs.

Well I'm a Sunderland fan who always looks on here after we've had a thrashing to see what Bristol City fans have to say about Streaky Lee's latest disaster. We've already lost 4-0, 5-1 and 3-0 but today was really something else. He's got the best squad in our league as well.

Is it all right to blame him for the pig's ear he's making of things at SAFC?