Rob k Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 3 minutes ago, billywedlock said: I never approved of our appointment of LJ. He was ill prepared at the beginning and only got worse with his confused mind. Made worse by having Ashton as his sidekick. I never cared that he played for us and never used to worry that his dad managed him. I just thought it was a terrible appointment and the football played for the majority of time was awful as he was making it up. I am not wanting to argue the issue, just to say I am far from his fan. However. I have not followed Sunderland until today. Now I know he has the biggest budget (ever) in L1 and 5000 fans went to Bolton yesterday . But if I look at the table, they are 3rd 2 points off of the top. I can see others have games in hand, but the return of 5 points out of the last 15, and that terrible loss has clearly sent the board over the top. But, wow, that is his team, and even if they do not do automatic , play offs are certain. I just looked at their forum, and no shock, the same issues LJ rear their head again. He has not evolved with age or recognised his weaknesses. However, he has also managed to get Sunderland close, and he does have his coaching ideas and strategy, that has them that very close. They are in play and it is far from a lost cause. On the surface seems a little crazy. You can only think he has not convinced them he knows what to do to keep them up there after such a battering. No idea. For all of his lack of ability, LJ is very honest and a dedicated hard working person. He certainly does not steal a living. He is just not very good. Who has actually said he has the biggest ever budget in l1? Is it really bigger than when they had Rodwell there on 75k a week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out of his pie crust Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 6 minutes ago, TomF said: Very harsh, until the weekend they were on a very decent run of form. Wondering if he lost the plot in dressing room Could be , can’t see him squaring up to players mind, maybe he just bit someone? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Yes it was a bad defeat, but they are third FFS! Seems a mental decision but I guess they think they need a final push? If the new person gets them up does LJ get some of the credit? Either way his CV will still read reasonably well despite not having gained a promotion or trophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 22 minutes ago, Red Exile said: I wonder what the record is for number of games managed without ever gaining a promotion? He's currently on 449. I know he liked to set records. I'd have said LJ was a perfect fit for a club with lots of resources and limited expectations. Ipswich Town? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanterne Rouge Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 minute ago, One Team said: Ipswich Town? Nah. They already have the greatest football mind in the history of the game in charge. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loco Rojo Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Warnock perhaps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kodjias Wrist Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Alex Neill be a good fit i reckon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Exile Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 5 minutes ago, One Team said: Ipswich Town? Had occurred to me! But Ashton's only just appointed a new chap to that role. I'm not sure why LJ wants to be a manager. He appears to have a decent reputation as a coach but has zero track record of actually leading sides to league success, at any level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Their forum is quite a read. Lots of “enough was enough” type comments. Enough of what? One point off promotion, two points off the title? If they were outside the play offs or way off automatic and they had that defeat they perhaps I’d see the point. I’m not much of a LJ fan but it seems very harsh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tin Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) What odds Paul Cook takes it on and gets them over the line? LJ should never have got the job here and should’ve been given the boot much earlier than he was IMO. I’m not surprised to see him fail at Sunderland, even if the term fail is nuanced and it’s harsh given their position. His stock is only going one way, unless Ashton offers him a way out at Ipswich in the future. Always thought he’d make an excellent assistant, if his ego let him. Edited January 30, 2022 by tin 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) 2 minutes ago, tin said: What odds Paul Cook takes it on and gets them over the line? LJ should never have got the job here and should’ve been given the boot much earlier than he was IMO. I’m not surprised to see him fail at Sunderland, even if the term fail is nuanced. His stock is only going one way, unless Ashton offers him a way out at Ipswich in the future. Cook second favourite at the bookies, Steve Bruce third! Edited January 30, 2022 by One Team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenred Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Just now, Red Exile said: Had occurred to me! But Ashton's only just appointed a new chap to that role. I'm not sure why LJ wants to be a manager. He appears to have a decent reputation as a coach but has zero track record of actually leading sides to league success, at any level. Would his drive / ambition / ego whatever allow him to be a coach? I’m not so sure. Maybe if it was for one of the very best perhaps but they generally have their own right hand guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Army 75 Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, Kodjias Wrist said: Alex Neill be a good fit i reckon! I was thinking I would like to see Gareth Ainsworth given a chance at a bigger club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kodjias Wrist Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 minute ago, Red Army 75 said: I was thinking I would like to see Gareth Ainsworth given a chance at a bigger club. Would he leave though? Has strong ties to Wycombe and a decent chance of promotion back too. But yes Ainsworth is someone I would of had if not for NP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusX Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 19 minutes ago, One Team said: Yes it was a bad defeat, but they are third FFS! Seems a mental decision but I guess they think they need a final push? If the new person gets them up does LJ get some of the credit? Either way his CV will still read reasonably well despite not having gained a promotion or trophy. He’s won a trophy, to be fair 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 minute ago, MarcusX said: He’s won a trophy, to be fair Yep, fair point mate forgot about that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Robin Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 20 minutes ago, billywedlock said: I never approved of our appointment of LJ. He was ill prepared at the beginning and only got worse with his confused mind. Made worse by having Ashton as his sidekick. I never cared that he played for us and never used to worry that his dad managed him. I just thought it was a terrible appointment and the football played for the majority of time was awful as he was making it up. I am not wanting to argue the issue, just to say I am far from his fan. However. I have not followed Sunderland until today. Now I know he has the biggest budget (ever) in L1 and 5000 fans went to Bolton yesterday . But if I look at the table, they are 3rd 2 points off of the top. I can see others have games in hand, but the return of 5 points out of the last 15, and that terrible loss has clearly sent the board over the top. But, wow, that is his team, and even if they do not do automatic , play offs are certain. I just looked at their forum, and no shock, the same issues LJ rear their head again. He has not evolved with age or recognised his weaknesses. However, he has also managed to get Sunderland close, and he does have his coaching ideas and strategy, that has them that very close. They are in play and it is far from a lost cause. On the surface seems a little crazy. You can only think he has not convinced them he knows what to do to keep them up there after such a battering. No idea. For all of his lack of ability, LJ is very honest and a dedicated hard working person. He certainly does not steal a living. He is just not very good. I'm interested to hear the thinking behind some of these views? Some pretty bold criticism in there - what makes you think he was THAT bad/incompetent? (I'm not contesting you, just interested to hear the explanation) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROKERITE Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Exile Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 8 minutes ago, One Team said: Their forum is quite a read. Lots of “enough was enough” type comments. Enough of what? One point off promotion, two points off the title? If they were outside the play offs or way off automatic and they had that defeat they perhaps I’d see the point. I’m not much of a LJ fan but it seems very harsh. Well they've won 1 in 5 and already shipped 5 goals at Rotherham and 4 at Portsmouth this season...I would imagine they'd be looking at streaky Lee and think 'here he goes again' and have pulled the plug before they're on a club record losing streak. LJ has form when it comes to falling out of contention...and no form at all when it comes to seeing the job through. They've got a decent squad. They should be expecting promotion. I was surprised he was appointed in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Team Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Just now, Red Exile said: Well they've won 1 in 5 and already shipped 5 goals at Rotherham and 4 at Portsmouth this season...I would imagine they'd be looking at streaky Lee and think 'here he goes again' and have pulled the plug before they're on a club record losing streak. LJ has form when it comes to falling out of contention...and no form at all when it comes to seeing the job through. They've got a decent squad. They should be expecting promotion. I was surprised he was appointed in the first place. Good points mate. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon79 Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, ROKERITE said: 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. As you will be a bit more in the know, except for the fact they lost to Bolton 6-0 & not Derby! Did Sunderland spend a lot in the summer? Or big free signings? Generally interested. COYR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGBjammy Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 Seems harsh to me, but it's Sunderland so I'm not surprised. Sunderland is such a weird job for a manager to take; if you get promoted then you won't get much credit as it's "expected" and if you don't get promotion then you're branded a failure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROKERITE Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 3 minutes ago, Simon79 said: As you will be a bit more in the know, except for the fact they lost to Bolton 6-0 & not Derby! Did Sunderland spend a lot in the summer? Or big free signings? Generally interested. COYR 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. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Exile Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 13 minutes ago, Supersonic Robin said: I'm interested to hear the thinking behind some of these views? Some pretty bold criticism in there - what makes you think he was THAT bad/incompetent? (I'm not contesting you, just interested to hear the explanation) I'm sure @billywedlock can explain what he meant but for what it's worth LJ's weaknesses were set out time and again by the sceptics (like me!) whilst he was here. My take would be that he got the job because he was SL's vanity project...SL would pick a winner. LJ had no track record of achieving the promotion we were told was the club's ambition. His best sides seemed to be picked by force of circumstance, when he had choices to make he often made the wrong ones. He seemed incapable of arresting losing streaks, paralysed on the sidelines watching the game go by. He loved another 'club in the bag' but the clubs never seemed to make a set. He had resources undreamed of by any City manager in my 50 years supporting the club...and squandered them. In my opinion, which I appreciate can be contested, he left us in a worse place than he found us...and we are suffering the consequences. Should never have been appointed. Not a bad man, I liked him as a player, and I felt for him at times, out of his depth. Thankfully it's in the past. 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepy1968 Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 54 minutes ago, Fordy62 said: If at any point in his career Lee Johnson works under Pep, give me a shout and I’ll have 10 bottles of Weston’s Vintage send over to you. The only place that’ll happen is in LJ’s mind. Does it count if he's on the catering staff at the training ground, or part of the cleaning crew? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenred Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 3 minutes ago, YGBjammy said: Seems harsh to me, but it's Sunderland so I'm not surprised. Sunderland is such a weird job for a manager to take; if you get promoted then you won't get much credit as it's "expected" and if you don't get promotion then you're branded a failure. I’d imagine anyone getting them up would get treated pretty well up there, even if it’s more expected than at most other places. They are absolutely desperate to get out of League 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS4 on Tour... Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, steveybadger said: Usually I’m all in favour of giving manager’s time, and the timing here does seem odd. However something doesn’t seem quite right there (a team In the top 3 losing 6-0 to modest opposition) and given LJ’s propensity for streaky results, maybe a new manager bounce might actually give them the push they need? A bit like when we lost 6-0 at Ipswich when thundering towards possible promotion under Gary Johnson - I loved GJ’s comment after that one - “It was a bad day at the office, but we’ll redecorate the office and we’ll be back” ... Edited January 30, 2022 by BS4 on Tour... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrizzleRed Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 32 minutes ago, One Team said: Their forum is quite a read. Lots of “enough was enough” type comments. Enough of what? One point off promotion, two points off the title? If they were outside the play offs or way off automatic and they had that defeat they perhaps I’d see the point. I’m not much of a LJ fan but it seems very harsh. I think they were a few points clear at the top not long ago and check out the numbers of games in hand some of the teams below have. Quite a few on their forum were remarking on the record of his teams imploding towards the sharp end of the season, so maybe that was on their board’s mind too. We’re very well acquainted with his record on that score!. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Isewater Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Super said: Why would we want him? Other than the fact that we have an experienced manager in Pearson who is one year into a three year contract and showing signs of developing a very good young side there is absolutely no reason to bring back LJ or any bugger else: 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveybadger Posted January 30, 2022 Report Share Posted January 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said: A bit like when we lost 6-0 at Ipswich when thundering towards possible promotion under Gary Johnson - I loved GJ’s comment after that one - “It was a bad day at the office, but we’ll redecorate the office and we’ll be back” ... Yep had forgotten that, though in his case it was a bad day at the office. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.