Well worth reading: WHAT HAPPENED TO OLE’S 19 CARDIFF SIGNI

MY VIEW OLE COST OUR CLUB WELL OVER £100MILL & WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER.
Yet Tan / Dalman & their followers blame Malky & Warnock for our horrific debts yet both won promotions bringing in over £400mill .


Apparently Ole got a £3.5mill Pay off as well.








What happened next to Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 19 Cardiff City signings




Solskjaer has won over Manchester United fans with some thrilling football at Old Trafford and is eyeing the Premier League title, but his Cardiff reign was chaotic - although he did sign the odd gem who have served with distinction




By Paul Abbandonato

Thursday 4th February 2021




Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is enjoying a better crack at the Premier League second time around as Manchester United manager. Fresh from a nine-goal battering of Southampton, his team are battling with Manchester City for the title.

It's entirely different to his nine-month spell in charge of Cardiff City when the Bluebirds were relegated from the Premier League under him and then stood 17th in the Championship before Vincent Tan wielded the axe and its reported paid Solskjaer a £3.5mill pay off.
lskjaer probably has close to an open chequebook whenever he looks to sign players these days.


There was also some pretty lavish spending during his brief time at the Cardiff helm as Solskjaer signed no fewer than 19 players.

One or two proved excellent acquisitions, some were exciting captures, others were downright flops.

Whatever any success he may achieve at Old Trafford, Ole will be remembered here by the fans as one of Cardiff's worst managers.

But he was certainly backed in the transfer market by Tan, in the Prem and the Championship with well over £100mill spent by
Solskjaer .

Here we take a look at how each of those 19 signings during the Solskjaer whirlwind have fared since...






Sean Morrison

He has to be Solskjaer's best signing, captured from Reading for £3million in August 2014 and going on to skipper the side and make 250 Cardiff appearances.

Within a month of Morrison arriving, Solskjaer was gone.

But Morrison remained a kingpin under his various successors, Russell Slade, Neil Warnock and Neil Harris and surely will continue to be under Mick McCarthy too.

Took over the captaincy from David Marshall and skippered the Bluebirds into the Premier League four years after Solskjaer signed him. He has proven a roaring success.




Bruno Manga

Another undoubted Solskjaer plus. He cost £5m from Lorient, but Manga was worth every penny as he played more than 150 times for Cardiff and was one of the few who actually shone in the Premier League under Warnock.

Huge fans' favourite, big Bruno helped Cardiff go up, almost kept them in the top flight and only left to return home to France for personal reasons.

Solskjaer was gone 18 days after signing Manga.


Anthony Pilkington

Another high-profile capture for the Championship, he came with a big reputation after shining for Norwich and was meant to help Cardiff earn instant promotion back to the Premier League.

Another the fans took to, but he was to in and out despite more than 100 appearances over a five-year period for Cardiff.

Left in 2019 for Wigan and plays these days in India for Sporting Club East Bengal.



Magnuss Wolff Eikrem

One of three Norwegian signings Solskjaer made early in his tenure as he sought to put his own mark on the team.

Eikrem was described as a 'quarterback' who would bring creativity to the midfield, but he couldn't cope with the hustle and bustle of English football and was never able to hold down a Bluebirds place.

One of many on this list to see his Cardiff contract terminated, he went to Malmo in Sweden, tried his hand in America and is back at Solskjaer's old club Molde these days. Still only 30.


Solskjaer raved about him when announcing his capture immediately after an early Cardiff game, saying he could flit between the lines and prove a real creative threat.

Solskjaer even likened his new signing to David Silva.

On the ball Daehli certainly looked gifted, but like Eikrem he was not ready for the physicality of the game in either the Premier League or Championship.

Had the odd really big game during his 22 Cardiff appearances, notably playing superbly against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.

However, his between-the-lines style was never going to fit into Russell Slade's 4-4-2 mantra once Solskjaer had left.

Cardiff moved him on in December 2014 to Freiburg, where Daehli picked up a bad injury.

Still only 25, he is currently on loan at Nuremberg and has played 24 times for Norway.




Jo Inge Berget

The third of Solskjaer's Norwegian captures, he only had one Bluebirds match and never looked like the type of forward Cardiff needed.

His contract was cancelled shortly after a spell on loan at Celtic. Berget then left to join Malmo in Sweden and is making a decent enough fist of it.

But way out of his depth at Cardiff.





Wilfried Zaha

The great enigma.

Zaha had been bombed at Manchester United by David Moyes and Solskjaer saw an opportunity to bring in some real stardust to help Cardiff climb the table.

Zaha had the odd game where he excelled, but in the main struggled to come close to the form that had made him the Football League Young Player of the Year in 2012.

During a 3-0 home defeat against Crystal Palace, the visiting Palace fans sang 'He wants to come home' as Zaha wandered across to take a Cardiff corner.

That's exactly where he ended up.

Still only 28, Zaha is a player who frustrated, rather than dazzled, at Cardiff City Stadium.





Kenwyne Jones

Big things were expected of the big man who was among Solskjaer's early signings.

Started off well with the winning goal on his debut against Norwich and started the following season strongly in the Championship with more goals.

Played 64 times for Cardiff, but fell out of favour and bizarrely ended up joining Bournemouth on loan as they won the title under Eddie Howe.

After spells in the Middle East and USA, at 36 these days he plays for Central back in his Trinidad and Tobago homeland.

Another the Cardiff fans took to, altering the lyrics of the Spandau Ballet hit Gold to fit Kenwyn Jones.



' Fabio '

Yet another fans' favourite, he played 65 times for Cardiff and thrilled with his swashbuckling forays down the flank.

Left for the Premier League when Middlesbrough activated a £2 million release clause in his contract, he then moved to Nantes in France where at 30 he is coming towards the end of a three-year contract.





' Juan Cala '

He signed from Sevilla to supposedly help Cardiff play football from the back and stay in the Premier League.

Scored a famous winner at Southampton to give Cardiff hope, but was then sent off in a 4-0 thrashing by Sunderland which pretty much sealed the Bluebirds' hopes.

Not a Russell Slade-type of defender, Cala was sent to train with the under-18s and eventually had his contract terminated.

Cala had complained on Twitter about the situation and subsequently apologised to Vincent Tan.

Has had a nomadic existence since, moving initially to Granada in Spain, then Getafe, then Las Palmas. At 31 he plays today for Cadiz.






Guido Burgstaller

The Austrian wide-man only played five times for Cardiff and might be viewed as one that got away.

Scored 33 goals in 63 games for FC Nurnberg in the German second tier and also did well for Schalke.

Still plays in Germany at 31 and has won 25 caps for Austria.




Adam Le Fondre

One of a glut of forwards Solskjaer signed for Cardiff. He arrived with a big reputation and after Cardiff were relegated the Kenwyne Jones partnership with Le Fondre was meant to see them soaring to promotion.

But Le Fondre sometimes found himself stuck out on the wing and after various loan spells he moved to Bolton.

Scored lots of goals for Sydney FC in Australia and at 36 these days he plays for Mumbai City in India, where he has scored eight goals in 15 games.






Javi Guerra

Arrived with a ferocious reputation having plundered a hatful of goals during four years with Real Valladolid in Spain.

He was another to barely make an appearance for Cardiff, three matches, no goals in fact, but he returned to Spain and picked up pretty much were he left off.

At one point registered eight times in nine La Liga matches for Rayo Vallecano, but Slade deemed him not good enough for the Bluebirds in the Championship.

His record at the top level in Spain suggests he was one of the more talented signings who came to Cardiff during this frantic Solskjaer period and who was subsequently underused.

Many felt Slade should have picked Guerra far more, but he preferred Alex Revell.


Adam Le Fondre and Federico Macheda




Federico Macheda

Another contract termination.

He joined on a free transfer from Manchester United, the fourth of Solskjaer's new strikers, and bagged two goals on his Cardiff debut in a League Cup win over Port Vale.


But it just didn't take off for him and he ended up leaving for Novara in Italy, before signing for Greek club Panathinaikos, where he has bagged a goal every three games.

Still only 29.




Kagisho Dikgacoi
A huge disappointment, he arrived in the summer of 2014 as the dominant, experienced midfielder who would give Cardiff a new dimension.

But he was hit by injury and his appearances were limited.

Saw his contract terminated and returned to South Africa to play with Golden Arrows.




Charlie Horton
Goalkeeper signed on a one-year deal, but a name not many will remember.

Didn't make a Cardiff appearance and quickly moved out to MLS in America.




Tom Adeyemi
Another disappointment, he joined as a box-to-box midfielder capable of scoring goals.

But he only bagged one in 20 Cardiff appearances and was moved on to Leeds and Rotherham on loan, before Cardiff got him off the books and he signed for Ipswich.



Another who promised more than he delivered.



Danny Johnson

Like Horton he was another less high-profile signing and didn't make a single appearance.

A truly remarkable goalscoring record with non-league Guisborough Town attracted interest from a number of clubs and Cardiff looked to have pulled off a coup to bring him in.

However, he returned to non-league football with Gateshead Town having never played with the Bluebirds.


Scored lots of goals at that level, then spent time in Scotland before joining Orient where he has netted 16 times in 28 appearances.







Danny Gabbidon
A Bluebirds icon, he was at the tail end of his career when he signed a one-year player/coach deal in September 2014.

When Solskjaer quickly departed, Gabbidon had a spell as caretaker boss but has since gone on to become a respected pundit.

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MY VIEW OLE COST OUR CLUB WELL OVER £100MILL & WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER.
Yet Tan / Dalman & their followers blame Malky & Warnock for our horrific debts yet both won promotions bringing in over 400mill .

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

MY VIEW OLE COST OUR CLUB WELL OVER £100MILL & WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER.
Yet Tan / Dalman & their followers blame Malky & Warnock for our horrific debts yet both won promotions bringing in over 400mill .

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

I certainly agree with you on the Solskjaer front. He was the last City manager to have any real money to spend and he absolutely screwed the club for years by the way he wasted it.

Owners of many clubs get criticised for not backing managers. Solkskjaer was backed and ruined us

That said, Malky wasn't squeaky clean ! Cornelius was an obvious one, Velikonja was signed for a million and we never saw him, Brayford never played, Medel was a great player but the signing on fee (£1.65m) plus image rights were very shady !, Caulker was already known to have issues (even on this forum !) yet Malky bought him for around £8m, Théophile-Catherine bought for £2m, Odemwingie £2.25m, etc., etc.

Malky and his mate Moody had something going on that we'll know the details of !!

Warnock had some dodgy signings but actually, given the relatively low level of expenditure and the success he brought I think he can be exempted to an extent. But we're still paying for the disasters that OGS and Malky heaped upon us

Reply FB:

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I certainly agree with you on the Solskjaer front. He was the last City manager to have any real money to spend and he absolutely screwed the club for years by the way he wasted it.

Owners of many clubs get criticised for not backing managers. Solkskjaer was backed and ruined us

That said, Malky wasn't squeaky clean ! Cornelius was an obvious one, Velikonja was signed for a million and we never saw him, Brayford never played, Medel was a great player but the signing on fee (£1.65m) plus image rights were very shady !, Caulker was already known to have issues (even on this forum !) yet Malky bought him for around £8m, Théophile-Catherine bought for £2m, Odemwingie £2.25m, etc., etc.

Malky and his mate Moody had something going on that we'll know the details of !!

Warnock had some dodgy signings but actually, given the relatively low level of expenditure and the success he brought I think he can be exempted to an extent. But we're still paying for the disasters that OGS and Malky heaped upon us

Ole was backed beyond.

The difference is Ole wasted our money and achieved nothing.

Malky and Warnock might have wasted some, but they brought more money in and achieved success.

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I met Ole several times and had good conversations with him. He was great person but not a good manager at our level. He is now being bailed at Manchester United by world class players. They were struggling a lot before they signed Bruno Fernandes a year ago.

The last manager to win a league for them was the greatest manager of all time, in my opinion, Sir Alex Ferguson. Ole will never be anywhere near as good as him and they will never win a league while he's manager, I don't think.



He made a few good signings for us. Sean Morrison and Bruno Manga are the obvious ones. I also liked Fabio, Kenwyne Jones and Juan Cala - our club treated Cala badly to try and force him out the club.

Anthony Pilkington was good when he played and scored some important goals for us. But he had a bad injury record.

Wilfried Zaha looked a good signing on paper but it never worked out for him. Been doing well at Palace the last few years but appears to have a bad attitude which is why a bigger club haven't taken a chance on him again.

I was pleased when we signed Adam Le Fondre but Ole played him out of position. When he did eventually play as a striker, he missed some sitters and I don't think he ever recovered.

Javi Guerra joined us with a good record of scoring goals but hardly ever played for us which seemed strange.



The rest were very bad signings.


There's a lot of money spent there and nobody can claim we got value for the money for what we spent, including big wages.

I certainly agree with you on the Solskjaer front. He was the last City manager to have any real money to spend and he absolutely screwed the club for years by the way he wasted it.

Owners of many clubs get criticised for not backing managers. Solkskjaer was backed and ruined us

That said, Malky wasn't squeaky clean ! Cornelius was an obvious one, Velikonja was signed for a million and we never saw him, Brayford never played, Medel was a great player but the signing on fee (£1.65m) plus image rights were very shady !, Caulker was already known to have issues (even on this forum !) yet Malky bought him for around £8m, Théophile-Catherine bought for £2m, Odemwingie £2.25m, etc., etc.

Malky and his mate Moody had something going on that we'll know the details of !!

Warnock had some dodgy signings but actually, given the relatively low level of expenditure and the success he brought I think he can be exempted to an extent. But we're still paying for the disasters that OGS and Malky heaped upon us

Ole was backed beyond.

The difference is Ole wasted our money and achieved nothing.

Malky and Warnock might have wasted some, but they brought more money in and achieved success.

No argument from me on that one

It goes to the top. Why 19 transfers were sanctioned is anybody’s guess. They only have themselves to blame.

Ole ruined this club and Tan allowed him to do it. I feel that saga stopped us from truly kicking on as, even with warnocks promotion, we still havnt recovered from his spending. Mental he was allowed to do it.

I'll always maintain that managerial nobody is without doubt a fantastic example of promotion above ability.

Before anyone suggests he is now responsible for the mancs being where they are. NO HE AIN'T.

Most fortunate Norwegian ever.

Also sent packing as he was an unmitigated failure.

Only thing was he accepted a lottery win to feck off.

It goes to the top. Why 19 transfers were sanctioned is anybody’s guess. They only have themselves to blame.

probably the same people who sanctioned the 15 outward transfers and 14 outward loans.... might not have looked as if it was working but there was not a great deal of patience and the complete turn around of squad / style is exactly what some on this thread have gone on and on and on about happening ...

It goes to the top. Why 19 transfers were sanctioned is anybody’s guess. They only have themselves to blame.

probably the same people who sanctioned the 15 outward transfers and 14 outward loans.... might not have looked as if it was working but there was not a great deal of patience and the complete turn around of squad / style is exactly what some on this thread have gone on and on and on about happening ...

I dont think anyone was calling for us to start smashing everything long. What we needed was a better manager. Ole was clueless and out of his depth and slade was never going to bring a slick attacking type of football with him.

We all have our views on Tan but I will never forgive him for turning us Red then making a joke of a club when we were in the prem in not just sacking Malky who would have kept us up, it was the way he done it in a public and terrible way a disgrace in my view all because Tan was jealous of Malky as he was popular with us the fans.

Tan might have money but knows nothing about football or the idiots he got with him, Dalman wanted Ole and he was no where near to take us on it was a disgrace .

Sadly we have an owner that is all about him not the club or us he wanted to be worshiped , if he stuck by Malky and we stayed up then turned us back to Blue he would have had been loved by our supporters instead of being a rich big headed prat who just owns us and has no interest.

Dalman wanted to buy Charlton has no interest in our club just himself again a man U supporter who talks politics and not football, he too is a disaster to our club and i do not believe for 1 minute a offer came in to buy Tan out another political lie from him

It goes to the top. Why 19 transfers were sanctioned is anybody’s guess. They only have themselves to blame.

probably the same people who sanctioned the 15 outward transfers and 14 outward loans.... might not have looked as if it was working but there was not a great deal of patience and the complete turn around of squad / style is exactly what some on this thread have gone on and on and on about happening ...

I dont think anyone was calling for us to start smashing everything long. What we needed was a better manager. Ole was clueless and out of his depth and slade was never going to bring a slick attacking type of football with him.

we were not smashing it long under OLE...but had been very negative under Malky
did OGS do ok here ?..no.im not an OGS fan .. but truth is there was zero patience and it was a huge turn around of players.... with more money incoming than out going... Slade split the squad into 2 groups within days and clearly had been given a list of who had to go...

You missed out Matts Moller Dhaeli
Love him and deserved to stay with us.

It goes to the top. Why 19 transfers were sanctioned is anybody’s guess. They only have themselves to blame.

probably the same people who sanctioned the 15 outward transfers and 14 outward loans.... might not have looked as if it was working but there was not a great deal of patience and the complete turn around of squad / style is exactly what some on this thread have gone on and on and on about happening ...

I dont think anyone was calling for us to start smashing everything long. What we needed was a better manager. Ole was clueless and out of his depth and slade was never going to bring a slick attacking type of football with him.

we were not smashing it long under OLE...but had been very negative under Malky
did OGS do ok here ?..no.im not an OGS fan .. but truth is there was zero patience and it was a huge turn around of players.... with more money incoming than out going... Slade split the squad into 2 groups within days and clearly had been given a list of who had to go...

I know, that's what I'm saying. People weren't happy with the results under ole, not that he was trying to play attacking football. The club should have stayed with that idea an brought in another attacking type manager. Not slade.

People will tolerate shit football when the team is winning. Which is why nobody moaned when we won promotion with warnock but then he was gone pretty sharpish after relegation.

More money incoming than going out? Are you saying Ole made us money?

I went to watch a team called Al Wasl in the Middle East a handful of times whilst working there and they were very hospitable. They had a Brazilian striker who was pretty good named Fabio De Lima, as each team were allowed four foreigners. You could tell which ones they were a mile off, in comparison with the Dubai based players. When they played away to Kenwyne Jones’ (who was then on loan from Cardiff) team, I made sure I went. Unfortunately, Big Ken was out injured, so it turned out he wasn’t indestructible, despite the claims of the much loved terrace chant.

As for the Norwegian signings, I never had much expectation for them, but was hoping they’d be good signings. Ole is at his best when he’s got loads of money available and quality players at his disposal, hence the success at Man Utd. Horses for courses.

Christ just looked at that squad and compare it to what we have now the difference is night and day.

We had quality everywhere. The fact that neither Ole nor Slade didn't achieve with it shows how poor they were.

Could have put this side out and would have had every side in the championship worried, in fact, don't think it would need too much tweaking to survive in the Prem either.

Marshall

Manga - Morrison - Cala

McNaughton - Burgstaller - Gunnarson - Whitts - Fabio

Kenwyn - Guerra

Bench (based on current 9 players allowed):
Moore
Turner
Peltier
Dikagoi
Pilkington
Harris
Ralls
Noone
Le Fondre

It goes to the top. Why 19 transfers were sanctioned is anybody’s guess. They only have themselves to blame.

probably the same people who sanctioned the 15 outward transfers and 14 outward loans.... might not have looked as if it was working but there was not a great deal of patience and the complete turn around of squad / style is exactly what some on this thread have gone on and on and on about happening ...

I dont think anyone was calling for us to start smashing everything long. What we needed was a better manager. Ole was clueless and out of his depth and slade was never going to bring a slick attacking type of football with him.

we were not smashing it long under OLE...but had been very negative under Malky
did OGS do ok here ?..no.im not an OGS fan .. but truth is there was zero patience and it was a huge turn around of players.... with more money incoming than out going... Slade split the squad into 2 groups within days and clearly had been given a list of who had to go...

I know, that's what I'm saying. People weren't happy with the results under ole, not that he was trying to play attacking football. The club should have stayed with that idea an brought in another attacking type manager. Not slade.

People will tolerate shit football when the team is winning. Which is why nobody moaned when we won promotion with warnock but then he was gone pretty sharpish after relegation.

More money incoming than going out? Are you saying Ole made us money?

he made a profit on transfers... was about 30 mill came in , 20 mill went out....during his tenure...
numbers wise he signed more than left...but half a dozen went out on loan... as said i was never a great fan of his... but some of what is pumped around is just wrong...

You missed out Matts Moller Dhaeli
Love him and deserved to stay with us.

Was wondering where he was on that list - He is still playing .

"Many felt Slade should have picked Guerra far more, but he preferred Alex Revell."

I spat my tea out laughing when I read this line.

I personally don’t think ole had enough time for a complete change of footballing mentality from the previous and seems now ingrained awful to watch football (although has brought us two premier league visits under tans reign)

The evidence being how well he’s doing at Man U way over achieving pre season expectations. And was given time.

Just my opinion but I personally like to see managers given a at least a season and a half, and I always support the manager our club.

When we were signing these players there was a lot of excitement and it was said the best squad we have ever had. First half performance v Norwich was so exciting. Had we kept that up we would have been ok. That amount of turnaround in squad was needed as we had a very one dimensional squad.

A lot of names on that list were pretty decent players.

No patience from the fans as usual. I’m not saying Ole would have taken us back up but he wasn’t given a proper chance really. Then with the kickback on the rebrand (as we started losing) Tan lost interest and made us clear the decks.

We got our blue back so it was worth it in the end but it has to be said the fans showed we have no patience.

When we were signing these players there was a lot of excitement and it was said the best squad we have ever had. First half performance v Norwich was so exciting. Had we kept that up we would have been ok. That amount of turnaround in squad was needed as we had a very one dimensional squad.

A lot of names on that list were pretty decent players.

No patience from the fans as usual. I’m not saying Ole would have taken us back up but he wasn’t given a proper chance really. Then with the kickback on the rebrand (as we started losing) Tan lost interest and made us clear the decks.

We got our blue back so it was worth it in the end but it has to be said the fans showed we have no patience.

i must admit i was not sad to see him go , with hindsight maybe more patience was needed.....but... it wasnt us fans patience was the issue Tan clearly though he could bring an inexperienced manager into a relegation dog fight ..failed..so then expected a complete rebuild to be seemless....we sold Campbell , Mutch , Medel and Caulker who all wanted to play at a higher level . Bellamy retired and KTC went to France on loan for personal reasons , Cowie , Taylor , Smith and Lappin were out of contract and let go. and he was given 7 games...

When we were signing these players there was a lot of excitement and it was said the best squad we have ever had. First half performance v Norwich was so exciting. Had we kept that up we would have been ok. That amount of turnaround in squad was needed as we had a very one dimensional squad.

A lot of names on that list were pretty decent players.

No patience from the fans as usual. I’m not saying Ole would have taken us back up but he wasn’t given a proper chance really. Then with the kickback on the rebrand (as we started losing) Tan lost interest and made us clear the decks.

We got our blue back so it was worth it in the end but it has to be said the fans showed we have no patience.

i must admit i was not sad to see him go , with hindsight maybe more patience was needed.....but... it wasnt us fans patience was the issue Tan clearly though he could bring an inexperienced manager into a relegation dog fight ..failed..so then expected a complete rebuild to be seemless....we sold Campbell , Mutch , Medel and Caulker who all wanted to play at a higher level . Bellamy retired and KTC went to France on loan for personal reasons , Cowie , Taylor , Smith and Lappin were out of contract and let go. and he was given 7 games...

Trollope wasn’t given long either.

Both had the fans on their backs pretty quickly.

Yet we espouse the Jacks appointments of unknown managers as if we would give them the time required to implement plans.

When we were signing these players there was a lot of excitement and it was said the best squad we have ever had. First half performance v Norwich was so exciting. Had we kept that up we would have been ok. That amount of turnaround in squad was needed as we had a very one dimensional squad.

A lot of names on that list were pretty decent players.

No patience from the fans as usual. I’m not saying Ole would have taken us back up but he wasn’t given a proper chance really. Then with the kickback on the rebrand (as we started losing) Tan lost interest and made us clear the decks.

We got our blue back so it was worth it in the end but it has to be said the fans showed we have no patience.

i must admit i was not sad to see him go , with hindsight maybe more patience was needed.....but... it wasnt us fans patience was the issue Tan clearly though he could bring an inexperienced manager into a relegation dog fight ..failed..so then expected a complete rebuild to be seemless....we sold Campbell , Mutch , Medel and Caulker who all wanted to play at a higher level . Bellamy retired and KTC went to France on loan for personal reasons , Cowie , Taylor , Smith and Lappin were out of contract and let go. and he was given 7 games...

You make some very good points as usual. I always got the feeling that OGS was tactically inept and was too nice of a guy to motivate a dressing room of players that were fighting for their premiership life. I remember taking the short 7 hour journey to Sunderland to watch OGS and his team basically quit. Ive never forgive him since. The financial implications of his reign is greatly over exagerated though

When we were signing these players there was a lot of excitement and it was said the best squad we have ever had. First half performance v Norwich was so exciting. Had we kept that up we would have been ok. That amount of turnaround in squad was needed as we had a very one dimensional squad.

A lot of names on that list were pretty decent players.

No patience from the fans as usual. I’m not saying Ole would have taken us back up but he wasn’t given a proper chance really. Then with the kickback on the rebrand (as we started losing) Tan lost interest and made us clear the decks.

We got our blue back so it was worth it in the end but it has to be said the fans showed we have no patience.

i must admit i was not sad to see him go , with hindsight maybe more patience was needed.....but... it wasnt us fans patience was the issue Tan clearly though he could bring an inexperienced manager into a relegation dog fight ..failed..so then expected a complete rebuild to be seemless....we sold Campbell , Mutch , Medel and Caulker who all wanted to play at a higher level . Bellamy retired and KTC went to France on loan for personal reasons , Cowie , Taylor , Smith and Lappin were out of contract and let go. and he was given 7 games...

You make some very good points as usual. I always got the feeling that OGS was tactically inept and was too nice of a guy to motivate a dressing room of players that were fighting for their premiership life. I remember taking the short 7 hour journey to Sunderland to watch OGS and his team basically quit. Ive never forgive him since. The financial implications of his reign is greatly over exagerated though

i was at Sunderland as well , a long way to go to see your final glimmer of hope taken so easily... the prem season what we did not need was someone changing formation 4 times in the first half. maybe naive more than inept .we needed grit and organisation and to become difficult to beat, where he seemed to think he could go toe to toe with better sides with him out smarting them with his tactics... christ we played some very odd formations and every time it looked as if was working he changed it again ?... no doubt it worked with fantastic kids at uniteds academy ? .... he didnt seem to grasp we were in a fight, why would he ? how good a manager he is only time will tell.