Do You Think That Sunderland Have A Better Squad Than Us ?

So, in a nutshell, is Bruce better than Martinez?[/quote]

Hell yes, just look at there records while in charge of the Tic’s. :o :o :o [/quote]

Er, yes……AND no.

Consider the squad Bruce had at his disposal. It included the likes of Valencia, Palacios, Cattermole, Bramble, as well as Heskey, for part of the time, and an explosive half a season from Zaki.
The first half of Bruce’s full season with us, saw us looking quite good, in patches, but also dire in others. I literally fell asleep at one match, something I’ve never done before or since.
We got to January, looking like Europa League contenders,and then came the departures. Heskey went, Palacios went, and we all knew Valencia was leaving. Our form totally dipped, and we finished the season in relegation form, if anything. It was no surprise really, when Bruce jumped ship. I actually think he had been ‘tapped up’ by Sunderland months earlier.
So, in came Roberto. By that point, Valencia had gone. Soon after, Cattermole wanted to leave, and departed. I think Roberto had planned on building the team around him as well, as I remember the friendly at Preston, when Cattermole controlled the middle, and we looked great. What a blow early on for Roberto.

Then of course, in the summer, Bramble went the same way, which wasn’t a shock, as it was debatable whether or not he was up to the style we wre now playing.

Given all this, I think it’s unfair to compare Bruce and Martinez.[/quote]

Vat they were players Bruce signed except Valencia and not for loads of money. And not all his signings were great we did sign some squad fillers but compare that team to Bob’s full of his signings.

The Chuckle brothers, Scotland, Gomez, Ronnie Stam, Di Santo the Spanish centre half who played in the cup games last year. Absolute shoite and he probably spent more than Bruce did so IMO we can compare the two and it would be Bruce for me every day of the week.

maybe so but bruce also signed some flops. kapo, agahowa (or was he jewell???) de ridder, figueroa(he’s terrible)
yes martinez has made more signings who were flops but he has also made some very good ones. both jimmies, alcaraz, cleverly, moses and you could say that diame and gohouri are both decent players at times.

So, in a nutshell, is Bruce better than Martinez?[/quote]

Hell yes, just look at there records while in charge of the Tic’s. :o :o :o [/quote]

Er, yes……AND no.

Consider the squad Bruce had at his disposal. It included the likes of Valencia, Palacios, Cattermole, Bramble, as well as Heskey, for part of the time, and an explosive half a season from Zaki.
The first half of Bruce’s full season with us, saw us looking quite good, in patches, but also dire in others. I literally fell asleep at one match, something I’ve never done before or since.
We got to January, looking like Europa League contenders,and then came the departures. Heskey went, Palacios went, and we all knew Valencia was leaving. Our form totally dipped, and we finished the season in relegation form, if anything. It was no surprise really, when Bruce jumped ship. I actually think he had been ‘tapped up’ by Sunderland months earlier.
So, in came Roberto. By that point, Valencia had gone. Soon after, Cattermole wanted to leave, and departed. I think Roberto had planned on building the team around him as well, as I remember the friendly at Preston, when Cattermole controlled the middle, and we looked great. What a blow early on for Roberto.

Then of course, in the summer, Bramble went the same way, which wasn’t a shock, as it was debatable whether or not he was up to the style we wre now playing.

Given all this, I think it’s unfair to compare Bruce and Martinez.[/quote]

Vat they were players Bruce signed except Valencia and not for loads of money. And not all his signings were great we did sign some squad fillers but compare that team to Bob’s full of his signings.

The Chuckle brothers, Scotland, Gomez, Ronnie Stam, Di Santo the Spanish centre half who played in the cup games last year. Absolute shoite and he probably spent more than Bruce did so IMO we can compare the two and it would be Bruce for me every day of the week.[/quote]

You have slated a list of players there, and some I agree with. But you’re being a bit harsh on Stam, I feel. Ok, I’m not convinced by him as a full back, but I think he can offer us something in a more advanced role. And what exactly has Steven Caldwell done wrong? Not a lot, as he’s hardly played. Gomez has ability, but lacks pace. Di Santo may yet prove to be a good signing…the jury is out as of yet.

As for Scotland, when we signed him, it was a sensible signing. the manager knew him, and you’d think a player scoring 30 goals or something in the Championship, would score a fair few in the Premiership. Not so, for whatever reason.

There are two differences between Bruce and Martinez. One WANTS to be here….the other wanted to be somewhere else.

One’s a fat potato head the other is a stylish handsom lad
:D

Yes they have – thats why they have consistently been in the top half of the league this season.

Whats happened to VAT?

Since his chat with JAYT he is posting complete balanced sense day in day out. He is positive, supportive of the club and even Bobby seems to be getting a fair crack of the whip. In fact i havent disagreed with a point he has made all week! Whats changed VAT?

To be honest, I was already on the verge of ‘change’ before I spoke to JAYT.
Over the course of this season, I had found myself being dragged into negative thinking, where every negative was emphasized, whilst any positive was played down. The Darkside? Yes, probably.
But last week, after my spat with Griff, I decided to take a long, hard look at myself. In doing so, I came to the conclusion that whatever league we happen to be in next season, I’m going to be here watching it. So why make such a fuss? Ok, it’ll be nice to stay up. Whether we do or not, remains to be seen.
But regarding the manager, I was also very impressed with his meeting with the website people. No other manager, or club, would entertain such an idea. It confirmed what, in all honesty, I already knew, that we have a manager in charge who has genuine passion for us. And anyway, if he was to be replaced, who exactly would you give the job to? Yes, I have no idea either.
And when I spoke with JAYT, it was all very amicable and friendly. I apologised for being a tool, and we discussed the club as a whole, fairly briefly. Perhaps I’ve just come to the conclusion that, as the fairly intelligent person I believe myself to be, it’s about time I started acting it! At times I’ve been the biggest keyboard warrior and stirrer going. But that’s not me. I’ve followed Latics for 25 years, and what a journey it’s been. To be fair, mostly good times, but with a few hard years as well. These last few years, we’ve been absolutely spoiled as fans.
And I feel that we all need to push in the same direction, as fans, whether we stay up or not. I think it’s fifty-fifty either way, but all we can do as fans is to keep in there with the players and management.

I can only apologize for over emphasizing our failings this season, and getting myself dragged down into the negativity. And that’s not a dig at the so-called ‘Darkside’. Not at all. I am behind our manager, but I do think he makes some daft statements at times. But when he comes across as all positive, I’m not sure what the alternative is? I suppose it’s his job to remain positive. Sometimes, I think he says too much, in after match interviews, etc. Perhaps he is TOO honest and open, where as other managers remain coy? He has just said to the websites people “We need to get through these next 12 games, and then we’ll never look back”. Now that IS a bold statement, considering our position! I definitely think that.

But if we can just, as he says, get through these games, then perhaps it will all come to fruition? It was a very brave thing for Roberto to say, that’s for sure.

Bottom line is, I’m a Latics fan, and whatever happens, I still will be. So rather than be in constant doldrums, it’s time to start enjoying things again. And to do that means being more optimistic, and positive.

Thanks. I appreciate that.