What price loyalty?
I see Houllier has paid the price for Liverpool finishing fourth this season. In light of the fact that they were fifth last year, and have improved one place, were never going to catch Chelski after they spent all the money, and Arsenal who couldn't lose it seems somewhat harsh on him. What would Liverpool have to have done for him to stay in a job? It seems particularly odd that Liverpool are still apparently going to buy Djibril Cisse when they've sacked the man who wanted him in the first place.

Perhaps it's Newcastle who have got this wrong, and should adopt a more cut-throat approach to management appointments. Bobby's failure to deliver a trophy/ Champions League football seemingly insufficient cause for fat Freddie to hand him a P45, when if any of the so called "bigger clubs" in the Premiership can have cause to bemoan their poor season. We've dropped two places in the league, never really looked like winning a cup (although I'd like to think a fully fit squad would at least have had Marseille worried) and limped through the season following good performances with crap ones with infuriating regularity.

Real Madrid have just sacked Quiroz, who from what I can see has been undermined by his president's insistence on only buying one attacking player a season and relying on kids to fill the defence and bench each week. Mind you, they sacked Vincente Del Bosque, and he won the Champions League for them!

However, would Man Utd have won half as many trophies in recent years if they'd sacked Fergie back at the end of the eighties? Perhaps loyalty is the way that football clubs should go with managers, but only until they get to a certain stage. After that, they start to outstay their welcome, as Peter Reid did so magnificently with sunderland, and they should certainly never go back (as Howard Kendal proved at Everton).

What I think is certain is that with only one year left fro both Robson and Shearer it'd be wonderful to think that they could end their careers with some silverware. Unfortunately, unless we learn how to defend, concentrate for the whole 90 minutes, win away from home and invest in some quality both up front and at the back it's going to be yet another broken dream to add to the pile in terms of my aspirations for Newcastle Utd, both next season and beyond.
- posted by Paul @ 1:38 pm