Ever since Moshiri joined I've been pretty stunned by the volume of otherwise pretty knowledgeable supporters who treat the prospect of British managers disdainfully.
For me it's about values. Hard work, concentration, togetherness - and talent too. Yet our 'millions' have always encouraged more debate about a presumed inevitable rise to 'crashing the top four' rather than retaining and protecting the values that already made us regular contenders in the European slots.
Reality check:
- We still don't spend anywhere near what the top 4 spend during Mosh's stint
- But we have instead lost a lot of what was so demonstrably successful during the Moyes era (tricky to beat, with plenty of good overseas talent like Yak, Arteta, Lukaku (OK Martinez signing but thrived on a Moyes XI), Gravesen, Pienaar and others
Alladyce took us 16th to 8th and was pilloried by many fans. I hope he snubs us - we snubbed him.
I saw Eddie Howe routinely trashed on this forum. Ask Bournemouth what they think of him - or Newcastle.
Now Dyche's being given the same treatment after a near miraculous stint at Burnley, twice promoted, European trails the lot.
Talk about poor but proud. What is there in our weekly performances, disorganisation, lack of talent emerging through our youth systems, jurassic cancerous board that's to be proud about?
We need guys with a vision and a strong identity - as the club under its current stewardship has no vision and fails to operate by values that made us successful. Do we need to be in the Championship to realise this, or do League 1 as well like Sunderland, Southampton et al?