There has been a ridiculous speculation regarding the job security of our manager in the papers in the last day or two. This, alongside the sickening video of our 'fans' attacking chairman David Sullivan has really made me question what modern day football has turned into.
I do believe that these days of instant gratification, via social media and smartphones, have led to a general impatience among people. Stability has never been a byword in the Premier League but it seems like we are becoming more obsessed by the new, shiny thing rather than that what has given us a stable experience. It's only been around 18 months since 'fans' were singing Paolo Di Canio's name around the ground. Once he proved a pepperoni short of a pizza, it was Malky Mackay's turn to be our saviour. Yes, Malky Mackay, he of two wins since November. I guess it will only be a mater of time before they think Tim sherwood 'could do a job'! No, no and no! And here are 5 more reasons why we must keep with the big northern one…
1. The players seem to respect him – there are very few 'anti-Sam' briefings in the press. The only players that seem to have not had much fun with him are Alou Diarra and Rav Morrison. Erm….
2. Bad results are turned around – there are times we have threatened to go on a really bad run. Even in the Championship when Ipswich put five past us, Sam kept calm, couple of clean sheets and back on a winning streak, not many managers keep their heads in these situations
3. Handles the owners well – let's face it, our board is made up of 'colourful' characters with big personalities. Sam has let them get on with their work and never responded harshly to any of their veiled criticisms. There are not many in the game who can take the pressure they put on him
4. Is not the 'new' thing – Paul Lambert, Chris Hughton, Nigel Adkins, all managers once associated with England jobs, now languishing in the league of the mundane. Sam is not Jose, but we are not Chelsea. What he is, is a solid, experienced hand at a club that has, lest we forget, flirted with implosion in the last decade. We still need that stable hand, espeically going into the new stadium]
5. We're 8th! – I would be having a bigger crisis of faith if we were 18th, but we're not, we are 8th and looking up, not down. We've lost 2 in 10 this year, once at Anfield and the bad day at the office last weekend. But like I said earlier, bad runs are not really our bag…and we've got Spurs on Sunday, so what better time to turn it around?