Which club got the better deal?

[Craig 6287]

I'd class:

 

1. Selling Woodgate without having a suitable replacement lined up for before the close of the transfer window (not that I don't think the Woodgate sale was good business). We were promised that we'd be "pleasantly surprised" with what came as a result.....

 

2. Bidding for Wayne Rooney when all we were effectively doing was forcing Man Utd into getting him earlier than they'd actually wanted, particularly as a replacement for Woodgate was paramount.

 

3. Sacking Sir Bobby Robson with less than 2 days to go to the end of the transfer window with still no Woodgate replacement (and this ensuring there was no chance of getting one either).

 

4. Appointing Souness, his 4th or 5th choice replacement for SBR which effectively proves that the sacking was indeed done with absolutely no forethought..

 

Say what you like about Shepherd being able to balance a spreadsheet and put his hand in his pocket to support his managers, those 4 decisions are heavily responsible for our position today IMO.