Seriously? There's Sports Direct signage present in the Players' Tunnel as well? I'm almost surprised that there's no signage present on that ball.
Haha sadly yes - when you have a global TV audience and you're getting free advertising, you may as well make the most of it. Plenty of cameras in the tunnels prior to kick off. Got to get the Sports Direct branding out there...in case they miss the 130 odd banners out in the stadium!
But anyway, Top 8. Is that the goal for this season, or is that a goal he hopes to accomplish by his contract's end? As things stand, you guys have a fair bit of recovery work just to make midtable, especially with some very competitive sides fighting for top 10, possibly beyond (Liverpool and Tottenham don't exactly look convincing.)
I know it's very early days, but what must McClaren do in order to win your approval? What would be a realistic goal this season? And what do you need this transfer window?
Top 8 finish seems to be the expectation set by the board (of which he is now a part of as you say). He's also been heavily incentivised to win a cup.
Club statement:
"Steve has been tasked to secure a top-eight finish in the Premier League and he is also heavily incentivised to try to win a cup competition.
What he needs to do to have the winning approval of the fans is harder to define. I think (from reports) he had some influence in getting Carver sacked so that's a good start. From what I've read, most are willing to give him a chance (certainly an improvement over Carver).
He's not the manager a lot were hoping for (the club apparently dismissed talks with both Laudrup and De Boer plus were'n't willing to give someone like Vieria more control over club matters...though interestingly seems McClaren has been given significant power compared to Pardew for example).
I think if he can sort out our defensive issues, that would be a big step forward. Also ending our woeful run in the derby would be massive. He's got roots in the North East so he should realise the significance of this fixture perhaps more than most. There was a fairly prominent banner unfurled often in 2015 that said 'we don't demand a team that wins, we demand a team that tries' - if he can at least make us competitive, that would probably be enough I think.
I think a top 10 finish would be a decent outcome - there is a lot of work that needs to be done and talk of up to 7-8 players coming in (though if we lose more, we might need to replace those as well). I think most fans would sacrifice league position as well if it meant a serious and deep cup run (something we haven't seen at the club in Ashley's time).
Haha yeah, perhaps a bigger story than McClaren getting the manager's job! I posted it in the Owners thread but very surprised by this to say the least mate.