I think the problem most people have with Garry Monk is the way he was appointed. I was initially shocked and angry when I heard Laudrup had been sacked but looking at the facts I can see why he went. As far as I'm concerned the time for recriminations about the sacking and who we replaced him with is at the season, but for now we need to back Monk until the final whistle at Sunderland.

I am right behind Monk and although the results not been there W1 D4 L5 I'm feeling positive. I am enjoying watching us again as opposed to the last few months of Laudrup games which apart from a couple of games (for example our FA cup win at Old Trafford) were painful to watch. Breaking down the 10 games Monk has had in charge I think he has done a good job. We have been unlucky in a few games but shown a lot more fighting spirit than under Laudrup.

1st game H v Cardiff (3-0) - perfect start and great performance

2nd game A v stoke (1-1)- Going to stoke on a cold Wednesday night and getting a great point hard earned point

3rd game A v Everton (3-1)- We took the reserves as monk was focusing on the Europa league and premiersip. We put up a good fight with a second string team and had it not been for Neil Taylor's backpass we maybe could have snatched a replay.I think us getting knocked out was good as we have suffered from too many games this season and let's be honest premiership survival is the priority.

4th game H v Napoli (0-0)- We played magnificently and dominated the game but as with a lot of games weren't deadly enough infront of goal. If it weren't for one of the best goalkeeping performances I've seen this tie could have been dead and buried

5th game A v Liverpool (4-3)- Great response from going 2-0 down. The boys showed more heart than I saw in 2 months of Laudrup. We were ultimately beaten by one of the best sides this season but they needed a lucky bounce to Henderson to score the winner.

6th game A v Napoli (3-1)- Going to Napoli was always going to be difficult but another good performance and in the end the difference was a 35 million pound striker in higuain. In the end we didn't take out chances in the first leg but a good way to bow out of the europa league and concentrate on survival.

7th game H v Crystal Palace- Great first half. We let them back into it in the second half and gave them plenty of chances. Unfortunate penalty from a foul outside the area gave them the equaliser. Not too many complaints though as we were outclassed in the second half

8th game H v West Brom- I didn't see the first half unfortunately but in the second half we weren't there at all and switched off completely. We can't afford to drop 3 points after being 1 up at home especially against teams around us in the table.

9th game A v Everton- Always going to be difficult to go to goodison park but we had a few really good spells and almost managed to come back to draw.

10th game A v Arsenal- Watching the first half gave us a taste of what it must be like for the opposition when they play against swansea. We didn't have much of the ball but we absorbed the pressure and scored a great goal through bony. If it wasn't for a minute of madness and Probert screwing us over (Podolski assaulting Bony and blowing full time with De Guzman bearing down on goal) we could have easily come away with the 3 points.

The main thing Garry is missing at the moment is few more wins. For the most part the performances have been promising but they mean nothing if we don't convert them into points. I'll take a few awful performances and staying up at the moment! Norwich is a huge huge game for us and although I don't think it is "must win" I think it would be hugely damaging psychologically if we don't come away with the 3 points. That said, based on our performance at the Emirates I'm cautiously optimistic.

Overall I believe Garry has been great at putting the heart back into the team. It is obvious that he is a Jack through and through and that is rubbing off on the players. The boys look like they're playing for the shirt more (compare any of our performances under monk with our game v west ham for example). What he needs to work on now is getting the team to be more clinical so we can convert more chances. He also needs to sort out our performances in the second half. We had a good second half against Arsenal but for that minute of madness but at the end of the day the second halves against Crystal Palace and West Brom were unacceptable (even more so because we were at home!).

Whether he is the man to take us forward I'm not sure as I don't know how he would fare in the transfer window etc. but in the short term I think he is on the right track to keeping us up. Whether or not "some" fans want him in charge or whether they agree with his appointment is irrelevant. He's here and we need to get behind him. We'll have plenty of time to voice our opinions at the end of the season!

NOTRAC added 07:38 - Mar 31 The biggest difference between Laudrup and Monk is that Michael Laudrup was coping with having to play five games in a fortnight and a squad that was suffering from many injuries as a result. How you can write an article comparing the two and not mention that is beyond me.
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Catullus added 11:07 - Apr 3 But how Laudrup managed the squad, his rotations but most of all his attitude seemed to have a demoralising effect on the team. He is the only manager I have ever heard publicly talking down his own teams chances. Other managers usually take the line that games are hard but we will compete. Laudrup had publicly given up on some games. If your manager doesn't believe in you, is it surprising if your performances tail off? I think the round up of the games is very fair. And it has been plainly obvious performances have been better. results will come. Under Laudrup we were getting worse, the trend has been reversed.

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