Goodbye Martin, Hello Paolo?

 

This year was supposed to be different. Coming into the new season there was a palpable sense of optimism amongst Sunderland fans. We had the manager we had always wanted, exciting players like James McClean and Stephane Sessegnon and in Stephen Fletcher and Adam Johnson, two major new signings who had captured our imaginations. What has followed has been nothing short of a nightmare. That heightened expectation has brought into even sharper focus the shocking decline of the side. A poor start was followed by signs of a brief mid-season revival, but it proved to be a false dawn and despite a slightly improved performance against Manchester United on Saturday Martin O’Neill was sacked from his position as manager and has since been replaced by Paolo Di Canio raising a number of important issues around the club.

The first issue is whether O’Neill should have been dismissed in the first place. Chairman Ellis Short’s decision has been widely criticised in the media though it should be said that the media has always been particularly friendly to O’Neill. Certainly the timing is unfortunate given the lack of games Di Canio will have to turn things around, but that is down more to everyones hope that O’Neill would succeed rather than any sudden panic. O’Neill has always been an extremely popular figure and there was a strong desire on the part of everyone, Chairman, fans and media to see his appointment be successful and as a result he has arguably received more time than another less emotive figure would have. Ultimately the only question that needs to be asked is whether we are more likely to survive in the Premier Division with a new man at the helm than we would have been with O’Neill still in charge. While it’s hard to answer that for definite what I can say is that I don’t think it is any less likely. O’Neill’s side have been incredibly frustrating to watch this season. There has been no lack of effort, but a significant lack of quality. We have been generally defensively sound, but lacking in ideas going forward. The last two games have demonstrated that as well as any others. Firstly playing the majority of the home fixture against Norwich against ten men without creating a significant chance from open play and then secondly against Manchester United totally dominating possession in the second half, but failing to test David De Gea significantly at any point. On a side note I would also call into question O’Neill’s transfer policy. During the first half of the season he justifiably spent a significant period of time bemoaning the lack of options that a small squad afforded him and yet he came out of the January transfer window with a smaller squad than he had started with. Ultimately, though the club may still only require a couple of wins to get themselves out of trouble under O’Neill and the malaise that had set in, it was impossible to see where those wins were coming from. A new man might not make the difference, but he could, and that is the legitimate gamble Short has taken.

When Steve Bruce was sacked last season the Sunderland job seemed to be one everybody wanted. O’Neill was always the likeliest candidate and the fan’s favourite, but there were a number of other exciting options on the list. This time around it has been different and it was significantly harder to get excited about the names linked to the job. Even the likes of Mark Hughes and Steve McLaren who were on the bookies list last time and appeared there again had suffered failures since and as a result were less attractive options. The timing of the sacking also limited the choices. In an ideal world many fans would have liked to have seen Roberto Martinez take on the role, but there was never any question of him leaving Wigan at this stage of the season and with an FA Cup Semi-Final on the horizon. Instead Short had to plump for a relatively untested coach who so far has never managed above League One. So is Paolo Di Canio the right choice? Well, from a purely footballing point of view he has lots in his favour. He has an energy and enthusiasm that should rub off on the players and an obvious passion that may provide the short term lift the team requires until the end of the season. He is also potentially a welcome change of direction from the previous group of managers at the club, most of whom have been fairly old-fashioned traditional English style managers who have produced excellent Championship sides who can just about hold their own in the Premier League. There is more unpredictability about Di Canio, but that may be no bad thing right now. It’s also important to say that while his managerial career has been brief so far, it has been extremely successful as he took Swindon to promotion at the first attempt and when he left the club earlier this summer they were top of the table in League One.

Of course Di Canio arrives with significant baggage. Controversy has tended to follow him throughout his career and has already reared its head at the Stadium of Light. He had some fairly public ructions with both players and the boardroom at Swindon which eventually led to him leaving the club. Then there is his politics. While I think it is fair to say that most fans don’t really care about a manager’s politics it is hard to ignore a man whose wikipedia entry places a section on his fascist politics ahead of his footballing honours. While there is an argument to say that these links have been overplayed on occasions they still sit uncomfortably with many. David Milliband resigned from his position at the club due to Di Canio’s links and judging from the response on twitter has been widely vilified by fans for his decision, but it is significant that a man hugely respected throughout the worldwide political community has felt the need to distance himself from the club as a result of the appointment. As I understand it, Milliband played a significant role in securing the club’s main sponsorship deal and brought in significant other investment during his time at the club and it will be interesting and frankly worrying to see how his resignation is received by the club’s backers. There is also the wider point of how the Club would like to be perceived by the outside world. For a club like ours without the major world footballing stars the manager is the global representative of the club and from today that is Di Canio with everything he brings to the table. At this late stage of the season any appointment was bound to be a gamble, but there is a sense that Di Canio’s temperament represents a powder keg that could blow at any moment.

One thing that can pretty much always be guaranteed at Sunderland is support. Di Canio will receive that in spades and there seems to be a lot of excitement among many fans at his appointment. I have my misgivings, but I remain hopeful that my worries about the future of the club and the direction it is taking are unfounded. Here’s hoping for better times, I think we fans deserve them.

Haway the lads!

Let’s help the minnows get a little taste of victory

Last night England dispatched the minnows of San Marino with a reasonable if unspectacular performance at Wembley in front of a sell-out crowd. For San Marino that made their record 113 games played, with just one win and four draws to show for their efforts. At one point during the match, the ITV commentary team expressed their disappointment that San Marino hadn’t been a little more ambitious and at least attempted to put some pressure on the England defence, but with that kind of record behind them it’s hardly surprising that they tend to be a little cautious. There are occasions in football when, to use a cliche, attack can be the best form of defence, but for the likes of San Marino who simply don’t have the technical ability to trouble the better sides it’s more likely to lead to an even heavier defeat. Indeed the common consensus was that they would and should be pretty satisfied to have kept England down to a five-goal margin of victory.

Undoubtedly teams such as San Marino need to be encouraged as footballing nations, but it is questionable whether putting them up for one beating after another is quite the encouragement they need. Perhaps a better idea would be to inaugurate a pre-qualifying competition for major championships. A place where the lesser footballing nations of Europe could play-off against each other on a more level playing field and allowing them to taste victory once in a while. Surely there would be more to gain that way, than simply engaging in damage imitation exercises against teams with more skill, better organisation and vastly more resources. Far better for these nations to improve gradually against similar strength sides, earning the right to tackle the big boys and at least allowing them to enter those games with a measure of confidence that some victories would provide. It would also have the advantage of shortening the final qualifying process, meaning fewer games for Europe’s top players and eliminating some of the more predictable results.

San Marino’s only victory came in a friendly against Liechtenstein in 2004. Andy Selva, the nation’s top scorer with a grand total of eight goals (the next best is Manuel Marani with 2), scored the winner that day. I imagine the celebrations from the team and their supporters were superb, maybe it’s now time they were given a little more hope of securing a second win, and celebrating once more.