So, with these three clubs in mind, what next. Which direction should they go when looking for a new manager? What changes should they have made, or should make going forward?
SUNDERLAND:
There is a history of disruption at this club from behind the scenes, surpassed only by their rivals Newcastle possibly. Before Dick Advocaat resigned recently you had Gus Poyet and before that was Paulo DiCanio. Martin O’Neill was in charge before that.
Martin O’Neill was fired on March 30th 2013 after a run of eight games without a win, leaving them a point above the relegation zone. With seven games left to go, he was removed. At the time it was a decision which was understandable but no decision made since then regarding managers has worked out to be much better.
Paulo DiCanio didn’t start off as a fans favorite with his past political statements brought up by both local and national press. Despite losing his first game he won the second, a 3-0 win against rivals Newcastle, and the fans sang his name. Despite being seen as a hero at the end of the season he actually only won that game and one against Everton, with a heavy 6-1 defeat against Aston Villa wiped under the carpet when Wigan lost to Arsenal and were relegated instead.
When the new season started DiCanio had bought in a ton of new players and sold some experienced regulars. Stephane Sessegnon, Simon Mignolet and James McClean were quality and experience that couldn’t be easily replaced by the Black Cats. I always get nervous when clubs by a lot of players in one go. Yes it is clear they needed an overhaul but this should be done over a couple of seasons, not one summer. As a result the players didn’t gel and in September DiCanio was fired.
Gus Poyet followed, with the same trajectory, although he did make the League Cup Final. Sunderland lost that to Manchester City and was sacked a year later. That brings us right up to date with Advocaat and again a similar story. So what now?
Big Sam Allardyce and David Moyes have been linked with the club and both wouldn’t be bad fits for the club. Big Sam has done it over and over again throughout his Premiership career to get bottom feeders fighting but, for me, David Moyes would be ideal. He didn’t have the greatest time at United but his statistics were not that far off of Van Gaal’s in his first, and that was without European distractions for LVG. It has only been after the investment of a ton of money this summer that they are now where they expect to be. You have to look at David Moyes whole management career in the top flight to know what he could bring to Sunderland.
Neither one though would want to have someone else have the final say on transfers both in and out and that is the biggest change needed at Sunderland. Lee Congerton, the Sporting Director at Sunderland, has had fingers pointed at him for being that guy who green lights or rejects transfers, not from other clubs, but from the Manager.
Others linked with the position are Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager. Without a doubt this would be his biggest job to date and maybe he would be more agreeable to the Sporting Director keeping his influence. Nigel Pearson has also been linked, and again this would be his biggest job. With the way he handled the criticism while at Leicester last season I cannot imagine the pressure being less at Sunderland.
Both could be a quick band aid fix but, for me, it has to be Moyes top priority with Big Sam as a close second. Something to whet your appetite though is how quickly would Brendan Rodgers want to get back in the game? If he was up for it then, as Sunderland Chairman I would consider him to be top choice along with Moyes.
LIVERPOOL:
It was only a matter of time before Brendan Rodgers was fired as Liverpool boss but it still came as a shock when it eventually happened. If you look at the statistics it makes for un-Liverpool reading. Currently tenth, the side recently tied with rivals Everton and FC Sion in the Europa League. Results this season have not been great, and he has been the only Liverpool Manager to have been in his third season with no trophy. But what trophy counts as success? Kenny Dalglish won the League Cup in 2012, with no FA Cup for over a decade and no title in the Premiership era, they last lifted the trophy in 1990!
After their worst finish in 18 years under Kenny Dalglish, Brendan came in. In his first season he guided Liverpool to seventh in the first season before leading Liverpool to runners up in the Premier League in the next. A Gerrard slip handed City the title in reality and robbed Rodgers of having the first title for almost a quarter of a century. Don’t forget he also won the LMA Manager Of The Year award, first Liverpool Manager to win it in twenty years.
The loss of some great players, Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez in particular, have not helped. Recently, Raheem Sterling and the whole controversy surrounding that deal dragged on way too long and, although added $70 million to the Liverpool coffers, only gave the club two weeks to replace him. This, along with the other players out at the end of the month, saw Brendan Rodgers bring over $300 million into the club just in sales. Meanwhile his purchases, while applauded at the time, have failed to yield any decent results. Daniel Sturridge has been plagued by injuries since his $18million move from Chelsea while Mario Ballotelli made little impact and Christian Benteke has only just began his career with Liverpool and the jury is still out on his value for money.
Should Brendan Rodgers have been given more time? I think so and I think he would have been given that if Chelsea were not having such a bad time themselves. In April, Jurgen Klopp left Borussia Dortmund, and although being linked with Liverpool, he decided to take a sabbatical. Now he seems open to a return there are few clubs looking to change their Manager who could attract Klopp. Indicating he wants to try his hand in the Premiership, and with the Manchester clubs happy with their managers and Arsenal stuck with Wenger there was only the potential of Chelsea. With Chelsea losing to Southampton on Saturday to continue their bad start to the season I wonder if that result had more to do with the decision to fire Rodgers and go for Klopp rather than a 1-1 draw away to Everton?
Either way a decision has been made and the race to sign Klopp is on. Hopefully they get their man because firing Rodgers at such an early stage in the season after handing him all that money, and acknowledging they are a club in transition, if they get anyone other than Klopp it would be a bet lost.
OTHER MANAGERS:
Jose Mourinho is now facing a situation unknown to him and how he reacts will show just how special the special one is. At the moment he looks all out of ideas, blaming the medical staff, officials and anyone other than himself for the bad results. The club have come out with a statement which says they are still behind him, but unless things change dramatically, it is just a stay of execution. What will be the tipping point? Knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage, mid table at Christmas?
After the International break I think October will be the month which will tell us a lot. Home to struggling Aston Villa before three away games, Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League before West Ham and Stoke in the Premier League leads nicely up to the home tie with a (possibly) new Jurgen Klopp inspired Liverpool side. If they do not have fifteen points going into that game then the support might get a little shaky.
I have made no secret that I didn’t think Tim Sherwood would be a success at Aston Villa. Like Liverpool, the summer transfers out of the club didn’t help. Losing Benteke and Fabian Delph really gutted the squad. Next up is Chelsea away and results haven’t been good at all. Mistakes keep happening. An opening day win away to newly promoted Bournemouth was a struggle but opening day games are always tough. Since then they haven’t won in the league at all this season and haven’t added any points since the end of August. The clock is most certainly ticking on Sherwoods time as a Villain and if he is still there at Christmas it will be a surprise.
Jason is a Freelance Soccer Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @PACityboy and www.facebook.com/jasonbardwell1979
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