Manager’s logic questioned as he takes his rock-bottom side to America’s freezing east coast and suggests it will make their home city ‘feel like Dubai’How are you rewarded for failing at work? The question is pertinent in the week David Moyes took his Sunderland squad to New York for a mid-season break – yes, the same Sunderland whose 4-0 thumping by Southampton at the Stadium of Light on Saturday left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League. Bad at football but now off for a bit of sightseeing in one of the world’s most iconic cities, which may well include a visit to Trump Tower. Make America Great Again? Moyes could do with making his team adequate for...
Few of the former manager’s costly signings succeeded at Old Trafford and many, like the Everton-bound Morgan Schneiderlin, soon found their careers in limboOne has to feel a little bit sorry for Morgan Schneiderlin somewhere along the line, even if the basic reason his move to Manchester United did not work out was because he could not prove himself a better midfield option than the 35-year-old Michael Carrick.United splurging all that money on Paul Pogba did not help either, though even with the world’s most expensive player in the lineup this season Carrick has still been getting the nod over Schneiderlin and José Mourinho was being somewhat economical with the truth when he suggested on Tuesday that he had been...
David Moyes carries the can for the glacier-quick burst out of the blocks but Sunderland appear dysfunctional from the boardroom downIt is over 43 years since an overjoyed Bob Stokoe raced, arms outstretched, across the Wembley sward to celebrate one of the great FA Cup upsets. Second Division Sunderland had just slain the mighty Leeds team featuring Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter and John Giles to win the 1973 final and their manager, looking faintly ridiculous in a brown raincoat, red tracksuit bottoms and trademark trilby, was rushing to embrace his goalkeeper Jim Montgomery. The “Stokoe run” has since been cast in bronze and erected on a concourse outside the Stadium of Light as a reminder of happier times. Given his...
David Moyes’ side are bottom of the league and Aitor Karanka’s Boro have lost four of their last five, so what needs to change?The clocks do not go back for another week but it is never too early for a north-east crisis and, sure enough Sunderland and Middlesbrough already look deeply troubled.David Moyes’s bottom-placed side go to West Ham on Saturday having collected only two points this season, and Aitor Karanka celebrated his sole win at Sunderland’s expense and has seen his team – 17th and at Arsenal on Saturday – lose four of their past five games. Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Continue reading...
England’s Under-21 keeper has stepped into the shoes of the injured Vino Mannone and the experience of several loan spells is bearing dividendsJoe Hart’s decision to turn down Sunderland last month has offered a potential successor as England’s No1 goalkeeper a long‑awaited chance to command centre stage.Jordan Pickford already has nine England Under-21 caps but watching him excel against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday it is easy to envisage the 22-year-old from Washington, Tyne and Wear, eventually taking over from Hart at senior level. Sunderland’s coaching staff have known about his extravagant potential for years but following loan stints at Darlington, Altrincham, Burton Albion, Carlisle United, Bradford City and Preston North End, he began this season as...