The club’s drop to the third tier is far worse than that of 1987 and for many locals it got to the point where staying in the pub became more appealing than going to the Stadium of LightThe King’s Arms perches on the south bank of the Wear behind the waste ground where the Vaux brewery used to be. It’s a proper pub, at least 150 years old, with a fine range of beers, ancient octagonal tables and draughty toilets widely rumoured to be haunted. We always go there before the home game nearest to Christmas. Nothing much changes. You notice the odd dad who isn’t there any more, the odd kid who’s joined the group, but essentially it’s the...
You can see what the Sunderland manager is getting at when he jokes about the club’s new recipe for success just doing the opposite of what they have done in the past five yearsIf we had to slap a name on this era in football, we could do worse than the Rise of the Quants. These days, there is a widespread belief that even the mascot needs to have read Moneyball, and not simply be able to critique the movie. The biggest clubs employ armies of data analysts, while advanced metrics and tactical analytics are the adornment of increasing amounts of commentary. Privately, you might think some of your friends speak the language of football statistics much as Andy Gray...
Mark Robins’ eye-catching Coventry deserve their headlines, Liverpool have a bargain in Andrew Robertson and Wolves are already good enough for top flightAmid all the hoopla over the departing Mark Hughes, it is right to take a moment to praise Coventry City. They were deserved winners of the third-round tie at the Ricoh Arena, despite giving up the greater number of chances to the visitors. The Sky Blues played with a determination and energy you might expect of a team assuming the David role in a Goliath encounter. But they were also calm on the ball and often quite cute on it, too. Their play was all the more striking, given the starting XI had an average age of 24...
The man appointed to replace Slaven Bilic was deemed dated by his players when on Wearside, where he became shrouded in a cloak of negativityFootball club executives like to talk up the amount of “due diligence” they routinely undertake before hiring anyone but such boasts sometimes end up ringing hollow.Anyone who watched Sunderland regularly last season can be forgiven for wondering precisely how much homework West Ham United did before appointing David Moyes to replace Slaven Bilic. Related: West Ham United appoint David Moyes as new manager 6 Related: West Ham pay a high price for keeping faith in Slaven Bilic too long Continue reading...
Simon Grayson was sacked on Tuesday after one win in 15 league games at a club where good managers suddenly seem to lose their touchSimon Grayson readily agreed his record of one Championship win all season was not too hot but demanded it be viewed in grisly context. “I can’t think of too many people in football at this moment who could do a better job than I am,” he said on Monday.By Tuesday evening he was gone, having been sacked by Sunderland within 15 minutes of the final whistle following a 3-3 home draw with fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers. Related: Simon Grayson sacked as Sunderland manager after draw with Bolton Related: Football rumours: Peter Reid ready to save Sunderland?...