Di-Day for Sunderland
As much as I was initially surprised at the sacking of Martin O’Neill, as soon as I thought about it for a few seconds I realised nothing really surprises me in football anymore.
In years gone by it was virtually unheard of for managers to be sacked with only a few weeks left in the season. The only reason we have seen football clubs like Reading and now Sunderland wield the axe now is because of the astronomical money at stake for Premier League survival. Revenue from domestic deals with Sky and BT for three seasons from 2013/14 will be a whopping £3 billion. BBC’s Match of the Day chip in with £178 million. With overseas deals set to bring this figure over the £5 billion barrier then you can see why owners and chairmen of clubs in and around the bottom of the table are getting more than a little edgy.
When O’Neill was announced as Sunderland boss after the departure of Steve Bruce, it seemed to have the unanimous approval of the fans. I thought it was a good appointment and that the club would get back to those heady days when Peter Reid was in charge and they challenged for European places. Now, Sunderland fans will be especially anxious Bruce doesn’t swap divisions with them with Hull City.
Quite often when a new manager takes over there is an initial reaction from players which can amount even to a new lease of life. Obviously this is what the Sunderland hierarchy will be hoping for, yet their choice of Di Canio still raises a lot of questions.
Firstly, for purely football reasons, this appointment is a gamble. There’s no doubting Di Canio has done well in his fledgling managerial career at Swindon, but it’s a huge step up to Premier League management, never mind taking the helm at a club in such a precarious position with seven games remaining. His methods at Swindon were questioned and there were public arguments with players too, but all of that was excused on the basis that he was successful. However, you have to wonder if the hard-driving methods he used with lower league players will be tolerated by an experienced bunch of Premier League pros — a very different breed of footballer.
When Paul Ince walked onto the training ground for the first time at my old club MK Dons, it was very clear he was going to have an impact as the players hung on his every word. And so it proved: they would have run through walls for him. But fast forward a couple of years to when he took the reins at Blackburn and now he was managing players like Tugay and Benni McCarthy (who had won the Champions League under Jose Mourinho) — they proved a different kettle of fish. Di Canio will have his work cut out at Sunderland and may well have to alter his ways — but I have my doubts if he will want to do that. Or even that he can.
And so to the political dimension to his appointment. I’m a little divided on the whole “footballers need to be role models” argument, and I’ll tell you why. Footballers come from all kinds of backgrounds so, in a way, it’s unfair to expect a young lad of maybe 19 or 20 who hasn’t perhaps had the best upbringing himself to be a role model for kids just because he’s thrown into the limelight playing football. Yes, I think football clubs should show more initiative in nurturing their young talents, not only to make them into good footballers but also into fine, young, respectful men. Southampton are a good example. If you look at the players who have come through their ranks in recent years – the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Adam Llana — it’s clear the club not only prides itself on developing good footballers but also good young people. That said, I do think as you get a little older and more mature then it’s more realistic to live your life in a way that gives a good moral example to young kids.
I’m not saying you need to live like a saint — and I’m not painting myself in this light — but I do feel a responsibility to conduct myself in a certain manner.
Up until this week I had no idea about Di Canio’s political beliefs. My memories of him are of a very good footballer, who often walked that fine line between genius and lunatic.
The way this whole episode has been managed by Sunderland has been a little naïve. When David Miliband resigned from his role at the club due to Di Canio’s political beliefs, it served to add fuel to the fire and, by the time the Italian was introduced as the new manager on Monday afternoon, the inevitable interrogation ensued.
The issue could easily have been put to bed there and then by Di Canio but he didn’t really address it head-on. It’s a free world and his beliefs are very much his own choice, but I have to say that, if I was a Sunderland fan, I wouldn’t be too happy with someone who has tattoos in honour of Mussolini, made fascist salutes to his then adoring Lazio fans and has also been known to have been close to Italian fascist Paolo Signorelli.
For me, it’s not who I would want at the helm of a club and it sends out all the wrong signals. And even though Di Canio has subsequently been forced to address the issue – “I’m not a racist and I do not support the ideology of fascism” he said on Wednesday – the whole thing has been a PR disaster for Sunderland.
Returning to the football, the mere fact of Sunderland changing their manager gives them absolutely no guarantees of Premier League survival, of course.. You only need to look at Wolverhampton Wanderers – the club my Bolton side are facing today — to see evidence of that. Since they made the impulsive decision to relieve Mick McCarthy of his duties after losing heavily in a local derby to West Brom in February of last year, Wolves have had three managers and now find themselves near the bottom of the Championship.
For different reasons, it’s also massive game for us, as a win with seven games to go would push us closer to the play-off places. We’re into that defining phase of the season now.
