Drastic times call for drastic measures and judging by the moves made this Easter weekend by Sunderland, the situation at the Stadium of Light has blown by the threshold of anxiety right into full-on desperation.
Following an uninspired 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Saturday, Sunderland parted company with manager Martin O’ Neill in the midst of a dreadful skid that has the Black Cats winless in its last eight matches, amassing a paltry three points during the stretch. Sitting a single point above the drop zone in 17th place, club chairman Ellis Short has handed the coaching reins over to Paolo Di Canio on a two-and-a-half year contract.
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With only seven matches remaining in the season, Sunderland supporters now must hope that a change motivated by panic will prove a cagey hire, rather than a roll of the dice simply for the sake of it that effectively dooms the club to Championship football next season.
Saturday’s match with United at the Stadium of Light was a microcosm of the Black Cats’ year and their season-long sputtering offence finally sealed O’Neill’s fate. Producing just 33 goals in 31 matches, Sunderland looked lost without injured leading scorer Steven Fletcher.
In the Scotsman’s absence, O’Neill employed Danny Graham as his lone forward with the disappointing Stephane Sessegnon in behind him. The two men couldn’t get any sort of understanding going and cut anonymous figures for a vast majority of the match. Though O’Neill can’t be blamed for his squad selection, Saturday’s match must have felt like a rerun for supporters with the Black Cats’ inability to turn possession into any kind of real chances.
While the potential for a managerial change always exists when a team seems to be falling into a death spiral, few expected Short to pull the trigger on O’Neill. The Irishman’s calling card as a manager has always been his ability to strengthen the resolve of his charges and unite team belief. But if there was one thing absent against United, it was any sort of confidence going forward.
If the dismissal of O’Neill came as a surprise, the appointment of Di Canio is earth-shattering. Di Canio has been club-less since leaving his maiden managerial voyage at League One’s Swindon Town in mid-February after nearly two years in charge. Inserting the polarizing Italian into the equation had immediate impact: Sunderland vice-chairman David Milliband, brother of Labour Party leader Ed, stepped down upon Di Canio’s hiring, citing concern over Di Canio’s "past political statements."
The former Lazio man’s politics are well known, with Di Canio calling himself a fascist and heaping praise upon Benito Mussolini. Though Di Canio has since distanced himself from his comments and insists that he has no issue with anybody, it’s easy to see why a hiring of this ilk can raise red flags.
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But perhaps that’s the point. Di Canio is the polar opposite of O’Neill. He’s flamboyant, outspoken and divisive, and there will be just as many eyeballs on Di Canio on the touchline as there will be on the action on the pitch. Bringing in a manager of Di Canio’s stock might be the perfect tonic to deflect attention away from a flagging squad and onto arguably the Premier League’s most colorful gaffer since Jose Mourinho plied his trade at Stamford Bridge.
Even if misdirection is the intent of Sunderland here, there is the matter of whether or not the hire will work. Yes, Di Canio guided Swindon Town to promotion from League Two last season, but lining up against the likes of Port Vale and Southend is a far cry from taking the field to play Chelsea, Sunderland’s opponent next this weekend.
Simply put, Di Canio is woefully under-qualified to guide a Premiership side and there will be a baptism by fire with matches remaining against Everton and a potentially decisive final game of the season at Spurs.
Genius and insanity are two sides of the same coin. In dismissing Martin O’Neill and appointing Paolo Di Canio, Sunderland just flipped it up in the air and, in seven matches from now, we’ll find out on which side it landed.
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