Time For Change? Two Managers Who Could Improve Sunderland
Just for clarity; there is no agenda here against Simon Grayson and everyone should be encouraged to do their job and be supported accordingly.
However, football managers have the power sometimes to make but very often to break a team’s chances of success and with that comes the responsibility of knowing that your actions can directly affect how the fans of your club feel when each Monday morning comes around.
I have written here though that my belief is that Sunderland deserve a better first-team manager than Simon Grayson. Preston (as I feel is now being proven this season) did well despite Grayson rather than because of him and now Sunderland’s position is dire.
League One football is on the way unless the club do something drastic and while others managers have once again lost their jobs prematurely, it seems in this case, there would not be much of an uproar should the chop come.
Good practice would, of course, mean that you should at least offer a solution should you table a problem, so for what it’s worth, here are two coaches I think who could help Sunderland get out of their dreadful plight.
Jaap Stam
Reading, with all due respect, are not as big a club as Sunderland and so the move to the north east on that score would not be a step down for Stam, rather it would be a step up.
Had Reading started his season by repeating last year’s heroics then this move would simply not be on. However, with the Royals sitting just 3 points and 3 places above the Black Cats, a move for the former Man United stalwart would not be met with such consternation.
Reading played with a swashbuckling style last season and while the current Sunderland squad could not directly replicate that right now, they would certainly be a damn sight better to watch with Stam in charge.
Gianfranco Zola
Why not? He’s had limited success in England as a manager but has often been sought after, meaning those in the know appreciate what ability he has as a coach.
His style as a player was fantastic and it’s always been the hope that he can produce teams as a coach, playing in an open and attacking style which is something Sunderland could badly do with just now. He wouldn’t make the list ahead of Stam for me, but he could most definitely still do a job in this division.