http://www.givemesport.com/386355-top-five-sunderland-managerial-candidates?autoplay=on Here is a look at the five frontrunners for the job: 1. Gus Poyet - Unattached. Odds: 4/9 (Favourite) Gus Poyet's departure at Brighton at the end of last season threatened to undermine all the good work that the former Chelsea and Tottenham midfielder had done at the Seagulls during his near four-year spell at the club. The Uruguayan had turned Brighton into one of the most stylish outfits outside of the Premier League, providing fans a side made of both substance and flair, with his reign starting with steering Brighton away from the League One relegation zone, and ending with a Championship play-off defeat to Crystal Palace at the end of last season. Seemingly Poyet felt he had gone as far as he could in the position, and reportedly told his players just that, which led to his unsavoury departure from the club. A manager with ambition and a solid start to his managerial career, sounds exactly like the former manager Di Canio, but expect a more humble and less outspoken approach if Poyet is successful. Many reports suggest it is all but signed, that Poyet is next in the hotseat, but with Kevin Ball in charge for another weekend, things could change. 2. Rene Meulensteen - Unattached. Odds: 10/1 Many Manchester United fans were disappointed to hear of the departure of Rene Meulensteen following the arrival of David Moyes and his own staff following the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. What has followed for Meulensteen since then has been far away from the smooth running and success of his time as United's first-team coach. Shortly following his arrival as Guus Hiddink's assistant coach at Anzhi Makhachkala, the Dutchman replaced his compatriot following Hiddink's resignation, to be sacked just 16 days later by owner Suleman Kerimov, as the Russian attempted to undo all his big spending due to lack of instant success. A world-class coach, the Dutchman has not yet cut his teeth into the world of management, with short spells in Qatar and Brondby his only experience. Would certainly improve Sunderland on the training ground, but may lack the managerial presence in the dugout. 3. Kevin Ball - Sunderland Caretaker Manager. Odds: 10/1 The man currently minding the Sunderland hotseat, Ball is no stranger to the position of caretaker. Following the dismissal of Mick McCarthy in 2006, Ball stepped in for the remaining 10 games of a poor season for the club, before throwing his hat into contention for the job permanently, only to be ruled out by Niall Quinn's desire for a world-class manager. Given the job again, Ball has the same ambition - but expect the same outcome. However, Ball knows the club inside out, spending the vast majority of his playing career, and almost all of his non-playing career at the club, there would be far more unpopular choices than the former Mackem. Given the reigns for two games already, a third game against Manchester United has also been given to Ball to take charge of. If a manager has not been named by then already, Ball could do his chances no harm with a result against the champions. 4. Gianfranco Zola - Watford. Odds: 12/1 The smiling Italian has become a fan favourite at current club Watford, falling just short of promotion last season. The former Chelsea midfielder looks set to make another charge with his Watford side to reach the heights of the Premier League. A move to Sunderland could provide that platform for Zola. With Premier League experience behind him, Zola was a popular man at West Ham too, before his dismissal in 2010. A likeable figure amongst most football fans, the Italian would almost certainly be a popular choice with the Sunderland fans. The fact he is Italian could also be of benefit, a possibility to continue the work Di Canio set upon but with less outrageousness, it could also provide marquee summer signing Emanuele Giaccherini a figurehead compatriot to truly settle in to English life. Zola himself, however, has distanced himself from the position, seemingly happy to continue what he was doing at Watford, which makes it highly likely Zola won't be moving up north in the near future. 5. Murat Yakin - Basel. Odds: 14/1 One half of the Yakin brothers, Murat Yakin is arguably the most managerially experienced out of the five frontrunners, having been manager of three Swiss teams in the past four years. Although he may be somewhat the unknown name thrown into the hat, Yakin comes with his credentials. Taking over from Heiko Vogel during the 2012/13 season, Yakin managed to guide Basel to their 16th Swiss league title, and so far in the new league season, Basel sit top again. The transition in both style and quality to the Premier League is arguably the biggest risk to Yakin's chances, but the former Swiss international has faced challenges from Premier League opposition, and has done his reputation no harm; defeating Tottenham in the Europa League quarter-finals last season, then initially taking charge in the Europa League semi-final second leg against Chelsea, before falling 5-2 on aggregate. A move to the Premier League could one day materialise for Yakin, but expect the Basel manager to fall short this time round. There are other names with further odds that could also be of some interest to Sunderland fans. Tony Pulis, despite his long-ball reputation, is definitely a man who could stabilise their season. He is priced at around 20/1, the same price as the early favourite Roberto Di Matteo, a man with a Champions League winners' medal as a manager has seemingly distanced himself from the position, with reports he is 'unconvinced' at the job. But all the odds seemingly point in the way of Gus Poyet, a manager who has certainly earned an opportunity at the top level. With 33 games to go, the Uruguayan would have time to put it right, but would also need to hit the ground running or risk losing huge ground to the teams above them. Despite the other three frontrunners, it looks as though it will be only Kevin Ball who offers a serious challenge to Poyet's inevitable arrival, but with United next in the league, Ball may not get the chance to lay any more serious contention to the top job. For all of Di Canio's live-wire entertainment, Sunderland need stability or they could once again face another mass exodus of players this summer. This time however, to drop their wage bill for life in the second tier. ------------------------------------------------------- Meulensteen is an interesting one... RVP speaks very highly of the fella and a lot of Man Utd fans are unhappy that Moyes got rid of him. With already having a Director of Football at the club.. Do we need a manager OR a coach ? This fella has gotten the best out of many an average player.. Aswell as bringing on the likes of Evans, Wellbeck etc. Maybe he would be ideal for the likes of Whickham, Ba, Karlson, Mavrias etc etc I think we could do a lot worse than employing the team Moyes got rid of... Terry Phelan and the goalkeeping coach who SAF describes as the best he's worked with. I'm like everyone else... I don't want 'him' and.. I don't want 'him' BUT.. I also don't really know who I would like to tell the truth. Our problem is that we are stuck with the set of players we already have until Jan.. In my opinion we need a coach more than we need a manager... This fella may be the answer?? But then again......... aaaaaaaaargh !!!!!!!
I'm holding out for anybody with knowledge of English football, not just EPL, as this lot are uninspiring but the best of a bad bunch. NO to Yakin based on the job that the other Swiss manager (Gross?) did at Spurs some time ago; too big a jump.
Kevin should be given a couple of months, let us see how he fairs in until November with the Mags h, Stoke, Hull, Villa away to play, just get that defence sorted out pronto !.
Though I agree with your sentiments mate, I would say let Bally hold the reins for the next few tough fixtures and bring in the manager after them. Sorry coach, why does that thought fill me with worry? A coach should be some one training the squad, we need a manager!
If this Rene Muelensteen is apparently the reason United play how they did, as far as im concerned get him in asap, get the team gelled and playing fast attacking football and get some points on the board
It's Meulensteen for me, although he hasn't got managerial experience the guy is undoubtedly a great coach with vast experience in Europe. Right now we just need someone to steady the ship and get the players performing to a system, much like PDC tried to do but without all the baggage that came with him.
My choice is Meulensteen too. The british game is becoming more and more technical by the season. Games are won more from midfield than upfront. We need a head coach with Meulensteen's technical genious. He can drag us into the modern game. Will probably mean see ya later to players like JoS and Cuellar who can't pass to save their life but who's going to miss those ****s. Of Course they want an old school english manager. They want to play ****e football and just coast through the latter stages of their careers without evolving or improving. We mustn't change our vision just because a few whining arseholes on the payrole don't share the same vision.
Do please elaborate. Edit: I agree with a lot of what you say by the way. He was a top coach for United as were Phelan and Steele. It's unlikely to be plain sailing even with Rene though, he is a world class coach but he's not even cut his teeth at management so this guy will need just as much time as anyone else if not more. He fell flat on his face at Brondby with his unorthodox approach to management much like PDC has with you guys but the difference is, Rene has worked with and successfully coached some of the best players this league has seen such as Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney, RVP, Scholes, Vidic, Giggs.
Valencia, Cleverly, Nani, Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher? Season upon season for years now Man U have looked considerably weaker on paper compared to you nearest rivals. On the face of it your chelsea's, Man Cities and arsenals have looked more technically equipped than yourselves. It's been your glorious coaching team who have helped these lads to more than compete on a technical level.
I'd argue that apart from Park, he's never got the best out of any of those. Fletcher was far from average either, he was just not a household, glamorous name he was always naturally progressing to be a top central midfielder. Technically I'd say you don't know what you're talking about. Scholes and Giggs probably the two most technically advanced midfielders this league has ever seen. Are you suggesting that in terms of technique, the likes of Fabregas, Lampard, Silva, Toure, Cazorla, name whoever you want... could teach Giggs and Scholes a thing or two? You're talking about glamorous names, that's all.
Surely if I was questioning the technical ability of Giggs and Scholes i would have named them directly. I didn't because they have bags of it. But a large chunk of it is natural ability. You won the league countless times with players who technically haven't been up to the grade of Giggs and Scholes while your rivals have boosted so much more naturally technical talent throughout their squads. Players like Valencia have never been good enough for you but they've played important parts and contributed to championship winning seasons. I'd like personal in who can get our players to over perform because many aren't good enough to play in this league. Sorry if you disagree but it's my opinion on my own board. You're on here every week with your sunderland views which quite often are all over the shop. The difference between you and me is that i'm not on your board constantly serving up my dodgy man u views. So in essence, if you don't like my own opinion on my own club board, I invite you to piss off.
Firstly 'natural ability' includes technique mate, so let's not separate that as if it's some separate entity that players can only learn. Secondly, let's address the first bold part... Brian McClair, Bryan Robson, ERIC CANTONA, Mark Hughes, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Ole Solksjaer, Jaap Stam, Laurent Blanc, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, CHRISTIANO RONALDO, Louis Saha, Nemanja Vidic, Gerard Pique, Carlos Tevez, DIMITAR BERBATOV, Wayne Rooney, ROBIN VAN PERSIE. Surely only Arsenal can boast anywhere near such list and that's just off the top of my head. Technique is something United have always had in their ranks, we have given some away in flair and pace over the years, often we come across a team superior in many other ways but to say United have always been inferior technically is absurd. I was discussing a point that contradicted my thoughts on my team, it's an open forum mate so you know what you can do if you wanna hang around on a single club forum, I've highlighted it for you in your text!
Sorry, just to add. I actually agree with you about Meulensteen so I don't know why you're arguing about it. He did get the best out of a lot of United players, Ronaldo immediately comes to mind, I just didn't agree that he got the best out of AVERAGE players. I have been an advocate of RM for Sunderland job since the day PDC was sacked, I've voiced it on this very site.
You've been the best team in the country for decades, of course you've had a flow of fantastic ability. Stop implying that i'm attacking those players because I'm quite clearly not doing that! Are you backwards or what? you've had plenty of duds who aren't fit to lace the boots of the players you've mentioned but have raised their game and been coached well so that they've still made telling contributions to very successfull seasons. I'm actually complimenting your past coaching setups you numpty so why are you trying to twist things and put words in my mouth?
