http://www.rokerreport.com/2013/9/2...-my-top-3-choices-for-next-sunderland-manager Simon Walsh: My Top 3 Choices For Next Sunderland Manager By SimonWalsh on Sep 23 2013, 8:43a 1 Everyone on the site will be doing one of these, unless Sunderland pip us to the post and actually appoint someone, so here's my choices having sat on it for a while. 1. Rene Muelensteen Certainly as some have said, the progressive choice. If we want to move on in a positive way, there's not many other ways to look at things. Clearly a Director Of Football is what we're lumbered with, and with them overseeing the financials and potential playing staff brought in, we need someone on the training ground and in the dugout who can get the very best out of what's there. Di Canio was of course supposed to be able to do that, but too much show and not enough pony saw that the Italian lost all respect from the players he was charged with using. Muelensteen is by all accounts a great student of the game, and rarely does someone rise to be assistant manager of Manchester United without having some nous about them. He's also be hailed by many a player there as a superb man-manager and tactician. Having been ousted by David Moyes in favour of Steve Round, many are expecting him to be given his first shot at big-time management sooner rather than later. I'd be delighted if he came in and we were the ones to offer that. He ticks all the boxes, that's for sure. 2. Roberto Di Matteo A safer pick, and although I'm not entirely convinced by him as a manager you can't really argue with his results, having lost only 27% of matches in his career. Many a Chelsea fan were fully prepared for him to be given the job full-time following the Champions League win, and wanted him to be installed there, although Roman Abramovich had other ideas. I wouldn't mind Di Matteo, but he's not my first choice, and he wouldn't have me thinking we'd really done the right thing. More of a sideways move than a forward-thinking one. 3. Marcelo Bielsa A complete goof of a pick, let's get that out the way first. However, he is looking for work, and having transformed the fortunes of smaller sides before, he'd be an excellent fit. Tactically, a genius. Although his methods can be questioned, he has yielded results on a consistent basis. No doubt he can do better than us, which is why I started with the precursor that this is a goof, and I don't think it's particularly possible. With some people suggesting Roberto Mancini's name though, if we're going to go big in an appointment, Bielsa would be a much, much better pick.
