Rank Sunderland managers


Reid - the most effective side we have had in my lifetime with some great players and a lot of exciting football.
Stokoe - I saw the cup final on telly and it was thrilling but I was a few weeks off 7 and only started going to games after. I loved the 1976 promotion and he valiantly tried to save us from relegation. That fateful Gillingham fame remains one if the most amazing I have seen, the other side of Leeds and the last day v Portsmouth.
Smith - loved him. Phenomenal effort and galvanized a club in tatters, signed Marco who was thrilling
Mowbray - the best attacking football we have played since Reid and with more options could have got us up last season. A decent man.
Durban - I might have included Neil because he was essential but the method of his departure and his cold fish personality doesn't endear. Durban I include partly on behalf of my Dad who saw what he was trying to build, he had a strategy and knew good players.

Ken Knighton deserves a mention. Some good football and exciting players. His status as an 'elevated coach' meant he wasn't accorded the respect he deserved when purple face Cowie took over. Then it is McCarthy and Keane who both did cracking jobs to get us promoted. Keane did better in tge PL.
 
I've seen more bad ones than good ones, but here we go

1. Reid, before his ego went out of control and he started falling out with players for the slightest of reasons. The 2 seventh placed PL finishes won't be bettered for some time.
2. Keane, exciting times and seemed of have stabilised us as a PL team, but then similar to the Reid couldn't control is ego, and then to boot decided he didn't like his boss questioning where he was at while on the payroll.
3. Poyet, probably the only manager I think should have been given a little bit longer but we were going nowhere fast under him. Seemed to shit his pants after the Southampton spanking and never recovered.
4. Denis Smith, did the best he could with the money we had at the time and was the manager at my first ever game.
5. McCarthy, did well to get us promoted playing good exciting football then didn't get backed by Murray financially in the PL. Murray wanted out and didn't want crippled with debt after the Wilko relegation season essentially throwing MM under the bus.
 
1 - Reid
2 - Smith

The rest - Meh.

Bottom - joint McMenemy and Parkinson.

spoilt for choice if he meant rank as in garbage, but for me I reckon Wilko was bottom of the pile. The team inherited was mid-table at worst and he turned them into relegation fodder and crippled us with debt. A shite manager and an arsehole to boot
 
spoilt for choice if he meant rank as in garbage, but for me I reckon Wilko was bottom of the pile. The team inherited was mid-table at worst and he turned them into relegation fodder and crippled us with debt. A shite manager and an arsehole to boot
Why does cotterill get away with an easy ride
 
Why does cotterill get away with an easy ride

He wasn't a dickhead and was only Wilkos assistant. Wilko called the shots and sickened the players off with stupidly long fitness training sessions Cotterill was the tactical and technical trainer and the players spent all day running around like headless chickens instead of improving their game.
 
You can like him for what he did without pretending his style of management would never work in 2024

Keane is great but he's not a manager and never will be. I mean it only got worse after his antics at Sunderland when he was with Republic of Ireland chasing Harry Arter down a hotel corridor shouting run ya English twat.

If ya wondering why he can't get a job after taking Ireland to the Euros as assistant, that's why :D
 
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Billy Elliott was in charge when Gary Rowell took the piss out of the mags at Sid James Park in 1979 so deserves a special mention and staying with that era and theme Ken Knighton overasaw our Glorious 11-10 victory over the Scum and got us out of the Second Division so should rate highly!!!!
 
The usual suspects deservedly mentioned,, but as usual Coleman avoids it as he sucked off the fans enough, despite doing a worse job than even Grayson imo.
He also didn’t have Lewis Grabban who was a very significant loss compared to Grayson but yet attained a marginally better win percentage
 

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