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Football News: Poyet on the verge?

I was reading through a discussion on a social media site the other day, a group of my friends were talking about betting on who would be the next Premier League manager to be sacked. The result of their chat was the consensus that Gus Poyet's job at Sunderland was the favourite, which initially surprised me. It especially surprised me when I realised none of the people involved were Newcastle fans!

So I sat down and had a look at how Poyet got on before taking over at the Mackems and more closely at how he is getting on right now. People were talking about how well he got on and how great he had Brighton & Hove Albion playing, which is how he got the job at the Stadium of Light and on the face of it it does seem that way.

However you have to say that the money spent, especially on wages, would suggest that Poyet did no more than achieve what would be expected, certainly it is difficult to argue that he overachieved there. His time at Sunderland shows even less evidence of him producing more than expected, despite avoiding relegation last season.

Sunderland are currently just one point above the relegation places, though, to be fair to Gus, he has had to rebuild a side in complete turmoil following the Paolo Di Canio circus that preceded him. Though performances have lacked any real conviction, it is easy to understand why, when you look at the mess he inherited from the madcap mayhem that characterised the Di Canio era. If such a short time period can be even considered an era?

So it would be excusable that Sunderland find themselves struggling, if it wasn't that the signs are worrying, with the football being far from flowing and goals being hard to come by. Added to that his comments about transfers, which clearly looked to excuse himself from responsibility for the summer's dealings, shows signs of pressure on him.

Personally though, I think my friends have made a mistake in their judgement of Poyet's chances of being sacked, the signing of Jermaine Defoe, and the removal of the woeful Jozy Altidore from the wage bill in the same deal, shows that the club is giving him their backing. I think he is safe for now, but he has to turn things around and start moving up the table and quickly.

Written by Tris Burke January 24 2015 17:27:07