Did Sunderland do the right thing?

[The Great Mass Debater 1,202]

With the debate about Hughton possibly being sacked or not, lets discuss this little parallel (if not exactly the same) situation. So the question is, from an outside perspective have Sunderland done the right thing? He''s had far less time than Hughton, but I''ve not seen many disagree with the decision to fire him early. Do people saying Hughton shouldnt be sacked as its too early also feel that this was the wrong move? So, what is our outsider perspective on Di Canio''s sacking? Too early? Or the right decision?

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,222]

Think they did the righ thing as he has lost the respect of his players........

[Syteanric 1]

Kevin Kilbane was on the news this morning and said that he thought di Canio had lost the dressing room.

he said regardless of what fans or media think once you lose either the board, or the players, there really is no way back.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Don''t you have to factor in the mental state of DiCanio? He attacked players he signed which is very dangerous.

We all knew this would quickly be a huge success or a car crash.

The parallels with us are pretty thin really.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

Last season I suspect their results would have perked up a bit whether or not they had sacked O''Neill.  I think they would have survived anyway.

 

Di Canio was always an odd appointment, a maverick with no experience at the top level.  His motivational style may work in the lower leagues, but with Prem players who are paid a fortune you just have to treat them differently.

 

Having appointed him, you need to give him more time than 5 games into the season.  But it may be true that behind the scenes it has been a shambles while he was there, given some of the bizarre stories that have come out. In which case getting rid of him is the right decision, in the sense of correcting a horrendous mistake when then appointed him.

 

Let''s hope they may a similarly poor decision about his replacement !

[Salopian 1]

Yes. It was always going to be a short-lived marriage, and that Di Canio did well in avoiding relegation. It was always going to end in tears, and most people predicted this. So if it''s inevitable, do it quickly!

 

Hughton is an entirely different case. He is well liked. He is respected by players - one or two of the newcomers actually said that they came to Norwich because of him. He has had a tough task, trying to make a new squad with so many players new to the EPL. He was not helped by an early injury to Olsson and by the late injury to Hooper, and for several games Snodgrass seemed to be lacking sparkle as if carrying an injury.

 

Some fear that he is inflexible and pre-determined, or too defensive. There may be some truth in this, but the fact that he did well at Newcastle and then Birmingham suggests that he is capable of operating at the highest level.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Salopian"]

but the fact that he did well at Newcastle and then Birmingham suggests that he is capable of operating at the highest level.

[/quote]

He got a ridiculously strong Newcastle side out of the Championship.

 

And he got quite a strong Birmingham to the play-offs. If I remember correctly he lost Zigic to injury and didn''t really have a plan B.

[PurpleCanary 6,381]

[quote user="Salopian"]

Yes. It was always going to be a short-lived marriage, and that Di Canio did well in avoiding relegation. It was always going to end in tears, and most people predicted this. So if it''s inevitable, do it quickly!

 

Hughton is an entirely different case. He is well liked. He is respected by players - one or two of the newcomers actually said that they came to Norwich because of him. He has had a tough task, trying to make a new squad with so many players new to the EPL. He was not helped by an early injury to Olsson and by the late injury to Hooper, and for several games Snodgrass seemed to be lacking sparkle as if carrying an injury.

 

Some fear that he is inflexible and pre-determined, or too defensive. There may be some truth in this, but the fact that he did well at Newcastle and then Birmingham suggests that he is capable of operating at the highest level.

[/quote]

 

 As far as one can tell Di Canio "lost" the dressing-room because he was very strict in his methods. Whether he was over-strict or whether the fault lies with pampered players who didn''t like a few harsh lessons and truths is a question. If Hughton has lost or losing the dressing-room at Norwich is is almost certainly because he is not enough of a disciplinarian.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

I have every confidence that if Hughton lost the dressing room he''d be gone. It''s not like the old days where you could ship players in and out during the season. We''ve got our squad now and if the manager can''t control them it wouldn''t be left to carry on.

 

We had all this before with suggestions that Worthy lost the dressing room. That never happened either.

 

 

[Sussexyellow 55]

Sacked too soon. He was doing a great job. I had Sunderland nailed on for relegation. Will have to revise that now which can not be good for us!

More seriously though, if he had "lost the dressing room" then basically what is being said is that he was not performing in the fundamental part of his job, managing the football affairs primarily the players. Failure to perform to the required standard is pretty terminal in most jobs. Better to get the dirty deed over and done with.

However if he still had the respect and backing of the players (unlikely I know from reports) and the sacking is a reaction is to a poor run of results then it is too soon.

[Yellow Shirt 17]

I suspect that Sunderland is an impossible job right now.O''Neil and Di Cannio are both tough on their players and the Sunderland lot have decided they won''t take it for whatever reason. I thought Di Cannio was a good choice to go in and shake them up but they weren''t interested in being better for him.I think he will be a good manager but Sunderland are in trouble and need to find someone with a softer approach and willingness to play second fiddle to the players... maybe they''d like Hughton?I think Di Matteo is probably the man to guide them to 17th place.Poyet, Ince, Keane et al who are being mentioned are too strong as personalities and will find the same problems. The only other option would be to make headlines by appointing Hope Powell and hope that the team are so unsure about how to react that they just play to their potential and finish 10th!Oh- maybe Solskjaer but I hope he doesn''t go there.

[Aggy 944]

Last season Sunderland needed energy to stay up. It had gone very stale under O''Neill. Di Canio, whilst as mad as a box of frogs, will bring energy. However, I think a large percentage of people said at the time that it was a decent appointment to keep them up, but was never going to last much beyond the end of last season.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="Sons of Boadicea"]

Think they did the righ thing as he has lost the respect of his players........

[/quote]precisely

however it does beg the question of why the club thought he would be the answerwith the suggestion being that as Sunderland had become a very lax and undisciplined squad with numerous problems spilling out into the press Di Canio would be the answer as he was known to take a firm linethe problem was though, what sort of dog should you use to deal with stray sheep ?a pit bull terrier or a border collie ?Sunderland choose the former