Tonight’s match at home to Reading has been singled out as a must win match for O’Neill if he wants to keep his job, but Sunderland should give their manager the January window to turn things around regardless of the result.
In many ways it seems clear that Martin O’Neill should be fired. Two wins from 23 matches is inexplicably bad form, and is the kind of return his unpopular predecessor Steve Bruce was producing before he was sacked.
O’Neill is also sticking resolutely to tactics and players that haven’t been successful, with a one striker system that is relying heavily on the out of form Sessegnon, Larsson, McClean and Johnson.
However, whilst Bruce’s sacking was a decision almost unanimously supported by Sunderland fans, O’Neill still largely retains the backing of the crowd at the Stadium of Light, and he should be given more time to turn Sunderland around.
One reason for this is that O’Neill simply hasn’t had long enough to clear out the deadwood that Bruce left behind, and is working with a group of players that aren’t his choices.
O’Neill can rightly point to the relative success of the signings that he has brought in. Fletcher, Rose and Cuellar have all been stand out players for Sunderland this season, and Adam Johnson has finally shown some form in the past couple of matches that suggests he might still play a big role in this season.
O’Neill has also been slightly hamstrung by a drop in form from two of his most important players from last season, with Sessegnon and McClean playing particularly poorly so far this year. Sessegnon is particularly vital to the side, playing off Fletcher in a role that is central to their attacking play.
All of these points can be countered, that is the nature of football debate. You could say that O’Neill’s system is stopping these players performing as well as last season, that he could have brought in more players in the summer and cleared out Bruce’s deadwood.
Another criticism would be that he hasn’t rotated the underperforming players out of his side, with David Vaughan someone who surely should have been given more of a chance in the first team.
However O’Neill’s record at Sunderland and other sides mean that he merits at least another transfer window at the club. Sunderland have to look at what they would gain from sacking their manager at this stage, and if a new man is going to get better results form the squad as it is.
O’Neill’s transfes have been successful so far, and he is more likely than anyone to turn their season around. If Sunderland can tough out this season, O’Neill will have had enough time to make the squad his own, and then his effect on the team can be more fairly judged this time next year.
images: © Dagur Brynjólfsson, © vagueonthehow
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
