Dick Advocaat thinks Sunderland could benefit from relegation, citing Newcastle United as a template.
Former Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat has told The Mirror that he thinks the Black Cats may have to follow Newcastle in being relegated and rebuilding the club.
Sunderland won their first Premier League game of the season at the 11th attempt last weekend, as a 2-1 win at Bournemouth handed David Moyes a vital victory.
Sunderland have still only taken five points from 11 games though, and lie six points adrift of safety as fans again have to live with yet another battle against relegation to the Championship.
Sunderland’s Stadium of Light
The Black Cats have finished in the top half just once since being promoted back to the Premier League in 2007, and have become known for miraculously staving off relegation in the final weeks of the season despite looking doomed.
Many believe that this year is the year that Sunderland’s luck runs out, and Fenerbahce boss Dick Advocaat – who managed Sunderland at the end of the 2014-15 season and in the early stages of the 2015-16 campaign – has had his say on the club’s situation.
Fenerbahce coach Dick Advocaat
Advocaat, who won just three of his 17 games in charge of Sunderland, has told The Mirror that he thinks Sunderland may actually benefit from being relegated, as it would force a rebuild in the Championship in a bid to return to the top flight – something Newcastle have done in recent months.
The Magpies were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, but now sit top of the Championship with seven wins in a row, and already look like they’re heading for promotion under Rafael Benitez.
Advocaat also suggested that Sunderland need to invest more, and having avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth for years, he thinks sooner or later, the luck will run out for the Black Cats.
Former Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat
“Maybe it’s better to go down, to build a new team like Newcastle who have a great club, a great fan base and a great stadium just like Sunderland,” said Advocaat. “Sunderland simply cannot go on this way because other clubs invest in the team, they spend money on good players and, if you don’t do it, you are in trouble because there’s too much quality elsewhere in the Premier League to expect to survive every year.”
“You can only define Sunderland’s problems if they spend the same as other clubs and they don’t do that. I said that well over a year ago and this is the reason I left after eight games when I decided to come back at the start of last season. I had no chance, I had that feeling. OK, Sam Allardyce came in after me and he did a great job. But it went down to the wire, to the last two games of the season. You can’t do that every season, it’s just not possible – because, sooner or later, your luck is going to run out,” he added.
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