Managerial merry-go-round

Plenty of gossip in the papers today. Following the sacking of Gus Poyet at Sunderland the Daily Mail claims that Poyet and his representatives spoke to West Ham last summer about the possibility of replacing Sam Allardyce. The Mail also claims that Poyet advised his son Diego to join West Ham rather than Sunderland. Meanwhile the Daily Telegraph claims that West Ham are set to pursue David Moyes in the summer after putting his old Everton scout Tony Henry in charge of summer recruitment policy. The Daily Mirror suggests that although Dick Advocaat has been appointed manager of Sunderland for the rest of the season, the Mackems want Big Sam as their long-term choice.

It's doubtful that Diego Poyet would have been an upgrade on Allardyce and I'm not sure if David Moyes would be either. Both men overachieved with initially functional football and reached one cup final each, though Allardyce could argue he did so at Bolton and Blackburn, smaller clubs than Everton. But clearly there's a lot to to play for in the last nine games, both for Big Sam and the team. Meanwhile it's a shame Sunderland couldn't have kept Poyet in charge for another week. We have to beware the "new manager bounce" effect that might boost a group of players keen to impress a new boss. If they could just go 4-0 down at half time again please that would do nicely.