Big Sam is the man to keep Sunderland up

Sam Allardyce’s odds have been slashed recently as he looks set to become to new Sunderland manager.

The Black Cats are reportedly wanting to name their new boss this weekend and Allardyce will be their sixth manager in four years if he is appointed.

Personally I feel Allardyce would be a decent appointment. The 60-year-old has plenty of Premier League experience and enjoyed a reasonably successful spell at West Ham from 2011 to 2015.

Although he does not possess the most attractive style of play, I feel it is one that could keep us up and also get the best out of front man Steven Fletcher who has great aerial presence.

It is also reported that Big Sam wants a pretty hefty bonus if he keeps the Black Cats up and wants money to spend in the January window. There is also a crazy suggestion that he would make a move for Kevin Nolan. For me though, that’s another body which would add to the list of ‘past it’ players at our club; his chicken is well and truly dead.

Like Nolan, Allardyce has spent time at Newcastle, but after a run of poor results around Christmas and his unattractive style of football the fans were calling for his head.

Of all the names being thrown about he is probably the best we could do. Since 2012, Sunderland have collected fewer points, won fewer games and scored fewer goals than any other top-flight club. It’s more a case of who wants the job than who we want.

Some Sunderland fans called for Brendan Rodgers but could you honestly really see the Northern Irishman, sacked by Liverpool last week, quickly moving down the other end of the table to manage a struggling Sunderland?

Bob Bradley has also come out and said: “I’m confident I can manage Sunderand.” This is good to hear but I feel this isn’t the right time to appoint someone with no experience of the Premier League. We already have one American in charge who doesn’t really know what he’s doing, we don’t potentially need another. If we were in a comfortable position it may be worth the risk.

It was upsetting to see Dick leave the way he did. He clearly had a lot of passion for the club but the running of it and the underperforming players tipped him over the edge. Dick said: “I became negative and that didn’t feel like myself.” Don’t worry Dick, that’s how we all feel after years of following the lads.

I feel Dick let himself down a bit though by saying “the struggle against relegation is not my cup of tea.” It’s not the fans either but we battle through it. However, you can’t really blame the little general after the board broke promises. Dick was promised money to spend on five/six top quality signings. That didn’t come to fruition.

Whoever comes in has a monumental task on their hands and it will be an incredible achievement if we manage to stay in the Premier League. If it is Big Sam I think he’ll have enough about him to keep us in the top division but I don’t know how he’ll fare taking us forward in his second season, if he makes it that far.