Sunderland

Sam Allardyce has been confirmed as the new manager of Sunderland, signing a two-year deal with the Premier League club.

The former West Ham United manager's instalment at the Stadium of Light was made official on Friday. As reported by Stuart Vose of the club's official website, Black Cats chairman Ellis Short believes Allardyce was the obvious choice to become the new manager:

I am very pleased to welcome Sam to our football club. Sunderland is a club he knows well and he was the obvious best choice for the job. He has vast experience of managing in the Premier League and an understanding first-hand of the north east and the passion of our fans, which will stand him in great stead.

He replaces former manager Dick Advocaat, who resigned his position on October 4 following an eighth Premier League game without a win in the 2015-16 campaign.

Sunderland are currently tied with north-east neighbours Newcastle United at the bottom of the Premier League table on three points each.

Allardyce will need to turn things around quickly if the Black Cats are to avoid yet another relegation scrap this season.

The 60-year-old's great Premier League experience should be invaluable at Sunderland, Allardyce having previously managed the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle, Bolton Wanderers and the Hammers in the English top-flight.

Allardyce has been out of the managerial game since the end of last season when he parted ways with West Ham following a respectable 12th-place finish in the Premier League. 

Former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet previously backed Allardyce—who played for the Black Cats in the early 1980s—to succeed at the Stadium of Light, per BBC Sport: "He had an experience before in the north east. He knows the Premier League inside out and he knows exactly what a team needs to do to stay in the Premier League."

The Englishman's first game in charge will be away at West Bromwich Albion following the international break. He then faces the small matter of a Wear-Tyne derby against Newcastle, the club from which he was unceremoniously fired in January 2008. 

Kristan Heneage of the Guardian thinks he's in for quite the challenge:

I’ve been told Sam Allardyce has accepted #SAFC’s offer. Big challenge for him. A derby win to kick it off?

— Kris Heneage (@KHeneage) October 9, 2015

A derby victory would get Allardyce in the Sunderland fans' good books from the off and could be a catalyst for an upturn in form in the run-up to Christmas.

The Black Cats have looked uninspired this season, but the change at the top could well be beneficial.

Allardyce undoubtedly has the experience and nous to manufacture a turnaround in form and force Sunderland away from the dreaded drop zone.

Sam Allardyce has been named the new manager at Sunderland, filling the club's vacant managerial position after the departure of Dick Advocaat. 

The team announced the signing on Friday:

Speaking about the appointment, chairman Ellis Short said: “I am very pleased to welcome Sam to our football club.

“Sunderland is a club he knows well and he was the obvious best choice for the job. He has vast experience of managing in the Premier League and an understanding first-hand of the north east and the passion of our fans, which will stand him in great stead.

“I would like to assure our fans that once Dick made us aware of his intention to leave, Lee Congerton oversaw an organised and structured recruitment process, that bore very little resemblance to what has been described in the media.

“For example, this was a very popular job, proactively sought after by a large number of managers - contrary to much of what has been portrayed. The process was made easier by the fact that Sam was such an obvious choice.

“The other misconception is that Sam had to be persuaded to join us; nothing could be further from the truth. From the very beginning, he understood the importance of this job and showed great enthusiasm for the role and a desire to be part of moving this club forward.”

Have no doubt in my mind Bradley would do fantastic job at Sunderland. Saw first-hand his miracles at Stabaek. Also performed them in Egypt.

— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) October 6, 2015

The club are 19th in the Premier League table—five points away from safety—and their minus-10 goal difference is only one better than last-placed Newcastle United. The team looks lifeless on the pitch, and the ownership appears devoid of a long-term vision, as Allardyce is its seventh full-time manager since Roy Keane resigned in December 2008.

Advocaat saved the club from relegation after taking over in March last season, but Allardyce faces an uphill struggle to replicate that luck.

Dick Advocaat walked away from his position as Sunderland manager on Sunday, departing the club with immediate effect.

The Black Cats confirmed the news via their official Twitter account:

#SAFC can confirm that Dick Advocaat has left his position as head coach with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/Xrv0W3Bx2p

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 4, 2015

Advocaat leaves the North East outfit floundering in 19th in the league having failed to win a single game all season. He explained his reason for the timing, per Rob Harris of the Associated Press:

Advocaat: “I have made the decision to go after only eight games as I felt it was important to give everyone time turn things around"

— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) October 4, 2015

As their league position would suggest, Sunderland have been abject in all quarters throughout the campaign so far. They have mustered only eight goals and have been typically abysmal at the back, conceding 18 times—more than any other team in the division.

The Dutchman took over at the Stadium of Light in March and picked up three wins as he helped the Black Cats stay in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth.

Advocaat was due to retire in the summer at his wife's request, but after widespread appeals from Sunderland supporters he performed a U-turn and stayed with the club.

Retirement now seems the most likely scenario for the 68-year-old, who despite his 35 years of coaching experience and 15 managerial honours was unable to transform Sunderland's fortunes.

The Black Cats' search for a replacement will now begin, and the club is used to replacing their manager midway through the season on the way to survival having done so with Paolo Di Canio, Gus Poyet and Advocaat himself in recent years.

However, with the team failing to significantly develop on the pitch or claw their way out of the mire of perennial relegation dogfights, such a run is bound to come to an end at some point unless Advocaat's replacement can have a powerful and positive long-term impact.

According to Paul Hetherington and Clive Hetherington of the Daily Star, one such candidate could be Sam Allardyce, although Burnley boss Sean Dyche and former Leicester manager Nigel Pearson are said to be favourites.

Allardyce wouldn't represent an exciting choice given his reputation for "long-ball" football, and his time at Newcastle United won't ingratiate him to the Sunderland fans.

However, he would give Sunderland some much-needed stability and make them a tougher proposition to beat, and given the Black Cats' disastrous showings in recent years that might actually be an exciting proposition after all.

Sunderland’s clash with West Ham United on Saturday could be Dick Advocaat’s last as the team’s manager, with reports suggesting he will leave the club afterwards.

Continue for updates.

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Advocaat Set to Quit Black Cats

Friday, October 2

According to John Cross of the Daily Mirror, Advocaat is set to quit “as frustrations reach boiling point” at the Stadium of Light. Now there are apparently “growing fears” that the Dutchman will resign his post in the wake of the critical clash with the Hammers.

Cross claims that Sunderland chiefs have cited Burley boss Sean Dyche as the man to replace Advocaat should he walk, although it’s unclear as to whether he would be keen on taking the job.

Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League going into Week 8 of the campaign. They’ve yet to win a game, turning in some miserable performances and conceding a plethora of horrendous goals.

Advocaat kept the Black Cats afloat in the division last season, as he took the job on what many anticipated to be a temporary basis. But after decided to take the job permanently this summer, things have turned sour, with the players seemingly disinterested and the 68-year-old cutting a isolated, downtrodden figure on the sidelines.

A departed manager early in the season is a familiar theme for Sunderland, having lost Gus Poyet and Paolo Di Canio in the last two terms after dreary starts.

If Advocaat does walk away, the man replacing him will have a hugely difficult challenge if he’s to turn around the fortunes of the Wearside club and keep them in the top flight beyond 2015-16.

Fabio Borini finally completed his move away from Liverpool on Monday, joining Sunderland to bring an end to his disappointing career at Anfield. The news was confirmed by a release on Liverpool's official website.

The Italian joined the Reds in 2012 after a successful spell with AS Roma, becoming the first signing of Brendan Rodgers' tenure. An injury-filled 2012-13 campaign saw him drop down the pecking order at Anfield, and he moved to Sunderland on loan for the 2013-14 season in order to find more playing time.

Borini found some success with the Black Cats, and he was eager to make his mark for the Reds upon his return to Liverpool. He rejected a permanent move to Sunderland in 2014, per Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Sky Sports), and instead opted to battle for a starting position under Rodgers.

He never got his chance, however, as Rodgers froze the Italian out of the first team—much to the fury of his agent. Speaking to Corriere dello Sport (h/t Telegraph Sport), Marco De Marchi made it clear his client was unhappy with the way he was treated by the Reds back in June:

There are teams from all over Europe interested in him. Top clubs in Europe are keen on him, from the Premier League to the Bundesliga and there also clubs in Italy, but many clubs in Italy have had coaching changes and that has slowed things down.

He has no preference, he just wants a team that gives him a clear chance to prove himself. Right now he feels like a lion in a cage.

Things didn't change over the course of the summer, as reported by the Daily Mail's Dominic King, who was sure his career with the Reds was over:

Mario Balotelli frozen out from @LFC training, along with Jose Enrique & Fabio Borini. Anfield careers effectively over. Story on @MailSport

— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) July 30, 2015

Borini was once regarded as one of the top emerging talents in Italy, and his strong spell with Sunderland suggests he can still be an excellent player for the Black Cats once again. Rodgers had no use for him, so this transfer always seemed inevitable, but that doesn't mean Sunderland is making a mistake signing him at this point in time.

If he can rediscover the form that led to his initial move to Anfield, he could be one of the best value signings of the summer. Borini will likely never live up to the lofty expectations, but with his versatility, he can still become a serviceable forward capable of scoring goals and filling plenty of roles for Sunderland.  

In terms of awkward shirt sponsor-club relations, this one has to be especially weird.

Sunderland are (again) off to a miserable start in the Premier League and are Dafabet's favourites to be relegated—so much so that the betting website has given them 5-8 odds on facing the drop. 

This much is normal for a team that's lost both of its matches and has the league's worst goal differential. 

What's not normal is that Dafabet is Sunderland's shirt sponsor. 

So on the very site that openly supports Sunderland, the smart money is on their non-survival. 

#SAFC have been made odds-on favourite to be relegated from the Premier League - by their own shirt sponsor, Dafabet. pic.twitter.com/pn5blIOlpG

— FutbolTalkzone (@FutbolTalkzone) August 19, 2015

Well then. On the bright side... 

#SAFC 0-3 #NCFC Don’t worry, Sunderland fans—it always works -Start poorly -Sack manager -Improve -Stay up -Repeat pic.twitter.com/cR0cqoagdw

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) August 15, 2015

[Daily Mail]

Dick Advocaat performed a U-turn on Thursday when he agreed a one-year deal with Sunderland after previously saying he was retiring due to his wife's wishes. 

Sunderland fans were delighted Advocaat's wife allowed him to stay on for another season, so they decided a kind gesture was in order. 

They set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising £150 to buy Mrs. Advocaat a nice bouquet of flowers. 

However, they ended up easily passing that target, and it keeps rising. 

As of lunchtime on Friday, they had raised over £2,000, and the money keeps pouring in. 

The page states: 

A donation from the Sunderland Message Board to give Mrs Advocaat a big thank you for giving us another year of the little general!

All additional donations exceeding £150 will be split between the SAFC foundation and a charity of her choice.

Nice work, lads!

[GoFundMe, h/t BBC]

Sunderland winger Adam Johnson has been charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 and a further offence of grooming.

News of the sanctions were confirmed by Tom Williams of Agence France-Presse:

Sunderland winger Adam Johnson charged with three offences of sexual activity with a child under 16 and one of grooming.

— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) April 23, 2015

The England international was at Peterlee Police Station today to answer bail after being arrested on March 2 earlier this year, per Gavin Engelbrecht of The Northern Echo. Johnson arrived with his lawyer and declined to respond to any questions from reporters on the scene.

Durham Police released their own accompanying statement, per Engelbrecht:

Adam Johnson, a professional footballer aged 27 from Castle Eden, County Durham has this afternoon been charged with three offences of sexual activity with a child under 16 years old, plus one offence of grooming.

Johnson was initially arrested on Monday, 2nd March and was charged after he answered his police bail today at Peterlee police station.

He will appear the magistrates court in Peterlee on the morning of Wednesday, May 20th.

According to Engelbrecht's piece, the girl in question is believed to be 15 years old.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children defines child grooming as the following, per their official website:

Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation.

Children and young people can be groomed online or in the real world, by a stranger or by someone they know—for example a family member, friend or professional.

Groomers may be male or female. They could be any age.

Many children and young people don't understand that they have been groomed, or that what has happened is abuse.

The PFA released a statement on Friday:

Given that this is an ongoing legal matter it would not be appropriate to comment specifically on the case, however we would emphasise that just like any other individual, Adam is entitled to a fair hearing.

We are not in a position to make any further comment.

Sunderland announced Friday that Johnson would be available for selection despite the charges:

A statement released by the club this morning said: “Following yesterday’s statement from Durham Constabulary, the club recognises that the formal legal process must take its course and whilst our position remains unchanged, we will keep the matter under review.

“The club will not be making any further comment.”

However, Johnson was not selected by manager Dick Advocaat for the squad, according to Sunderland's official Twitter feed. 

The 27-year-old was initially suspended by the club after being arrested, pending an investigation from the authorities. But he has since returned to action, with Sunderland seeking to secure their status as a Premier League side for next season.

His magistrates hearing is due to take place on the same day as the Black Cats’ trip to London to face Arsenal in their penultimate league game of the season. At the time of writing, the Stadium of Light outfit are in 16th spot, one point clear of 18th-place Leicester City.

Another Dutch manager is set to descend upon the Premier League with the confirmation Sunderland have hired Dick Advocaat until the end of the season.

The Black Cats confirmed Advocaat's arrival on Twitter:

#SAFC have appointed Dick Advocaat as head coach until the end of the season. More here - http://t.co/C9vVyMR91C pic.twitter.com/qcIAxF6wxJ

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) March 17, 2015

Advocaat revealed why he joined the side. "Sunderland is a big club and I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead. We must now concentrate on Saturday as a priority and I can't wait to get started," he said, as reported by Charles Perrin of the Express.

Sunderland chairman Ellis Short is excited to be working with the veteran, per Perrin: "Dick has an incredible CV and vast experience of managing at the very highest level. We have one aim only now—to climb the table and everyone is fully focused on the task ahead of us."

Advocaat brings more than 30 years of managerial experience to the Stadium of Light, having led teams such as PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Borussia Monchengladbach and Zenit Saint Petersburg, where he won the 2008 UEFA Cup.

He is also a vastly experienced international boss, having completed spells with his native Netherlands, South Korea, Belgium, Russia and, most recently, Serbia.

The 67-year-old becomes the third Dutch manager to join the Premier League this season, with Manchester United's Louis van Gaal and Southampton's Ronald Koeman currently working through their first campaigns in England.

Advocaat joins Sunderland in 17th place, one point outside the relegation zone. He has nine games to improve upon Gus Poyet's total of 26 points, ensuring he needs to make an instant impact if the north-east club are to escape the drop.

Oliver Kay of The Times suggests this will be a different challenge for the man who has captured league titles in the Netherlands, Scotland and Russia:

Would suggest Advocaat record is "credible" rather than incredible. He's never been required to perform a late-season firefighting role, tho

— Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) March 17, 2015

Sky Sports News HQ provided a breakdown of the new boss' recent record:

BREAKING NEWS: Sunderland appoint Dick Advocaat as Head Coach until the end of the season #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/5MRHwQvVmL

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 17, 2015

B/R UK tweeted an image of Advocaat in action from 1979-80:

Sunderland name Dick Advocaat as interim manager. Here he is during his glorious 'Chicago Sting’ playing days. pic.twitter.com/rfjMpA6FmY

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 17, 2015

Advocaat's first task will be to prepare Sunderland for the upcoming match away at West Ham. This is undoubtedly a tricky opening test, but things aren't going to get any easier. Advocaat's men face local rivals Newcastle during his first home fixture on April 5, an encounter in which his early momentum will be defined. Matches away at Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea also await.

Sunderland are currently fourth favourites for relegation, according to Oddschecker.com. Advocaat will need to call on all of his experience and fighting spirit to boost the team's confidence after their 4-0 loss to Aston Villa, starting with a gutsy showing at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday.

Sunderland have confirmed the appointment of Dick Advocaat as head coach on a contract that will run until the of the season, following Monday's sacking of Gus Poyet.

Continue for updates.

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Advocaat Appointed Black Cats Boss

Tuesday, March 17

The former Rangers boss brings massive amounts of experience to the role and in a statement on the club’s official website, admitted he is eager to get going.

“Sunderland is a big club and I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead,” said Advocaat. “We must now concentrate on Saturday as a priority and I can’t wait to get started.”

In the same statement, chairman Ellis Short paid tribute to the credentials of the club’s new manager:

Dick has an incredible CV and vast experience of managing at the very highest level.

We have one aim only now - to climb the table and everyone is fully focused on the task ahead of us.

Following on from a tactician as inexperienced as Poyet, Advocaat represents an appointment of quite the opposite in terms of credentials, having started his management career in 1980. The 67-year-old's last role was managing the Serbia national team.

Advocaat now faces a major task in reversing the club's current slump, having claimed just two wins in their last 12 outings.  

The Dutchman is among the most experienced managers in world football, however, and despite ending his tenure with Serbia on a sour note, he could be a managerial coup for the Premier League outfit.