Pete Sixsmith mulls over the two most-mentioned candidates for the managerial seat left vacant by Steve Bruce’s dismissal …

So, the inevitable has happened and Steve Bruce has left the club. I was in no doubt after Saturday that he was as close as close could be to the sack; when it didn’t come on Monday, I thought he had been thrown a lifeline, but once again, I was wrong.

The owner has done the correct thing as there was little possibility of Bruce retrieving his relationship with the crowd. Three lengthy periods of turgid football and poor results, interspersed with the odd sparkling display, had done for him and it was better to put this horse out of its misery now.

It has been suggested that the sacking was delayed as a mark of respect to Gary Speed and this may well have played a part in it. It is more likely that the club were sounding out potential candidates before dispensing with his services. The last thing we wanted was to be scrambling around for a manager with two vital games coming up.

The fact that Eric Black has stayed indicates to me that an appointment is imminent. He will probably leave as soon as the new man arrives, the unfortunate thing being that we will also probably lose the excellent Keith Bertschin, who has been a real pleasure to watch as reserve team boss. He is the antithesis of Bruce – calm, thoughtful and full of encouragement.

The two prime candidates are Martin O’Neill and Mark Hughes. Both are available and both would probably relish managing an established Premier League club with strong support and strong potential. Had we retained Bruce and our Premier League status at the end of the season, I would have gone for a younger manager, but this is no time to be taking steps into the unknown, so the likes of Adkins, Lambert and Poyet have missed their opportunity to manage the greatest club in the world.

So, which one do we choose? It’s a bit like Nursey in Blackadder 2 offering Pony Club Queen Elizabeth “right breasty dumpling or left breasty dumpling”. Both are attractive propositions, but there is little real difference between the two.

As I drove home from a postponed game at Bedlington last night, my thoughts fluctuated between the two. Both have a good record in management, both have managed more successful clubs than we have been for umpty dozen years and both are available.

Michael Gray gave a glowing testimonial for Hughes, saying that he would be an ideal fit, while the always excellent and totally reliable Radio 5Live journo Pat Murphy said O’Neill would be very, very interested in taking over and would not necessarily want a huge pot of money to spend on players.

My pal Pete Horan plumps for O’Neill arguing that he is the living embodiment of Brian Clough and a man who is “a perfect fit for Sunderland. No doubt there are others out there who would speak as well for Hughes.

A new era begins. The manager has left, welcome to the new one. We must hope that we will not be echoing The Who’s words “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

As the club adopts the familiar look of one in turmoil, Pete Sixsmith admits to deep concerns in his analysis of the many shortcomings all too visible in Saturday’s defeat by Chelsea. Rather a lot, he suggests, now depends on the team’s – and especially Steve Bruce’s – immediate response …

There have been a few dispiriting days for a Sunderland supporter over the past 48 years, and Saturday was up there with the big ones.

It may be wise to keep off the Gyan move for a couple of days and see what emerges from both sides (read this link to catch up), but it was a major disappointment so see a striker go after the deadline, leaving us bereft of even a semi-regular goalscorer.

As for the Chelsea game, there is not a great deal to say. A far superior side breezed through as easy an afternoon as they will have all season against a team whose shape was lopsided and who looked short of confidence.

However, my deal with M Salut requires more than such evident facts as those, so here we go.

The team selection was one that had me shaking my head in the Concourse as I conversed with fellow fans who had travelled from Bedford, Fife and Hawick to support the team and maybe, just maybe, see a repeat of the November Miracle at Stamford Bridge.

Once again, we went into a home game with three very similar players in Colback, Cattermole and Gardner, with Larsson supplying some width and Sessegnon playing off Bendtner. No place for Vaughan, who might just have been able to prise open the Chelsea defence and midfield with a telling pass.

The pedestrian nature of the midfield triptych was evident early on as they ran around a lot, made tackles, worked hard, but looked as likely to worry Lampard and Meireles as Russell Grant and Edwina Currie are to challenge Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as monarchs of the ballroom dancing scene.

Bendtner missed an early chance from a good cross by Bardsley, but there was a clear feeling that Chelsea, prompted by the very impressive Juan Mata, could score whenever they wanted.

What would the likes of us give for such a player who can control the ball straight away, look up and then deliver an accurate pass just in front of an unmarked team mate?

Instead we have Cattermole needing two touches in order to pass sideways or Colback turning away from the play and laying the ball to one of our defenders. Light years behind.

Terry and Ivanovic at the back were far more solid than our two. Brown did well, winning balls that he had to, but he is slow to turn and his pace has begun to desert him.

Bramble had a poor game. It was his casual clearance that allowed the ball to be played back into Terry for the first goal and his woeful positioning gave Sturridge a clear run on goal for the second. After an excellent first half of last season, injuries appear to have taken their toll and we saw the Bramble of Newcastle rather than the one who had done so well at Wigan.

But the problems are in midfield and this is where Bruce will either keep or lose his job in the next few weeks.

We set ourselves not to concede with a busy, hustling trio that will stop the opposition from playing. It leaves the wide men to produce the spark. Larsson did reasonably well yesterday but he gives the ball away a lot.

Gardner is the same and is not particularly quick. On a number of occasions, he was beaten to the ball by Chelsea players and was dispossessed far too easily. I am beginning to see another Shaun Cunnington here.

Cattermole is a real problem. For the third successive game, he was hauled off early in the second half, to be replaced by a striker. That meant we went to 4-4-2 with Sessegnon going wide and Wickham up front with Bendtner. But why not Vaughan? How are Gardner and Colback going to lay balls through to the forwards? So we reverted to lumping it up front. No progress there as Terry and Ivanovic gobbled up just about everything.

Has Bruce belatedly realised that Cattermole is not a very good player? His passing is just about acceptable when nothing special is required, but when something sharp and crisp is needed, he comes up short. Too many balls are behind the man who wants it, too many times he turns a full circle before moving it on.

He almost opened his account at the Stadium but the ball dipped over Mignolet’s crossbar. The only positive he can take from this is that he managed not to attempt to maim the opposition. No booking, but also no worthwhile contribution to the game.

We are struggling and, at the moment, we look like a team heading for a prolonged acquaintance with the trapdoor.

Of course, it may all change next week when our Pals from the Potteries pitch up on Wearside.

But for that to happen, we need to rethink our formation and include players who may give us some creativity. We also need to hope that Stoke have a dodgy time in Kiev so that they return exhausted from extensive Ukrainian vodka drinking.

If they don’t and they inflict what would be a fifth successive home defeat on us, Mark Hughes’s agent may well be getting a very important telephone call.

* Want to shoulder the responsibility of supporting SAFC? This neat little shoulder bag is yours for just £17, post-free in the UK, from the Salut! Sunderland Shop. Click here to investigate.

It was in Tian’anmen Square or on the Great Wall that the seeds of the latest contribution to Who Are You? were sown. The Thomas Cook top sort of gave it away that Dan Wild* was a Manchester City fan. He may be the first classics and ancient history graduate to visit China with a tour group and leave without seeing the terracotta warriors (it was an additional part of the itinerary, not included in the holiday he and his wife, Lesley-Ann, had won). Dan offers a bowdlerised version of Niall Quinn’s Disco Pants, thinks it’ll be 2-1 to City or 4-0 to us on Sunday and welcomes the Eastlands revolution and all those dirhams …

So, are Citeh the truly Manchester club or does everyone overdo the idea that most United fans couldn’t even place it on a map?  

I don’t think people overdo the idea. There are, obviously, a heck of a lot of United fans in Manchester, but (owing, alas, to their success) the vast majority of fans come from far and wide and most of whom without a doubt will never have seen a live game, many of whom probably won’t even have been to England! City lack the global fan base, hence us regarding ourselves as the ‘local club’ where most fans will have been to games live close to the city. 

What were your immediate thoughts when the Abu Dhabi takeover materialised, and what do think about it 19 months on? 

My immediate thought was “GET IN!” and 19 months on, into our most successful season in my lifetime, my thoughts remain the same. I see a Blue Moon rising! 

You were always considered, certainly by a lot of Sunderland supporters, a proper club with proper fans. Does all that money just make you another brand? 

Not yet, and hopefully it won’t ever. However if the money does bring massive success then I fear we may end up being everything we hate about United – a globally supported brand based on success and glory hunters. Whilst those who have always supported the club will remain the backbone of the loyal fan base there is now, I suppose, a danger that we could become a club supported by many who simply see the riches and potential for success. Huge success and retaining the ‘true’ fans is potentially something that may prove impossible. But for now, like Sunderland, we remain a proper club with proper fans in my opinion. 

Do you have any anecdotes, handed down or first hand, concerning the players and staff associated with both our clubs? Tony Coton, Niall Quinn, Dennis Tueart, Tony Towers, Dave Watson and Peter Reid spring to mind but I’ll have overlooked some. 

Tueart, Towers and Watson were before my time (though my dad often refers to the wing wizardry of Tueart!), but the others I know well. Peter Reid represented for me the most stable and successful manager City had since the early 70s and I will always wonder why he got the boot after a poor start to a season when he had done so well previously. As for Coton – safe hands but now coaching outside Manchester in Stretford for those dirty reds… Niall Quinn is a legend! I always wish Sunderland well (apart from against us of course!) owing to the Niall Quinn connection. We used to sing about his disco pants from the old Kippax stand: “Niall Quinn’s disco pants are the best, they go up from his feet to his vest, they are better than Adam and the Ants, Niall Quinn’s disco pants!” (I believe he was spotted sporting some funky disco pants at some point). You’re in safe hands with him at the helm – a true footballing gent no doubt…. (it’s arse to chest, not feet to vest, Dan – ed)

Memories, good or bad, of past games between us? 

Our last game was a bit of a thriller, Hughes’s last, 4-3 and end to end all game, neither team could defend which always makes for a thriller. We have tended to do fairly well against you in recent seasons (sorry…) so most memories are fairly positive for me! 

Did you laugh when Newcastle went down? 

Didn’t everyone? 

What were your expectations at the start of the season and where did you think we’d finish? Have you been surprised at our poor form? 

I desperately hoped for top four, but expected top six. We’ve done better in the cups than usual too so that was a bonus. As for the Black Cats, I expected a lot more after a positive start to the campaign and with Bent banging them in. You should be a top 8-10 team with that squad so yes, very surprised by the poor form! 

Would anything less than top four this season seem like failure, and what are your expectations for next season? 

Yes, to be frank. If we don’t finish 4th I can’t see Mancini being retained. Next season I would expect top 4 again but would love to see us win something – anything! It’s been so long! 

And did you feel Mark Hughes had done all he was going to do for the club or should he have had more time? 

To be honest I felt he should have gone in the previous season when we were flirting with the bottom of the table at Christmas. Having stuck with him through that I was shocked when he was sacked mid way through a successful campaign. We were in our first semi-final in my lifetime and on track for a top 4-6 finish. Plus we played some awesome football which has been sadly lacking under Mancini. Really we should have stuck with him to the summer and seen where we ended up. 

Greatest City figures you’ve ever seen, great signings you want to make and any players you wish you’d never seen? 

Andy Morrisson – centre back supreme in our Division Two days. Gio Kinkladze – legend. Ali Benarbia and Eyal Berkovic were playmakers of the top drawer too, wonderful to watch. Shaun Goater – complete lack of co-ordination but everything he touched hit the back of the net. And more recently of course Carlos Tevez looks like becoming a City great if he sticks around. Signings I’d love to see – Gerrard and Torres pinched from the Scousers, Messi of course but I doubt that will ever happen no matter how good we get, maybe Anton Ferdinand…  

Club vs country: rooting for England in S Africa or too concerned about your club? 

Club first every time for me, but of course when the World Cup comes around I’ll be cheering on England and hoping for that bit of luck you need to go all the way! 

Was Wayne Bridge right to exclude himself from international selection and to refuse to shake John Terry’s hand? 

No and yes. I can understand his reasons but it’s the World Cup Wayne, get on the damn plane! 


 
The Eduardo question: a blatant dive, unseen by the referee, wins you the penalty and the winner in the last second of the last game of the season and you’ve clinched a top four place. You take it gladly, you take it guiltily or you feel so ashamed you almost wish you hadn’t won? 

You take it gladly. Everyone else goes mental at you but what do you care – it’s forgotten about after a while and it’s you in the Champions League. Only person to really blame is the ref for not spotting it! I do believe a blatant dive should be a straight red though, but to enforce it properly you would need the 4th official to be able to look at the replay I think. 

Will you be at our match and if not, how will you keep tabs? 

Alas no, too far to travel and too much money. I’m a seasoncard holder here and am yet to see us lose at home this season but away games are few and far between. It will take me a while to get over the last time I went away… Was at Old Trafford when we were knocked out of the cup. Nightmare. 

What will be the score? 

2-1 City, Tevez double, Bent to grab one for you. Tense finish… but we often fluff our lines away so it could be 4-0 Sunderland just as easily! 

* Dan Wild, pictured on a slowish boat in China (Shanghai to be precise), on Dan Wild:
I’m 25, live in the city centre in Manchester. City seasoncard holder and have been (though in the past thanks to my dad!) since 1996 – strangely I started going regularly after we got relegated from the Premiership! Been a blue all my life and don’t regret it one bit, we’ll get one over our neighbours one of these days. I’m a primary schoolteacher by day, and a married soap watching couch potato by night. Best City fans’ site for me is www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk
 
Good luck for the rest of the season (after our game of course!).

Colin Randall

The Observer came calling again. Pete Sixsmith not only had to endure comic defending by Sunderland. he then had to write about it. Poor Mark Hughes, yes. But poor, poor Pete …

Pete Sixsmith, salutsunderland.com Don’t for one minute think that this was a game full of sparkling attacking football – it wasn’t. It was full of poor defending. All four City goals came down our right-hand side where Nyron Nosworthy had the nightmare of all nightmares. McCartney was little better and we must have the worst pair of full-backs in the Premier League. When we attacked City they wobbled but our final ball was not consistent – we gave it away far too cheaply, and to lump it up far too quickly.

The fan’s player ratings: Fulop 6; Nosworthy 2, Turner 7, Mensah 7 (Healy 76 4), McCartney 3; Reid 6; Campbell 5 (Richardson 59 5), Henderson 7, Cattermole 6, Malbranque 5 (Jones 40 6); Bent 7.

Robert O’Brien, Observer reader We were lucky to win. We’re not showing the form or class that can take us into the top six let alone the top four, but we looked a lot better with Santa Cruz up front as the target man, with Tevez buzzing around him. I think Hughes should go and I know we’ll get pilloried in the press for being ruthless but if you ask any City fans they’ll say he’s not generated any sort of buzz or enthusiasm. Mancini is not who I’d have picked but the next boss would definitely not have a British passport.

The fan’s player ratings: Given 6; Richards 6 (Zabaleta 21 5), Onuoha 6, Touré 6, Sylvinho 6; Ireland 6, Barry 6, Wright-Phillips 5 (Kompany 52 6), Bellamy 8; Tevez 7, (Petrov 86 n/a), Santa Cruz 8