Sunderland's Gus Poyet Deserves Much More Scrutiny

With a little over 10 rounds of games remaining in the Premier League, the relegation fight is becoming more and more desperate. Clubs have begun responding in kind, with Aston Villa, QPR, West Brom and Crystal Palace all moving to replace their managers in an attempt to reverse their fortunes.

One team whose manager has been under relatively little scrutiny—at least from the national media—has been Sunderland. Gus Poyet was their savior last season, rescuing them from Paolo di Canio’s disastrous reign. Up until the 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Bradford—after which Poyet was moved to write an open letter to the club’s fans—you’d be forgiven for thinking that Sunderland had been enjoying a satisfactory season.

Little could be further from the truth. Their league form has been masked by the collective failures of the teams below them, and they currently sit just three points off the relegation zone.

Despite the relatively easy ride that Poyet has been afforded compared to his contemporaries—Nigel Pearson and Steve Bruce in particular have been subject to growing speculation in recent weeks—he has taken issue with how the media has portrayed him.

The letter attacked the media for twisting his words and making it appear that he had blamed Sunderland fans for previous poor performances. The direct quotes from Poyet, per The Shields Gazette, make it very hard to interpret otherwise: “In football, we are not all the same characters, in terms of playing with nerves and rumours in the stadium… That’s creating, I’m not saying a fear, but doubts in some players.”

Ironically, all the letter—and resulting fallout—has achieved is ratcheting up the intensity of the media’s gaze on the Uruguayan. If his job security wasn’t the subject of due speculation before, it certainly will be now.

Sunderland’s chief shortcoming this season has been their inability to translate draws into wins—they’ve so far drawn half of their 26 games in the league, which puts them on course to better the Premier League’s 38-game record. Their proclivity for stalemates hints at Poyet’s limitations as a coach. While tactically astute and capable of setting up a sturdy defence—had they not conceded eight at Southampton, they would boast the fifth-best record in the division—their football has been dire in an attacking sense, with only Villa scoring fewer.

Instead of attacking the media, Poyet really should have been thanking his lucky stars that he wasn’t already on the receiving end of more flack. The fact that the Black Cats have lost so few games this season suggests they’re easily capable of performing better. Should they stay up, it will more likely be by virtue of their fairly gentle run-in rather than their manager.

In his post-match interview after the Bradford game, Poyet expressed his wish to build “a China Wall” around the city in order to keep journalists out, and his letter was emphatic in its attempt to create an “us and them” siege mentality. If it works, Poyet could mend his relationship with the fans and revitalise the club’s season. If it doesn’t, he could well find that it is he who is the target for the baying masses.