Next Sunderland manager: Five alternatives to Sam Allardyce
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Although former Sunderland player Sam Allardyce is a strong odds-on 8/11 favourite with Coral to take over at the Stadium of Light from departed boss Dick Advocaat, there are alternatives open to the Black Cats.
That got our football experts thinking about whether anyone else can turn fortunes around on Wearside? Here are the pros and cons to some other managers in the market besides Big Sam:
Nigel Pearson (6/1)
Ex-Leicester City boss Pearson took the Foxes from League One to the Premier League across two spells and kept them up in the top-flight last term, but that was not enough to save him from the sack by the East Midlands outfit’s Asian investors from the King Power Group.
Twice a caretaker at Tyneside rivals Newcastle United where Allardyce was also once in charge, that could count against him, as unlike Big Sam he has no ties to Sunderland.
Former USA coach Bradley is currently in charge of Norwegian team Stabaek, and has been linked with another Premier League club that has American owners in Aston Villa.
A stint in charge of Egypt (2011-13) following his four-and-a-half years with the Stars and Stripes was ultimately unsuccessful, though, and he has no experience of English football.
Sean Dyche (7/1)
Burnley boss Dyche has received widespread praise for his work at Turf Moor on a shoestring budget, but the problem is the Clarets never looked like staying up in the Premier League last term.
Black Cats fans will want a manager that can preserve their top-flight status, and he would have to prove that it’d be a different story given the chance. The jury is out on Dyche.
Real Sociedad manager Moyes is statistically doing his worst job in the Basque Country, so a return to England could be on the cards.
Sunderland paying compensation for him, however, would only further reduce their budget to improve their squad this winter with reinforcements essential.
Brendan Rodgers (20/1)
If recently sacked Liverpool boss Rodgers wants a swift return to management, then Wearside is the only current top-flight vacancy open to him.
Keeping the Black Cats in the Premier League would be a way to rebuild his tarnished reputation. This opportunity may have come too soon, though.
