Could Mick be the man?
On Sunderland’s calamitous descent into the relegation mire, former manager Mick McCarthy had this to say during the season: “I know how hard it is to turn around when it’s going that way. It’s like trying to turn around an oil tanker with a canoe paddle.”
A brutally honest metaphor that proved spot on.
All the charisma and international stardust brought to Sunderland by Chris Coleman wasn’t enough to turn around the Black Cats’ dismal fall from grace.
Could the straight-talking pragmaticism extolled by bluff Yorkshireman Mick McCarthy be the answer to Sunderland’s woes?
We may be about to find out. When football vacancies appear and transfer windows open, the rumour mill goes into overdrive. We’ve lost count of the number of stories of star players spotted stepping off the X20 at Park Lane Bus Station or flagging down an eight-seater Station Taxi and heading to the Stadium of Light. So when he heard Mick McCarthy had been spotted in a boozer near town, we took it with a pinch of salt.
Turns out Mr McCarthy was in town!
No sooner is he installed as one of the favourites to succeed Chris Coleman than he’s photographed at a nearby boozer and BMW garage! Coincidence? Maybe, but only time will tell.
What’s certain is that he’s the kind of manager Sunderland needs.
He had an immediate impact on arriving at Wolves and Millwall, and performed near miracles at Ipswich on a shoestring budget. We’re no great believers in coincidence but we believe the fortunes of Sunderland could be turned round by the right boss. If it’s Mick McCarthy, we’ll take him ... as long as he brings a big paddle!