DOWN & OUT
Moyes and Sunderland relegated and now striker Defoe looks set to quit the Stadium of Light
SUNDERLAND BOURNEMOUTH 0 1
THE Stadium of Light was half-deserted by the time Sunderland’s relegation was confirmed, and you wonder if many of those who had walked out will ever come back if David Moyes stays in charge.
Such was the level of apathy and disinterest that it wasn’t until after Josh King’s late winner that supporters even mustered the anger to turn on their beleaguered boss.
That is what Moyes has done to this club — drained them of energy and enthusiasm. And now, finally, their Premier League status has gone too, a decade after promotion.
This has been coming since the day in August when Moyes confessed that a season-long struggle against relegation lay ahead. He was wrong on one thing, that struggle did not last the season. It has expired with four games to spare, Hull’s point at Southampton leaving Sunderland an irretrievable 13 points from safety. Moyes will assess his future after the remaining dead-rubbers are played out, but the final offerings from fans here were calls for him to go.
He has done little to inspire his players or supporters for the entirety of a calamitous campaign. His rallying cry on the eve of this game told a lot about his mindset and the regard — albeit a low one — in which he holds his squad.
He said: ‘I thought the other night (a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough) a lot of them played as well as they possibly can. Can they play better than that? I am not sure they can.’
Again, though, it was a diversionary tactic. And that has been Moyes’ modus operandi since realising the gravity of his error in saying ‘yes’ to owner Ellis Short last July.
He spoke repeatedly — with some justification — of pre-existing issues; the club’s debt levels of £110million tell of mis-management over several years. But Moyes became obsessed with those problems, blinding him to the task of making better the mess he inherited.
Does he have the appetite to remain? He used to say he did, but that changed on Friday when, for the first time, he hinted that he could quit. Given that Sunderland are on course to become the sixthworst team in Premier League his- tory, it is remarkable there was no talk of him being sacked. Their last home win was on December 17 and they have taken just two points from the last 30 on offer — and this at time when they were supposed to be fighting for their lives.
Jermain Defoe has not scored for 10 matches and his body language of late has betrayed his frustration with those around him. Without an in-form Defoe this team has little to offer and his 14 goals up until early February merely delayed their inevitable demotion. When Moyes emerged to reflect last night, he spoke of his ‘worst day in football’. But this did not feel like a particularly catastrophic afternoon. He did, at least, apologise to fans.
‘I hoped it would never come around,’ he said. ‘I’m disappointed for the supporters, disappointed that we couldn’t give them more.
‘They come here in their thousands week in, week out and travel in their thousands as well. I know cash isn’t easy in this part of the country, so I appreciate every penny they put into the club by watching their team. My thoughts are with them, and I’m sorry that we weren’t able to do a better job.’ But, tellingly, he added: ‘I’ve said near enough from the start that I’m experienced, and I know what a Premier League team looks like, I know what a Premier League squad looks like, and I’ve felt like we’ve been short of a little bit of quality to try to make that difference.’
Would another manager have fared any better? ‘I think it’s been a frustrating manager’s chair for just about any manager,’ he said.
Frustrating, yes, but not one of the previous seven managers has taken the club down. Sam Allardyce kept them up with largely the same squad last season, as did Dick Advocaat 12 months earlier, and Gus Poyet and Paolo Di Canio before that. Moyes was supposed to be the man to break that cycle of late-season survival acts. He has achieved that, at least.
A statement from Short made no mention of Moyes, but read: ‘Like any supporter, my initial reaction is one of sadness, disappointment, anger and frustration. After 10 consecutive seasons as a top-flight club, the second longest in our 138year history, it is hard for everyone
to take. I am truly sorry we have not been able to retain our top-flight status for them. I acknowledge that during my ownership mistakes have been made, particularly in the area of player recruitment, and we have found ourselves struggling to survive in recent seasons.
‘We had massive disruption during the summer transfer window and an unprecedented number of injuries throughout the season. These are difficulties which we have been unable to overcome and we are paying the price for that now. We need to improve, both on and off the field, and despite the bitter disappointment of today there is a strong determination to do so throughout the club.
‘There is significant work to be done over the summer and when the season is concluded, we intend to share our plans to move forward with our supporters.’
It says something that this defeat was actually one of their better performances. But two minutes from time, King rolled the ball into the bottom corner from Ryan Fraser’s cross to put Moyes and Sunderland out of their misery.