Sunderland and Moyes partnership could prove to be a good fit

Sam Allardyce kept Sunderland up and you can’t resent a manager for taking the England job. So he appears to have left Sunderland with the best wishes of the club’s fans.

The same goodwill was not apparent in what the club’s owner said – as well as what he didn’t. The official SAFC statement merely said that Sam had slung his hook and that a new bloke would be installed pronto. That’s possibly not verbatim, but you get the gist.

What matters now is the new man. David Moyes was wheeled out on Saturday and his appointment has been well received.

This is mainly because of the job he did at Everton. A manager who is at one club for 11 years has almost by definition done a good job. His four successful years at Preston should not be overlooked either.

Yet beware. Overlooking his time at Manchester United and Real Sociedad may appeal to Sunderland fans, but wouldn’t be wise. There is a similar mood surrounding Moyes’ appointment as there was when Martin O’Neill took over in 2011.

I also remember a Newcastle fan once telling me that Kevin Keegan was only his second favourite manager of all time – after Lawrie McMenemy.

No manager comes with a guarantee, but it’s difficult to see how, realistically, Sunderland could have done any better than Moyes and vice versa.

Experience dictates that Wearsiders are currently pleased rather than ecstatic. Optimism is, to say the least, cautious.

Maybe David Moyes will have Sunderland’s trophy cabinet creaking under newfound weight. Perhaps Rafa Benítez will do the same at Newcastle. Hope never dies.

However, a more realistic ambition for both clubs in 2016-17 would be to end the season with the same manager with which they started it.

If they can manage that, Newcastle for the first time in three years, Sunderland for the first time in six, then everything else should fall into place.