Di Canio had overseen a complete squad overhaul in the summer, with 14 incomings and 10 outgoings in total, as he sought to improve the Wearsiders following their lowly 17th-placed finish last season.
But, despite the new squad roll call, the same old problems have remained at the Stadium of Light.
Steven Fletcher's dislocated shoulder and the sale of Stephane Sessegnon to West Bromwich Albion has left the team woefully short of firepower alongside a defence, shorn of the sold Simon Mignolet, which just cannot be relied to keep a clean sheet.
It is little wonder then that Sunderland have struggled this season, taking a solitary point in the Premier League from their visit to Southampton.
The last three games have all been defeats, each of which have resulted in an increasingly-bizarre reaction from Di Canio.
Following the 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace, Di Canio fumed at the "pathetic goals" which his team had conceded, criticising club captain John O'Shea for giving away a penalty and getting sent off.
Then, in the Arsenal home defeat by the same score, the Italian admitted he had invited referee Martin Atkinson to send him off, which Atkinson promptly did.
Di Canio saved his most bizarre move of all for the full time whistle at the Hawthorns after a match in which Sunderland had been comprehensively beaten by West Brom, with Sessegnon inevitably scoring.
Striding across the pitch, Di Canio faced up to the away supporters, asking them to keep their chin up despite the team's poor form. This gesture was a world away from his knee-sliding celebration at St James Park in April.
Indeed, it is now strange to think that it had all started so well for him in his first top-flight managerial position.
A 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in his opener showed plenty of promise before Sunderland then pulled off their biggest win in the Tyne-Wear derby since 1979. This was followed up by a win in his first home game against Everton.
Since then, though, Di Canio has only tasted victory once more with Sunderland - and that was at home against Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup.
In the Premier League, the Black Cats are now without a win in nine games stretching over the two seasons, having limped over the line in the last campaign without actually getting to 40 points.
That mark looks a long way off again right now, and their next two league fixtures are at home against Liverpool and Manchester United.
Still, having seen so much transfer activity, it was a surprise not to see Di Canio get at least until around Christmas time.
But American owner Ellis Short can be a ruthless character, as witnessed when boyhood supporter Martin O'Neill was dumped in March following a string of similarly poor results.
Clearly, Short - realising Di Canio's loose-cannon approach was never going to work long-term - has cut his losses at an early stage, petrified that the Black Cats might already be getting cut adrift.
Nevertheless, a myriad of problems remains. The fact that the club has confirmed that there is no shortlist to replace Di Canio shows that this was a move which they did not expect to have to make.
And, then, the new manager - whoever he is - will have to come in and buck up the ideas of a squad brought in largely by Di Canio.
Meanwhile, the former Swindon Town boss will now presumably head back to the lower leagues with his tail between his legs, though few should lament his failure as a top-level manager.
Woody Guthrie once wrote "All of you fascists bound to lose" - a song covered by Billy Bragg in 2000. It looks as if they were right again. Ciao, Il Duce!
THAT PAULO DI CANIO REVOLUTION IN FULL...
Three wins from 13 games in 175 days:
2012/13
| 7 Apr | Chelsea (A) | L1-2 |
| 14 Apr | Newcastle United (A) | W3-0 |
| 20 Apr | Everton (H) | W1-0 |
| 29 Apr | Aston Villa (A) | L1-6 |
| 6 May | Stoke City (H) | D1-1 |
| 12 May | Southampton (H) | D1-1 |
| 19 May | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | L0-1 |
| 17 Aug | Fulham (H) | L0-1 |
| 24 Aug | Southampton (A) | D1-1 |
| 27 Aug | Milton Keynes Dons (H) [LC] | W4-2 |
| 31 Aug | Crystal Palace (A) | L1-3 |
| 14 Sep | Arsenal (H) | L1-3 |
| 21 Sep | West Bromwich Albion (A) | L0-3 |
No comments:
Post a Comment