By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
10 games into the Premier League season and it is already
looking like a very long campaign once again for fans of Sunderland.
With eight defeats and just two points to their name, the
Black Cats are propping up the table and haven’t won a league game since
beating Everton 3-0 in May to secure their safety last campaign. It looks like
a long and depressing winter looms for the Wearsiders.
David Moyes has found the job to be a bit of a poisoned
chalice since he succeeded Sam Allardyce in July when he fatefully agreed to
take the England post. The Scot looks to have the backing of the club’s owners
for now at least but results have to improve.
Last weekend’s 4-1 home defeat to Arsenal was a sign of the
trouble at the club. There was a real lack of leadership on the field of play
and that is a real worry as the Premier League starts to take shape in
2016/2017.
Sunderland isn’t the only team in Premier League history to
have made such a rotten start but as these examples below show, it doesn’t
normally produce a happy ending.
Swindon
Town – 1993/1994 (3 points from 10 games)
Swindon Town reached the promise land of the Premier League
in 1993 after winning the play-off final against Leicester City. It was former
England manager Glenn Hoddle who took the club up as player-manager.
Hoddle left that summer though to fill the vacant position
at Chelsea and his long-time assistant Jon Gorman elected to give management a
go. He quickly found life tough in the top job.
Swindon made a wretched start to their Premier League life.
They were beaten 5-0 at home by Liverpool FC, lost 5-2 away at Southampton and
had only mustered three draws from their opening 10 fixtures.
It wasn’t until late November before they recorded their
first victory; a 1-0 home success over QPR and although they showed a bit more resilience
as the campaign progressed, they still leaked far too many goals.
A 5-0 home battering by Leeds United on the final day
ensured they would go down as the only side still in the league’s history to
concede 100 goals in a campaign. The Robins’ haven’t been back since.
FINAL OUTCOME: 22nd
(Relegated)
Everton –
1994/1995 (3 points from 10 games)
Swindon’s start was mirrored the following season by
Everton. The Toffees made the worst start in their distinguished history in
season 1994/1995 and failed to win any of their first 10 matches.
Manager Mike Walker had arrived in January 1994 after doing
sterling work at Norwich City which included a memorable UEFA Cup win over
German heavyweights FC Bayern München. He couldn’t repeat these exploits on
Merseyside.
Having narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the
previous season, Walker had attempted to pep up his attack by signing Daniel
Amokachi and Anders Limpar, along with bringing Duncan Ferguson down from
Scottish football. It simply wasn’t working and a 2-0 home loss to Coventry
City left them rooted to the bottom and six points from safety.
West Ham United were beaten in early November but the corner
would be turned without Walker. He was sacked a week later and replaced by
former player Joe Royle.
Royle oversaw a sudden transformation as the season
progressed. Everton edged away from danger to finish 15th and beat
Manchester United at Wembley 1-0 to win the FA Cup.
FINAL OUTCOME: 15th
(Survived)
Manchester
City – 1995/1996 (2 points from 10 games)
Manchester City might be living the glory days now but it
was a different story in the 1990s. Totally overshadowed by their neighbours
from Old Trafford, they couldn’t recover from a miserable opening 10 games that
saw them register just two points.
Alan Ball had arrived to replace Brian Horton as Citizens’
manager but couldn’t inspire his players to produce on the field. City collected
just home draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United before November
arrived.
That month did bring some respite with four wins and a draw
but it wasn’t enough. A 2-2 result on the final day with Liverpool FC saw the
club relegated on goal difference. Ball parted company three games into the
following season and City wouldn’t be seen in the top-flight again before 2000.
FINAL OUTCOME: 18th
(Relegated)
Sheffield
Wednesday – 1999/2000 (4 points from 10 games)
Danny Wilson’s Sheffield Wednesday made the worst start to
any Premier League season after nine matches, managing just one solitary point.
Their cataclysmic beginning included an 8-0 thumping at Newcastle United when Alan
Shearer scored five goals.
A 5-1 win against Wimbledon at the start of October gave the
Owls brief hope but that’s all it was. Inconsistency, injuries and a lack of
squad balance undermined the season. Wilson was axed in March 2000 and despite
the best efforts of caretaker manager Peter Shreeves, the Owls slid into
Division One on the final week of the season after a draw at Highbury with
Arsenal.
This was their final Premier League campaign although a
play-off final last season suggests the good times might finally be returning
to Hillsborough.
FINAL OUTCOME: 19th
(Relegated)
Portsmouth
– 2009/2010 (4 points from 10 games)
2009/2010 was an absolute nightmare for Portsmouth fans.
Less than two years after winning the FA Cup final, Pompey were placed into administration
and began their drop down the league pyramid.
Constant ownership changes at boardroom level meant total
unsettlement around Fratton Park. Star assets like Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe
and Sylvain Distin had been sold in an attempt to balance the books. The club
had to rely on loans and free agents to boost the ranks within the squad.
The South Coast side lost their first seven league matches,
then the true plight of their financial issues were highlighted in early
October when it was revealed the club hadn’t paid the player’s wages.
Paul Hart did spearhead his side to a win at Wolves but his
tenure ended in November after a 1-0 defeat to Stoke City. Avraam Grant
returned to the club and guided them to another FA Cup final but the
administration in February 2010 meant a 10-point penalty which guaranteed
relegation. Sadly, more issues dogged the club for many more years but the fans
now own Portsmouth FC. Let’s hope they start climbing the leagues again.
FINAL OUTCOME: 20th
(Relegated)
Crystal
Palace – 2013/2014 (3 points from 10 games)
Ian Holloway had surprisingly guided Crystal Palace back to
the Premier League but he couldn’t revive the magic he had displayed in his
time when Blackpool won the hearts of many in the top-flight.
With every passing week, the Eagles looked like a side
destined for an instant return to the Championship. Aside from a 3-1 victory against
Sunderland in late August, the club lost nine of its first 10 matches.
A 4-1 derby defeat at the hands of Fulham saw Holloway elect
to step down. Tony Pulis succeeded him and pulled off a miraculous recovery
that saw Palace finish a very creditable 11th in the final table.
Their upturn in fortunes included a shock victory over
Chelsea and an amazing comeback in May at home to Liverpool FC when Dwight
Gayle scored twice to rescue a 3-3 draw and bury the Reds’ title ambitions in
the process.
FINAL OUTCOME: 11th
(Survived)
Is there
any hope?
 |
| Jermain Defoe will need support from other players in terms of goals |
Any team that has Jermain Defoe (pictured) among its ranks always has a
chance. His predatory instincts inside the box make him such a valuable asset,
especially to a struggling team like Sunderland. Defoe can’t do it all though
and support in terms of goals is basically non-existent.
Patrick van Aanholt chips in with the occasional effort but
his trade is as a left-back. A midfield line-up of Jack Rodwell, Jan Kirchhoff,
Lee Cattermole, Steven Pienaar and Didier N’Dong simply does not strike you as
one that will provide goals.
Draws are almost no good to Moyes now. His side travel to
AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, who recently put Hull City to the sword 6-1 in a
devastating display. Moyes will be watching on from the stands as he serves a
touchline ban for using abusive language to a match official during a recent
League Cup exit at Southampton.
With eight different managers in eight years, Sunderland’s
problems are clear for all to see. With 28 games still to play, there is still
plenty of time to turn things around but most pundits are already writing the
club off and you can’t blame them either. It looks set to be a grim few months
ahead again for all connected with Sunderland AFC.
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