The Plot to Escape Relegation Thread 2015.

[JG]

Sunderland have given themselves a better chance by sacking Poyet and appointing Advocaat. Think it's going to be really tight

It's a huge risk appointing someone with no Prem experience with so few games left, he needs to hit the ground running & has no time to 'find his feet', as it were. That's why I was please with Sherwood, although he didn't have much experience he knew the English game inside out.

[Chris Smith]

We are the team with a wind behind us, wins and goals will have given the players a new confidence and we have a manager who appears to want to play to their strengths. Early days, of course, but if I were a fan of any of the other clubs down there I would be worried by our apparent improvement.

[JG]

We are the team with a wind behind us, wins and goals will have given the players a new confidence and we have a manager who appears to want to play to their strengths. Early days, of course, but if I were a fan of any of the other clubs down there I would be worried by our apparent improvement.

Well said. If it wasn't for Burnley's freak result v Man City (and let's be honest, that's what it was), the we'd be 6 points clear already. By no means safe, but that would have made me pretty moist

[Damo70]

We are the team with a wind behind us, wins and goals will have given the players a new confidence and we have a manager who appears to want to play to their strengths. Early days, of course, but if I were a fan of any of the other clubs down there I would be worried by our apparent improvement.

I agree. If we were Leicester or Hull or possibly even Everton fans we would be pointing to Villa as an example of taking action to sack a struggling manager.

[Richard E]

Three more wins will see us home and we should be more than capable of getting those from the available games. 

[Matt Collins]

I agree it's three wins we need

I was just checking Spurs record under sherwood against the top sides and it was a stream of thrashings. Hopefully he'll learn from that and we won't be so open

But I think the answer is going to come in our home games. If we win the next two it's hard to see us not doing it. If we don't, then it's going to be difficult.

[N'ZMAV]

If we take any points off the top teams then it'll be a bonus - Ok, Burnley beat City, but 9 times out of 10 I believe the better teams at this stage of the season will beat the shit, and I imagine all the teams in and around us have to go to at least 1 top side.

[Diablo]

Sunderland have given themselves a better chance by sacking Poyet and appointing Advocaat. Think it's going to be really tight

It's a huge risk appointing someone with no Prem experience with so few games left, he needs to hit the ground running & has no time to 'find his feet', as it were. That's why I was please with Sherwood, although he didn't have much experience he knew the English game inside out.

Looking at  Advocaat's win %

Advocaat's highest managerial win percentages (more than 25 games)
Rangers: (1998-2001) 67.53% from 194 matches
PSV Eindhoven: (1994-98) 65.79% of 152 matches
PSV Eindhoven: (2012-13) 65.31% of 49 matches
Netherlands: (1992-94) 57.69% of 26 matches

And looking at who Sunderland have got next Westham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace I think they will get something from 1 or 2 of those games and stay up. They've got the benefit of a natural goal scorer in Defoe.

It's as you say JG Advocaat hasn't got much time to find his feet (and also those win percentages are over a 25 match period and beyond - and he's only got 9 games!!). But I think his managerial experience will bring them over the line despite them looking so poor against us. 

[Damo70]

I don't think you can compare win percentages with the richest clubs in Scotland and Holland at the time with his situation at Sunderland. I think as low as 34 points could be enough this year. I have just done a predictor and had Leicester staying up on that amount with Sunderland, Burnley and QPR going down. I had us fifteenth, one below Everton and one above Hull.

[supertom]

Sunderland are in a horrific mess. Their defence looks almost unsalvageable. Beyond Brown and O'Shea (both well past it) they only have a couple of poor foreign CH's in on loan who haven't adapted to the Prem. Their best striker is Defoe who is 33 years old and will always be on the periphery of games. Again, it goes back to the Bent argument. Yes he might put a chance away and score goals, but you sacrifice a player in the general play. Defoe probably touched the ball few enough times you could count on your fingers at the weekend.
They lack pace. Their best player is currently out of action indefinitely. It's a shambles. Advocaat's track record doesn't suggest he'd be able to pull off the miracle required to turn this squad around. Now whether he keeps them up is more a matter of how QPR finish. Much like ourselves under McLeish and Lambert last season, Sunderland must rely on 3 teams being shitter, rather than anything they might actually do themselves.

[Des Little]

I honestly think it'll be Hull or Sunderland.  Hull's run in is a nightmare and whilst Sunderland's is far easier, they're in shocking form.

[OCD]

Burnley could join the list of teams we've relegated on the last day, otherwise it could be Hull going by the fixtures. Sunderland's run of games should be enough for them to survive.

[ADVILLAFAN]

As long as we stay up and QPR go down I'll be happy.

[Des Little]

To be honest, as long as we stay up I couldn't give a tinker's cuss!

[Damo70]

Sunderland are in a horrific mess. Their defence looks almost unsalvageable. Beyond Brown and O'Shea (both well past it) they only have a couple of poor foreign CH's in on loan who haven't adapted to the Prem. Their best striker is Defoe who is 33 years old and will always be on the periphery of games. Again, it goes back to the Bent argument. Yes he might put a chance away and score goals, but you sacrifice a player in the general play. Defoe probably touched the ball few enough times you could count on your fingers at the weekend.
They lack pace. Their best player is currently out of action indefinitely. It's a shambles. Advocaat's track record doesn't suggest he'd be able to pull off the miracle required to turn this squad around. Now whether he keeps them up is more a matter of how QPR finish. Much like ourselves under McLeish and Lambert last season, Sunderland must rely on 3 teams being shitter, rather than anything they might actually do themselves.

I didn't realise Defoe was that old, but thinking about it he must be.