OTD: GUS POYET SACKED

On this day in 2015, Gus Poyet was relieved of his duties as Sunderland manager after 75 matches in charge. Poyet orchestrated the great escape of the 2013/14 season and also took us to our first major cup final in 22 years.

In October 2013, after Paolo Di Canio’s disastrous start to the season, Poyet was announced as Sunderland’s new manager. He was the first Uruguayan boss in the Premier League.

In his first match in charge, Poyet got off to a disappointing start. We were slaughtered 4-0 by Swansea City, with Phil Bardsley and Steven Fletcher both scoring own goals in the game. The defeat meant Sunderland had just one point from their opening eight games, which was their worst ever start to a season. Quite remarkable, given some of the other disastrous seasons we've had.

After the loss in Wales, confidence was at an all-time low going into the first Wear-Tyne derby of the season. However, in Poyet’s second game in charge, Fabio Borini fired Sunderland to a 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light. It was a sign of things to come, as just a few weeks later we beat Manchester City thanks to a Phil Bardsley goal. Bardsley had been brought in from the cold by Gus after being exiled by Di Canio.

Poyet’s next big win came in the League Cup quarter final, when Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea came to the Stadium of Light. The Blues were, of course, huge favourites going into the game. However, a late Fabio Borini goal made the game 1-1 and took it to extra time. In the 118th minute, with the game looking set to go to penalties, Ki Sung-yueng found the net and the Stadium of Light erupted. Sunderland were in the semi final.

The cup success wasn’t exactly translated into the Premier League. In the next three games, Sunderland faced two huge relegation rivals in Cardiff City and Norwich City. However, they were only able to pick up draws against both sides. The improvement in the team was clear to see though and fans began to have a glimmer of hope.

Poyet led the team to victory in the home leg of the semi final against Manchester United and we all know what happened at Old Trafford! Vito Mannone was the hero and Poyet took Sunderland to Wembley in his first season in charge. The win against United inspired some much needed confidence in the side, who then went on to comfortably beat Newcastle United 3-0 away from home. A certain Jack Colback grabbed the third goal and wheeled off in celebration.

In March, the League Cup final was played against Manchester City, who were overwhelming favourites. Despite this, Borini got in behind City’s defence early on and fired his shot past the helpless Pantilimon and into the bottom corner. The Lads went into the break 1-0 up and in all honesty it could have been more! In the second half, City’s quality was too much and Sunderland’s resolute defence finally caved. Yaya Toure curled a worldie into Mannone’s top right corner, with the Italian standing no chance and the game suddenly turned on it's head. City eventually won 3-1.

The final had clearly taken its toll on Sunderland, whose form declined drastically. We picked up just one point from the next seven games, including a 5-1 hammering at Tottenham Hotspur where Poyet famously claimed we needed a ‘miracle’ to stay up. After a 1-0 home defeat to Everton, the Lads went away to Man City and drew 2-2. Although it was probably a decent point, it stung because we were 2-1 up until late on, when Samir Nasri’s strike slipped through the grasp of Mannone.

If one positive came out of Sunderland’s poor form, it was the recalling of Connor Wickham from his loan spell at Leeds United. Wickham scored a brace in the City game and was instrumental in our great escape. He scored vital goals against Man City, opened the scoring against Chelsea and bagged a brace to help us batter Cardiff.

We went to Stamford Bridge, where Jose Mourinho had a 77-game unbeaten record. We pulled off a fantastic win through a calm Borini penalty (and the Wickham opener I mentioned) and took one step closer to survival. It was the start of four wins in a row, including a win at Old Trafford and a 2-0 win at home to West Bromwich Albion which confirmed our survival.

The following season, Poyet became increasingly frustrated at Sunderland and was sacked in March, with the club 17th and just one point above the relegation zone. After his time on Wearside, Poyet has managed the likes of Real Betis and Bordeaux among others. He spent some time with the Greece national team and was most recently in charge of South Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC, where he won a Korean league title and an FA Cup.

We didn’t win silverware, in fact all Poyet did was secure another Premier League season in which we would battle relegation yet again before parting with another manager. He delayed the eventual tumble out of the league, which we all knew was coming, but he did it in style. Poyet is generally remembered fondly at the club and, whilst not to the same extent Roy Keane and Sam Allardyce have been previously, the odd fan still clamours for Poyet when we inevitably part ways with another manager.