They've lost Di Canio…

So Paolo Di Canio has fallen victim to his own 'revolution' at Sunderland. There can't be many industries where you allow a manager to spend £19 million on new capital equipment and then give him just five weeks to get it all installed. Sunderland knew Di Canio's character and methods when they employed him so you have to ask why Ellis Short has panicked after a mere five games.

I'd agree with Big Sam that PDC's been sacked far too soon, although at the same time I can't see his tactics would have worked at West Ham. Criticising Premiership players in public bruises their egos and was never going to work, and how long would he have lasted before falling out with David Sullivan and David Gold? They didn't like it when Steve Clarke was apparently disrespectful towards them and they certainly wouldn't have appreciated a Di Canio tantrum. While Karren Brady would have questioned selling one expensive team and replacing it with another, though she might have liked economising on the ketchup.

Part of Paolo's problem is his failure to appreciate that not all players are as ultra-dedicated or talented as he was (give or take the odd training ground walkout) and many require different man-management. Paolo has been tremendous entertainment value during his brief managerial career but we should perhaps be grateful that he didn't begin his learning curve at West Ham.