Cast your mind back to March 2013 and Martin O’Neill had just been relieved of his services at Sunderland with Paolo Di Canio put in charge.
Di Canio’s second game was against fierce rivals Newcastle United, a game Sunderland won 3-0 to give the manager his first win.
Fast forward six months and Di Canio was sacked by the club following reported unrest in the changing rooms and Uruguayan Gus Poyet was brought in. Poyet, like Di Canio, lost his first game and won his second, again, against Newcastle United, much to the delight of the supporters.
Poyet managed a little longer than his predecessor at the club, but his time came to an end in March 2015 after poor results. Veteran manager Dick Advocaat was placed in temporary charge until the end of the season. Advocaat’s first game ended in defeat, but he unbelievably managed to win against Newcastle in his second in charge.
Advocaat managed to keep the club in the league last season but unfortunately couldn’t turn around the club’s fortunes and left the club just last week.
Ex-Sunderland player and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has taken the reigns at the club and will take charge of his first game against West Brom midweek. Allardyce’s second game in charge? Yes, you guessed it, Newcastle United.
There are no guarantees history will repeat itself for the fourth successful time, but it is all a bit of a coincidence. Even if Sunderland are to win, ‘Big Sam’ will know he has probably his biggest challenge on his hands in keeping Sunderland in the league.
One thing is certain, the next few weeks are going to be extremely interesting, especially for Sunderland fans.
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