Sunderland fans have voiced their discontent with new manager Phil Parkinson. The boss joined the club just a few weeks ago, signing a two and a half year deal with the Black Cats (Roker Report).
But with multiple fans already calling for Parkinson to get the sack, it seems a bit harsh to cut the manager loose already. It has been pointed out by some fans, in the link above, that Parkinson has lost three of his first six games. But let’s put that into perspective.
Parkinson joined the club on October 17, 2019. His first loss with the club was on October 19, 2019. With just two days between landing the job and suffering defeat, the manager only had one real day of preparation before the match. It would be very harsh to lay the blame on him for that loss in particular.
The second defeat was just a 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury, in which Parkinson’s side dominated 61.7% of possession (WhoScored.com). Parkinson also drew against Oxford United, who are currently the top scorers in the Football League One (Sky Sports). That just leaves a loss to Leicester City’s U21 side in the cup.
Overall, when taken into context, Parkinson’s reign as Sunderland manager hasn’t been as bad as it may first appear on paper. This isn’t to say that there aren’t any significant areas for improvement though. Sunderland have been shutout in two of the games Parkinson has been in charge of. In three out of the remaining four, Sunderland only scored one goal (WhoScored.com). Goals are obviously needed. In the 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury mentioned above, Sunderland out-shot their opponents 16 to five (WhoScored.com).
The statistics suggest that it’s not a new manager that is needed. The players need to be scoring goals, simple. If Will Grigg can find some form and start scoring, then perhaps Sunderland can make it back into the Championship.