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Looking over Sunderland's recent list of managers you realise just how uninspiring it is. Wilkinson, McCarthy, Bruce, O'Neill; all part of the 'old brigade'. All of them are old-fashioned manager, set in their ways with no room for evolution of thought. Roy Keane is the exception in this list, but even he wasn't exactly forward-thinking. Sunderland cannot afford to go for another manager like this (i.e. Hughes, McClaren). The club must take this opportunity to appoint someone younger, with fresh ideas, who's more in touch with the modern game than those who came before him.
1. Gus Poyet
If we're looking for a forward thinking manager who plays attractive football, then Poyet ticks all the boxes. The former Uruguayan international has been in charge of Brighton during the most important period of the South Coast club's history, helping to transform them from an unfashionable outfit into a rising force in English football, playing an attractive style of football to the Amex.
Of course there are question marks over whether or not Poyet would jump ship so late in the season, with his Brighton side riding high in the play-offs. However, he was seriously considering an offer from Reading before turning it down, and there are rumours the two clubs even agreed on compensation. Perhaps he's find an offer from a bigger club hard to turn down. With money available and a more or less clean squad to work with, Poyet would be an excellent choice.
2. Laurent Blanc
Okay, so this might be an ambitious one. Blanc, recently departed from the French national job, may not be interested in joining a side fighting for their Premier League survival, and the last time he and Sunderland came into contact he claimed the Black Cats were not a 'big enough club' to sign his (then) Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh. However the Frenchman's stock isn't all that high at the moment following a poor Euro 2012 performance, and he may look to seek a new challenge. Blanc led Bordeaux to a Ligue 1 title and has worked with some of the best footballers in the world. It may be ambitious, but if we could get him in, he could have a similar impact to that of Michael Laudrup at Swansea
3. Diego Maradonna
If we're going to implode, we might as well do it in style. Psychologists have long believed that Human Beings have self-destructive tendencies, so let's all go out in a binge of alcohol, cocaine and sheer madness.