Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has already been told why he shouldn’t hire this 39-year-old manager.
Sunderland are still on the lookout for their next manager, with a lot of pressure riding on Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to make the right appointment, and make it soon.
But the search is certainly heating up. Pascal Jansen now appears to be emerging as a front-runner; the former AZ boss is reportedly of serious interest to Sunderland officials.
It comes after claims that Jansen, along with St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson and Stockport County boss Dave Challinor were the three final candidates to become the next Sunderland manager.
Since, Robinson and Challinor’s names have been taken out of contention, whilst Hansen and Liam Rosenior remain.
Former Hull City boss Rosenior was speculatively linked with the Black Cats job following his Hull City sacking last month, though there was no actual link.
But journalist Michael Graham has since revealed that Rosenior is one of those under consideration at the Stadium of Light.
Acun Ilicali’s worrying comments on Sunderland manager candidate Liam Rosenior
Rosenior was, in the eyes of many, harshly sacked by Hull City last month, after he guided the club to a 7th place finish in the Championship.
Hull City fans had mixed feelings. But owner Acun Ilicali later came out and said that Rosenior was sacked because of the negative style of play.
Ilicali said after Rosenior’s exit: “I want offensive football. I want an attacking, entertaining team. I said it from the first minute I bought this club.
“I said I would rather lose 3-2 than have a boring 0-0. If you are counting the points and draw every game 0-0 you are going to get relegated. If you lose 3-2, it means you will win another game 4-1.”
According to stats from FBREF, Rosenior’s Hull City boasted the joint-fourth highest average possession last season (55.4%, exactly the same as Sunderland), also making the third-most touches of any team in the league.
But the Tigers also recorded more touches than anyone in the league in the defensive third, and the 12th most in the attacking third.
Despite that, Hull finished in 7th for goals scored last season (68), and 9th for total shots.
Why Liam Rosenior may not be a great fit for Sunderland
It certainly seems like Ilicali and Rosenior had a difference in opinions, and there’s certainly a case to argue on both sides.
Possession, passing, and touches stats show that Hull City had a lot of the ball under Rosenior, but often times it was in their own half.
But the goals stats show that Hull still provided at the other end of the pitch, so Hull were a very good side in transition under Rosenior.
Sunderland though, who many said were extremely bland to watch under Michael Beale and Mike Dodds, still managed more shots than Hull City last season, despite scoring only 51 goals.
So there may be a sense that the numbers paint a prettier picture of Hull City under Rosenior than in reality, and hiring Rosenior could mean a continuation of this negative football that Sunderland desperately need to break away from.
Ilicali, whilst appearing quite ruthless in his decisions as Hull City owner, may have had good reasons to part ways with Rosenior when he did.