On This Day (14th March 2009): Sbragia’s Sunderland edge closer to drop zone!

You can tell something is awful when your manager calls a performance the “worst performance of his

tenure” and the crowd jeers you off the field at both halftime and full time.

On this day in 2009, Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia was the target of criticism following a

performance that was characterized as “lethargic and lacklustre” in a number of match reports.

After Roy Keane’s shocking resignation, Sbragia had replaced him, and he could understand the

animosity at the conclusion of a game that Steve Bruce’s Wigan team didn’t actually need to play at their

best to win.

They have the right to express their annoyance as they paid their money. Sadly, we failed to meet our

obligation to deliver.

I believed that we were not doing well overall and that this was most likely the worst show we had given

since I took control.

We were slow to react, made poor decisions, and suffered the consequences of our careless defense.

The last sentence encapsulated Sunderland’s performance, which brought us closer to the relegation

zone.

At this point, Sbragia’s tenure was starting to deteriorate despite his initial success and subsequent run

of wins that had given him full-time employment.

A week earlier, we were second best against Tottenham Hotspur, and although the draw was a fair result,

Robbie Keane’s late equalizer made it feel like a loss.