Sunderland
Now we come to the team who have made the most amount of transfers in during the summer, although it is probably predictable given that Sunderland had a shocker of a season and Paolo Di Canio felt it was necessary to bring in new players to show up some of those he feels are lacking. One of those Phil Bardsley immediately got himself in Di Canio's bad books after a picture showed he enjoying himself at a casino, in the midst of Sunderland relegation fights. Among the 10 new recruits, Italian winger Emanuele Giaccherini is the best known to the rest of us and, in many respects, the most suprising. Although, the rest of the new recruits are unknown or not terribly known of in English football circles, there have been examples of those sorts of people setting the League alight (Michu being a prime example). So, whether we discover that Cabral or David Karlsson is a goalscoring machine is yet to be known, but what is clear is that Di Canio is a man who can operate on a small budget picking up players for little over a million pounds. Overall, it is clear that Di Canio is a strict disciplinarian who is not afraid to act in order to isolate and sell the deadwood, for those who feel will be better alternatives. The big question is whether 10 players can gel so quickly and come together as an effective unit to improve from last season. Today, former player Michael Gray said Di Canio's
reputation is on the line because of these signings. I personally think that his reputation will take a hit after this season because the amount of players that've been signed may be too great to be effective. One thing is guaranteed, the cameras and fans will enjoy watching the fiery Italian.
Prediction: 20th