[attach id=245965 size="medium"]If anybody can save Sunderland from relegation, Paolo Di Canio can. Photo: PA[/attach]

I think we all knew that when Paolo Di Canio eventually arrived in the world of top-flight management, it wasn’t likely to be a low-key event.

However, I don’t think any of us really expected the levels of drama and controversy that surrounded his first few days back in the premiership.

Within minutes of Di Canio’s appointment as the new Sunderland boss, all hell broke loose when everyone suddenly remembered the Italian had once described himself as a fascist.

If there is one thing the English love it’s a moral bandwagon to jump on. And it only took a gentle nudge by the media for Di Canio’s past confessions to become topic of the week.

It was like this was some sort of new and stunning revelation, when, in fact, it was something that has been well known for years. Di Canio didn’t turn up in England as a newly signed-up member of the Mussolini Appreciation Society. He had been living and working quite happily in England for years, both with Swindon as a very successful manager and the BBC as a popular columnist. Where were the protests, petitions and moral outrage then?

Fascist or not, he will be entertaining from start to finish

For the first couple of days, Di Canio refused to be drawn on his political persuasion despite being repeatedly questioned by a media that sensed an opportunity to claim a managerial casualty before he had even taken charge of a game.

But eventually Di Canio gave in and released a statement claiming he was not a fascist and that his comments had been taken out of context.

Frankly, I don’t believe a word of it. Di Canio has given fascist salutes during matches, he’s worn T-shirts with pro-fascism slogans on them, attended the funeral of a fascist hero and even described Mussolini as being a misunderstood man.

Di Canio clearly has a thing for fascism and his denial last week was simply an attempt to calm the media frenzy, probably at the insistence of the club. Time will tell if it works, although I think you can bet your bottom dollar that if Di Canio turns out to be a good manager, all will be forgiven and forgotten in Sunderland at least.

Which brings me to the real matter at hand – whether or not Di Canio can save his new team from relegation.

Sunderland have been on a horrendous run of form which ultimately cost Martin O’Neil his job. And the Italian is going to have his work cut out for him if he is going to save a club that hasn’t won in eight games and looks bereft of confidence.

Yet you just get that feeling that if anybody can do it, Di Canio can. Managers don’t come much more charismatic than Di Canio. Eccentric, erratic, volatile and prone to bizarre rants, yes. But his success at Swindon shows he knows how to get the best out of the players he has at his disposal through pure motivational skills.

It won’t be a pretty process and it won’t be a quiet one either. After all, this is a person who has been described as “managing by hand grenade”. But that is exactly the sort of wake-up call the Sunderland players need if they are to survive.

I have no doubt Di Canio will tread on a few toes in the Premier League. More than a few and probably not just toes. There are members of the establishment who will have watched in horror as his appointment was announced.

But in a league that feels increasingly sanitised these days, a man who is not afraid to speak his mind can only be a good thing.

Personally I hope the Di Canio roadshow, which starts for real at Chelsea today, is in town for more than seven games.

Fascist or not, he will be entertaining from start to finish. And he might just turn out to be a brilliant manager.

Yet another great escape

Wigan are one freaky football club.

Every year they start their Premier League campaign as favourites for the drop. And for the vast majority of the season, they do their best to live up to that status.

Then, just as you are preparing to bid them a fond farewell, they burst into life, put together a stunning winning streak and claw their way to safety.

It’s a routine that has been working like clockwork for years now – last season they won seven of their last nine games, for example – and this year looks like being no exception to the rule.

A few weeks ago they looked to be in serious trouble. Yet again. But then they played their Get Out of Jail Free card, and three wins in a row have seen them inch their way out of the bottom three.

Their seemingly constant ability to defy the odds and survive season after season is a credit to the way Wigan are run. Whichever way you look at it, they are a small club. They constantly sell their best players, struggle to get anything like decent crowds and even have difficulty holding on to managers.

Yet owner Dave Whelan doesn’t panic buy and he doesn’t try to make the club live beyond its means. He relies on team spirit, shrewd managerial appointments and long-term stability to keep the club in the top flight. Well, those and an awful amount of luck.

I’m not entirely sure why they only seem to hit top form at the end of the season, but, considering the restrictions the club is working within, it would be wrong to begrudge them their annual scramble for safety.

This season, to be fair, they have had the added distraction of a good FA Cup run which has seen them make the semi-finals for the first time in their history. And that would possibly explain why their league form suffered after a reasonable start.

Let’s hope the joy of that Wembley occasion doesn’t distract them from the primary goal of pulling off yet another great escape.

Never write him off

Some people have suggested last week that David Beckham should be recalled to the England squad. And you know what, they might actually be right.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star might be 37, but having seen him play for Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona on Wednesday, he showed he still has a lot to offer at the highest level.

The pace may have been inevitably eroded by the years, but that matters little in his new role as midfield anchorman – sitting in front of the defence, controlling possession and dictating play.

And oh how England cried out for someone capable of doing that last week against Montenegro.

I appreciate that Beckham is not a long-term solution to England’s midfield frailties. But he would certainly help guide them through the current qualification process. And why not take him to Brazil where his wealth of experience could only be a bonus.

Ultimately, however, any chance of a national team recall hinges on Beckham continuing to play grown-up football. As it stands, he is out of work again in a few weeks, and a move to a football backwater like China or Qatar would be the final nail in his international coffin.

If however, as rumours suggest, he is going to be spending another full season at PSG, and he continues to figure prominently in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans, then Roy Hodgson would be mad not to have Beckham in his squad.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade