That blunt son of Yorkshire and adopted Irishman, Mick McCarthy, can no doubt enlighten Championship winners Newcastle United on the merits or otherwise of their decision to try and survive in the Premier League on the cheap.
I'm not sure that the Magpies aloof owner Mike Ashley or his equally taciturn managing director Derek Llambias would take much notice of a historical perspective from the vastly-experienced and always-opinionated McCarthy.
But having twice taken clubs with limited resources into the Premier League since 2005, I believe McCarthy's differing fates with Sunderland and Wolves offer Newcastle a valuable insight into their prospects of surviving in the top flight when money is tight.
McCarthy guided the Black Cats to Premier League promotion as champions five years ago with a decent points haul of 94 - seven more than runners-up Wigan.
The former Republic of Ireland manager, despite having had to sell many top players because of Sunderland's £40million debt, managed to guide a workmanlike if unremarkable side to the top of the league. But it was obvious the squad lacked genuine Premier League quality and faced instant relegation without new faces.
Chairman Bob Murray denied McCarthy realistic funds for the 2005-06 survival bid and Sunderland's fate was worrying after the first game in early August when they lost 3-1 at home to a 10-man Charlton side.
Three more successive league defeats followed before the transfer window closed and it was obvious that Murray was not going to provide the funds for a genuine survival attempt. McCarthy, who claimed Murray had actually planned for a possible relegation scenario, paid the price losing his job in March 2006 and Sunderland were relegated with a then record points low of 15.
As a long-standing critic of Murray's financial running of the club and an accurate forecaster of the relegations he presided over in 1997, 2003 and 2006, I had no doubt that his parsimonious policies were at the root of Sunderland's problems.
When McCarthy was wrongly blamed in 2006, Murray claimed: "The club did not return to the Premiership just to make up the numbers and whilst we fully expected it to be a tough first season back, none of us expected to be in the position we are today." But that was a relegation too far for the blundering Murray and his flawed plan to survive on minimal investment.
I have a hunch a similar fate could await Ashley at Newcastle if he carries out his threat not to spend. And, if Newcastle look like going straight back down, then Chris Hughton can prepare to be made a scapegoat with an early exit from St. James's Park.
The lessons Ashley should draw from McCarthy's successful campaign in keeping Wolves float in the Premier League in 2010 is that there simply has to be some significant investment in better quality players. McCarthy was given £6.5million to sign Reading striker Kevin Doyle and another £5million or so to beef up his existing squad.
The policy which Wolves describe as "prudent" and "sensible" has worked and the result is that their investment has ensured another season of Premier League revenue worth up to £40million.
Messrs Ashley and Llambias would do well to learn from that speculate-to-accumulate approach that has paid dividends for McCarthy and Wolves.
