There’s never a dull moment supporting Sunderland AFC, and particularly during the last four months, it’s felt like there’s been one thing after another for the fans to discuss.
However, one question is hanging over the club, and that concerns what’s going to happen next.
The head coaching dilemma
We’re currently on our third head coach of the season, which even by Sunderland’s standards is quite extraordinary.
Following the dismissals of Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale, we currently have Mike Dodds in temporary charge until the summer.
Looking ahead, we need to appoint a head coach who has stature, plays attacking football and who can rediscover Sunderland’s identity, which has been lost this season.
The average lifespan of a manager/head coach at this level is between sixteen and eighteen months, which isn’t a long time. Giving Mike Dodds the job until the summer has afforded the club some time to identify the right candidate, and now they must deliver.
Potential departures
One fact that every single Sunderland fan will have to face is that we’ll lose some key players to Premier League teams, but hopefully for good money, and Jack Clarke will almost certainly be one of them.
Our top scorer this season, he attracted interest from Premier League clubs in January, and that’ll doubtless ramp up in the summer, as a player of his quality is too good for the Championship.
Speculation will also continue to surround Chris Rigg, who’s been linked with moves to Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, among others. Rigg is an outstanding young player who the club will be desperate to keep.
Dan Neil, meanwhile, was rumoured to have been monitored by Liverpool in January, while Anthony Patterson and Dan Ballard have also been linked with moves away in the past. Elsewhere, one player I think we’ve seen the last of in a Sunderland shirt is Jewison Bennette, who’s currently on loan in Greece and making very little impact.
With young players comprising the nucleus of the squad, there’ll certainly be interest from the lower leagues and abroad for potential loan deals.
Players such as Ellis Taylor and Tommy Watson are obvious candidates, and I’d also put Luis Hemir and Eliezer Mayenda in the bracket of potential loan departures.
We must accept that one or two may move on, but one thing is certain: no player will be allowed to leave the club on the cheap.
Potential incomings
Although it might be premature to name players with the transfer window not even open, one player already linked with a move to the Stadium of Light is Preston’s Liam Millar.
A player with a full season of Championship football behind him, he would seem the obvious candidate to replace Jack Clarke.
The forward line also desperately needs some reinforcements.
Mason Burstow will return to Chelsea and both Hemir and Mayenda have struggled to impress. This leaves Nazariy Rusyn, and despite only scoring two goals, he’s looked the most capable player outside of those mentioned above.
Central midfield is also an area in which we need to strengthen.
We need a strong, robust and experienced defensive midfielder which will allow Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah to move into their natural positions. With Corry Evans returning after over a year out, he could be a short-term solution, fitness depending, but I feel another player would only make us stronger.
I also think we’re crying out for a centre back.
Whilst Jenson Seelt and Nectar Triantis are young, I feel more experience is needed in that area of the pitch. A left back is also required, especially with Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese unable to stay fit for a prolonged period of time.
Expect a busy summer, one way or the other!
The model’
The so-called model is one of the most closely-scrutinized aspects of the club, and rightly so.
Due to the financial disparity within the Championship, clubs who aren’t in receipt of parachute payments must be innovative in order to generate revenue and remain competitive in this division.
In the summer of 2023, Danny Batth, Bailey Wright, Lynden Gooch and Ross Stewart were all released or sold. This robbed us of a huge amount of experience, which was compounded when Alex Pritchard also departed the club in January.
We recruited Bradley Dack, who’s twenty nine, but the other eleven players were aged twenty four or younger. Jobe Bellingham has been the only regular starter out of those players with the majority being either used as substitutes, out on loan or playing U21 football.
Although the January window saw us bring in Callum Styles, Romaine Mundle and Leo Hjelde, to ask them to hit the ground running in a struggling team is tough.
I feel the club needs to tweak the model slightly and accept that solely focusing on the recruitment of young players is a huge gamble.
We need experienced heads in the squad to push and help the younger players both on and off the pitch. It’s all well and good having a five-year plan, but the priority also has to be the here and now.
It’s a big summer for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman and the board.
There’s a real opportunity to kick on and challenge for promotion, but a balance needs to be struck and this season, for the most part, has demonstrated that.
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