Michael Beale deserves time at Sunderland, but the early signs are not overly encouraging

After Beale took over, Phil West says, “Results have been generally acceptable, but there are also warning signs that he’s simply not suited to coach a club of this size.”

When Alex Pritchard made way for Nazariy Rusyn towards the end of Saturday’s frustrating loss at the hands of Ipswich (far too late for the Ukrainian to make a meaningful impact, as it turned out) a Sky Sports camera operator tracked the playmaker off the pitch and stayed with him as he headed towards the Sunderland technical area.

Michael Beale tried to give his player an embrace as the obviously upset former Huddersfield and Norwich man left, but Pritchard would have none of it.

There was an exchange of rather acerbic words and hand motions, and that was that. It would be irresponsible to ignore the shot that perfectly captured the entire evening as things went south for the Lads once more

The Ipswich loss was probably as frustrating a setback as we’ve had this entire season.

Jack Clarke’s screamer gave us the lead, but we lost the second half and eventually let the tiny Conor Chaplin score a header to give the opposition the victory. We were essentially helpless for most of the game because to Beale’s decision to bench Rusyn, and it was dubious to substitute Abdoullah Ba for Adil Aouchiche.

It was another blow for everyone, but especially for the former manager of Rangers and QPR, whose tenure at Sunderland has not yet really taken off.

I had serious concerns about the choice and the reasoning behind it in an essay I wrote before Beale was formally announced as Tony Mowbray’s replacement at the Stadium of Light.

Even though Beale has only been in the position for a few weeks, the plain fact is that there isn’t much evidence to support either Beale’s superiority over Mowbray or the idea that his type of mentality would work well in Sunderland’s high-pressure atmosphere.

Is it premature? Does he deserve time to demonstrate exactly what he can do and to possibly win everyone round? The answer to the latter is an emphatic ‘yes’, but to the former? I don’t think so. Patience isn’t in great supply at the moment, and that’s just the way it is.

The Beale/Sunderland collaboration feels like a loveless marriage; an arrangement borne out of convenience rather than a determination to hire a head coach who could genuinely take us to the next level. Overall, performances since he took over have been just about OK, whereas results have been slightly north of ‘good’ as well.

On the other hand, there are a multitude of flashing warning signs that this appointment and the entire process that led to it was flawed.

Yes, he arrived in the middle of a packed run of games, but he’ll now have more time to work with the players on the training ground, and we simply need to see more evidence of progress during the coming weeks.

Beale lost his first game against Coventry City by a crushing scoreline and although the wins against Hull and Preston were deserved, flat performances against Newcastle and Rotherham, coupled with Saturday’s stumble against a fairly humdrum if well-organised Ipswich have gone down badly.

You have to take into account the circumstances surrounding Beale’s arrival in order to refute the claim that I’m hurrying to write him off before he’s even had a chance to unpack his bag.

Kristjaan Speakman enthusiastically welcomed Beale’s appointment following a lengthy recruitment process that saw numerous names mentioned in connection with the role. Beale’s purported coaching background and track record of developing young players were reportedly the selling elements that persuaded Sunderland to select him.

Expectation, scrutiny, and pressure accompany such a strong endorsement—not to mention Speakman’s catchphrase about being “obsessed with progression”—and it’s hard to ignore the not-so-subtle attempt to sell Beale to the supporters through a string of social media posts.

Regardless of whether you think Mowbray’s departure was warranted or not, his fan following still finds him to be highly popular. Beale has not embraced life on Wearside, although he has bonded with the supporters.

The alleged tactical genius that was supposed to distinguish him from the other contenders for the job hasn’t shown up much thus far, and his handling of some players has also been hard to understand. On Saturday night, his public criticism of Aouchiche raised serious questions.

No matter how much weight you give it, a person’s personality affects whether or not they are a good fit to manage Sunderland AFC.

Regardless of whether you think Mowbray’s departure was warranted or not, his fan following still finds him to be highly popular. Beale has not embraced life on Wearside, although he has bonded with the supporters.

The alleged tactical genius that was supposed to distinguish him from the other contenders for the job hasn’t shown up much thus far, and his handling of some players has also been hard to understand. On Saturday night, his public criticism of Aouchiche raised serious questions.

No matter how much weight you give it, a person’s personality affects whether or not they are a good fit to manage Sunderland AFC.

The club has had a difficult seven days, so this Friday’s matchup with Hull is even more important.

With Leeds United and Southampton retaining a comfortable margin in the fight for the playoffs, there’s going to be one hell of a battle for fifth and six spots throughout the remaining games of the season.

For the sake of the team’s development and chances going forward in the remaining games of the season, I genuinely hope that my assessment of Beale is incorrect.

It’s hard to see this club-head coach relationship working out, though, and even though Speakman and company struck gold with the signings of Mowbray and Alex Neil, a notable improvement in output and results will be required to demonstrate that they made the right decisions at a critical juncture for Sunderland.