Fan Letters: “It felt like a natural ending for Tony Mowbray at Sunderland”

Thoughts on Mogga’s final games in charge of Sunderland, the five-year Stadium of Light plan and our defensive shape against Swansea are in the RR mailbox today! 

Dear Roker Report,

I wish Tony Mowbray all the best during his health scare. However, I’m sick of reading how we’d definitely’ be in the top six if he’d stayed on as head coach.

The football towards the end of his tenure was poor, especially against Huddersfield, and our points total from his final eight games or so wasn’t very good.

Under his stewardship, we played some very good football but in my opinion, that was against teams who wanted to play and attacked us. To me, he had no idea how to play against teams who sat back and were happy for us to attack them.

Last season, our home points total wasn’t very good for a team who reached the playoffs, and our sixth-place finish was largely due to our away record.

On the subject of Jack Clarke, if he doesn’t sign an extension, he’ll be off in the summer as the club will want to maximise his selling fee and the longer he has on his contract, the more the club can ask for.

His agent will also know this and will be telling him not to sign, and Clarke may decide he’s ready for the Premier League and will want to leave, which will make it difficult for the club to keep him.

Elsewhere, I’d be surprised if Anthony Patterson left for a top flight club in the summer.

I think he’d be second choice until he sorts out his distribution when trying to pass long, and also stops playing defenders into trouble when playing out from the back, which he’s done on occasions.

For those fans who aren’t happy, please don’t renew your season ticket, and there might be less doom and gloom in the Roker Report comments.

Peter Welsh

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Peter. Thank you for your letter. I echo your sentiments regarding Mogga’s health, and I’m sure that every Sunderland fan wishes him well, as we saw with a rousing show of support at the sixty minute mark against Swansea.

Regarding his departure, the draw at Millwall did feel like something of a tipping point and although I was never fully supportive of the decision for the club and Mowbray to part ways, it probably felt like a natural outcome, albeit without anyone knowing exactly how much turbulence lay ahead.

On the subject of Jack Clarke’s future, I agree that he’ll be leaving the club in the summer should we fail to get promoted.

I’ve got a feeling that Anthony Patterson will stay regardless of what happens, but if Clarke does move on, I really hope that we can get as high a fee for him as possible, as you say. That’s going to be absolutely crucial.

Dear Roker Report,

Can everyone calm down and realise that we’re halfway through a five-year rebuild of our club, both on and off the field?

Last season, we made it into the playoffs through luck, and has everyone forgotten that results went for us on the last day of the season, with other teams throwing it away rather than Sunderland being brilliant?

If this team were to win promotion by some miracle, we wouldn’t win a game.

Against Newcastle, we were totally outclassed. It was easy to see the difference between a good Championship side and a good Premier League side, and all you have to do is look at where the three promoted sides are to see how difficult it would be to prosper in that league.

Against Swansea, we possibly saw next season’s team after we sell Jack Clarke and Dan Ballard. Frightening, isn’t it?

I’m willing to give Kyril Louis-Dreyfus the time he said it’ll take to get us back with the big boys again. He’s got more things right than wrong, so keep the faith and enjoy the ride, because this is Sunderland after all!

Gerald Kearney

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Gerald. Thank you for getting in touch.

I agree that the FA Cup tie against Newcastle really did highlight just how far we’ve got to go before we’re ready for a serious tilt at promotion.

They weren’t in great form before we played them, yet they won the game without ever really getting out of third gear and it was a sobering experience, without a doubt.

The reality is that we were never promised a quick fix when Kyril Louis-Dreyfus arrived at Sunderland, and I think most people knew that it was going to be a long-term task to get the club back to where we want it to be.

There has been progress and there have also been setbacks, which is normal, but I do believe that they deserve the time to see their plan through. After all, there’s no guarantee that another owner would be willing to spend the kinds of money that many fans often seem to expect.

Dear Roker Report,

I’m not sure where this idea has come from, but at no time against Swansea did we play with five at the back.

We started with a back three with the wing backs playing high as part of the midfield, which was our downfall as Swansea exploited the space behind them.

If we’d started with a back five, although it would’ve been considered negative for a home game, we wouldn’t have conceded two soft goals and given away numerous other chances.

John Briggs

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, John. Thank you for your letter.

I think Saturday’s defensive formation depended on how you viewed it.

To the traditionalist, it would’ve resembled a back three but to others, you could’ve easily classed the wing back formation as a back five, with Styles and Hume fulfilling two roles and theoretically getting up and down the flanks as needed.

Either way, it didn’t work, sadly!