Sunderland told they lost ‘feel-good factor’ with ‘mistake’ of sacking Tony Mowbray

Ex-Black Cats striker and EFL pundit Don Goodman feels the Wearsiders made a big mistake getting rid of their former manager

Former Sunderland striker Don Goodman reckons the Black Cats hierarchy should consider the errors from last year and reflect, “we made a mistake, we should have stuck with Tony Mowbray”.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the forthright Sky Sports pundit is adamant Mowbray should not have been dismissed and that Michael Beale was the wrong replacement from the word go.

“It wouldn’t be fair to say Sunderland have capitulated, but it’s the type of games they have lost in this sequence which is disappointing,” Goodman said of his former side. “They were on the periphery of the play-off spots and have lost games since.

“Even if you’re the most stubborn member of Sunderland’s hierarchy, you have to reflect and say, ‘we made a mistake, we should have stuck with Tony Mowbray’. Who knows where they would have been in the summer, there was a feel-good factor around the place.

“The minute Tony gets sacked, that feel-good factor disappears and all of a sudden Michael Beale is under pressure after coming in because the fans don’t want him. Fan power is absolutely massive.

“This is a young group of players with barely any senior ones to help guide them through choppy waters. It’s very hard as a young player to hear your own fans boo you off the pitch and listen to them voice their displeasure at the new head coach. I’m really not surprised that Sunderland have gone backwards since Tony Mowbray left.

“Michael Beale tried to make Sunderland more solid and difficult to play against but took away what we loved about Sunderland, their free-flowing and fearless style of play. Once that was gone, it was only a matter of time until he would lose his job.

“Mike Dodds is in charge and did a decent job before but reality is kicking in. It’s an audition for him which is not going well.

Goodman believes there was no choice but to sack Beale and told King Casino Bonus: “The place was turning toxic. Can you imagine if Michael Beale oversaw the last few losses? The fans and social media would be exploding! So, I do understand why they sacked him.

“Sunderland’s board have pretty much said, ‘we’ve messed up so badly that we have blown our play-off chances.’ It’s an acknowledgement of their mistake and putting Mike Dodds in charge is an attempt to stabilise.

“I think they are out of the relegation battle, despite never thinking I would say that, but Sunderland are out of the play-off race. They are a young group that needs some help from experience, which is what Tony Mowbray was being refused.”