Farcical search for a cheap (no cost) head coach: “Sunderland’s fans deserve better than what’s currently being served up”

It’s now over three months since Michael Beale was fired and we still haven’t appointed a new head coach. It’s a shambles and a case of ‘anything to save money’.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has to put his hand in his pocket and invest in the squad this season, because the fans deserve better.

For two seasons, we’ve needed a forward, but what did we get? Kids. This season, we need a blend of youth and experience because we tried young players during 2023/2024, and struggled.

The revenue from the potential sales of Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke- which look likely to happen sooner rather than later- has to be reinvested in the squad.

The pressure is on Kristjaan Speakman to add quality and experience to the squad this season, as well as some decent loan signings, because Bradley Dack, Mason Burstow and Callum Styles were poor.

Mark Wild

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

Things really don’t look all that promising, do they?

In recent days, we’ve seen Norwich City and Hull City make managerial appointments well ahead of time, which will doubtless be beneficial for them, whereas we’re still searching, with Will Still seemingly set to join Lens and everyone left with no idea of who might actually end up getting the Sunderland job.

In my opinion, it feels far too similar to the process that we went through as we tried to replace Tony Mowbray, and we all remember how that ended.

When it comes to recruitment, that’s a whole different ball game, but in my view, we need at least five Championship-proven players through the door this summer, and that’s in addition to dealing with issues such as the potential sales of Jobe and Jack Clarke.

It’s a massive summer for this football club and at the moment, the signs aren’t encouraging.

Dear Roker Report,

As we continue to suffer amid the farcical search for a cheap (no cost) head coach, I’ve come to the sudden realisation that I actually don’t care anymore.

I say this because it won’t make the slightest difference when it comes to who we eventually bring through the door, because nothing will change.

I’ve followed this club for over five decades and apart from the Howard Wilkinson era, I’ve never felt so resigned to failure.

The model is inept and unworkable in the current format, and any head coach who eventually comes in will be third choice, no matter what the board says at the time. We’re going nowhere fast and that’s simply because we refuse to spend anywhere near what’s required for team building and strength in depth.

We’ll blunder on through the coming season, whereupon we’ll win two to three games on the trot, giving us all renewed hope, only for the inadequacies of the squad to be shown as we crash the next two to three games.

I clearly see a pattern emerging and it’s time for people to take off the rose-coloured specs, because the owners don’t want to part with money.

They have an antiquated belief that they can somehow get to the Premier League with sub-standard players, but even Brighton, Brentford and Wolves eventually loosened the purse strings.

It’s just not going to happen at Sunderland. We need to accept this and at the same time realise that we won’t be pushing for promotion this coming season.

They simply refuse to pay money for a half decent head coach, yet will fully expect the one who eventually comes in to oversee Premier League performances.

Sorry for the pessimism, but I’m looking at the actualities of the situation rather than false hopes and dreams. This is Sunderland, and we’re the masters of self-destruction.

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

I fully understand why you, and many other fans who’ve taken the time to write to us, feel the way you do. As fans, we all need reasons to feel optimistic about the future, but at the moment, there’s precious little to be excited by.

After finishing a mere six points clear of the relegation zone in 2023/2024, there needed to be a real sense of urgency at all levels of the club to ensure that the weaknesses within the squad and the coaching setup are addressed this summer, and that we can get ourselves into far better shape for 2024/2025.

Suffice it to say, it hasn’t panned out that way and I think it’s absolutely fair for questions to be asked and doubts to be raised.

Thousands of fans have renewed their season tickets at increased prices, and they’ve done so despite the uncertainty that’s currently swirling around the club.

Are those in the boardroom fully in tune with the mood among the fanbase? I really don’t think they are, and it’s very easy to see why frustration and uncertainty is so widespread.

Dear Roker Report,

Will Still is still coming, right?

He’s still the messiah, right?

Seriously, this whole saga is proving really painful. He’s been built up so much and then when it looked like Norwich City would nab him…

I don’t know where I am right now. If he comes after all this build up, expectations would be high, but wouldn’t it be ‘typical Sunderland’ for us to finally land him and for it to turn out that his season at Reims was just a fluke?

Fingers crossed that when we do land someone (whether that’s Still or someone else, and he does seem like a very good option from my understanding), the months of silence will have been well spent.

I just hope the rumours that the board is quibbling over a few pence in contract details prove to be unfounded.

Craig Tallentire

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

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, it looks as though we’ve missed out on Still, with Lens seemingly set to make him their new boss.

Personally, I’m not particularly upset by this, because I hadn’t bought into the hype that surrounded him. However, if we’ve pursued him for months, only to miss out, it’s not a good look for the club and it throws the whole process into doubt, in my opinion.

Who’ll eventually get the job? God knows, but suffice it to say, this is about as close to ‘typical Sunderland’ as you can get.