Just when you thought Sunderland were on the up after several years of hardship, they suffer another setback. Former boss Alex Neil threw the club back into disarray last week by leaving for Stoke City after the Potters approached him to replace the outgoing Michael O’Neill.
Interestingly, around the same time while this was rumbling on, there were rumours circulating that Netflix cameras were down at the Academy of Light ahead of a possible third season of the documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die.
Sunderland defeated Stoke 1-0 at the Bet365 Stadium in what was O’Neill’s last league game in charge and you will wonder how events might have unfolded if they hadn’t won that game. The Black Cats are now on the hunt for a suitable successor and it is being reported that former Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray is set to succeed Neil at the Stadium of Light.
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Mowbray was present for the Mackem’s home defeat against Norwich on Saturday and ahead of the game, Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman told Sky Sports that the club had offered improved terms to Neil in a bid to get him to stay but that it wasn’t going to be enough.
Neil claims that he had not been backed enough in the transfer market, but that is certainly not a valid excuse. He had been given seven new signings in the summer and Sunderland were the third-highest net spenders in the division - while also being linked with moves for Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Edouard Michut.
So rightly the supporters felt betrayed and let down by his decision to abandon the project so quickly in its infancy. His side had such a positive start to the season, picking up eight points from their first five games while looking like a side that could exceed expectations this term. There was such a good feeling around the club for the first time in years and he did what three previous managers could not: get Sunderland back into the second tier.
Neil had an incredible record at Sunderland, despite only joining in February. In his time as boss, he only ever tasted defeat twice in the league (once in League One and once in the Championship) and not only did he make his players hard to beat, but he made them effective in the final third. This is why the fans are most angered about Neil’s decision to leave, because they were a force to be reckoned with under him and after a promising start to 22-23, people were looking at them as this year’s dark horses.
Given Neil’s impressive record, the signings made this summer and a relatively good start to the season, this intensifies the pressure on his successor. Mowbray has a wealth of experience in management and his career highlight to date was guiding West Bromwich Albion to the Championship title in 2007-08. His latest accomplishments were getting Blackburn back into the Championship from League One at the first attempt, before developing them into a top 10 side as they finished eighth in his last two years.
After five years at Ewood Park he said goodbye in the summer but he stated in his last press conference that he would look for an exciting opportunity that would provide him with the chance to get a second Championship promotion on his CV. If he is the man to take the reins at the Stadium of Light, then he does see Sunderland as a viable option to make that happen.
He would be thrown in at the deep end, inheriting a group he will have little time to spend with to implement his ideas while also needing to deliver a strong start. He has shown from his time at Blackburn that he is adaptable, as he had deployed formations with four and five at the back. He had been praised for his work with Ben Brereton Diaz, helping develop the Chilean into one of the most clinical strikers in the division. This would bode well for Sunderland because the squad has plenty of young talent (the average age of the seven summer signings is 21) who could really benefit from Mowbray’s experience.
Should the 58-year-old be appointed by the Black Cats, Sunderland will be getting a good manager who can hopefully make the transition of power easy on the players and will be looking to build on their start to the season and keep the club heading on an upward trajectory.
As for Netflix, if they have truly commissioned a third season of Sunderland ‘Til I Die, then we already know episode one is going to get off to a flyer.
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