Fan Letters: "Nobody wants the Sunderland job because ‘the model’ is too restrictive" (2024)

Dear Roker Report,

Nobody wants the Sunderland job because based on this model of signing young players and then selling them off, you can’t win promotion.

We can’t find a manager who has no ambitions, and it’s simple as that.

Even Tony Mowbray, who likes working with youngsters, eventually got very frustrated with the club management (the ‘centre forward’ syndrome).

Colin Childs

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

As the search drags on and potential candidates are bandied around, it’s increasingly hard to sum up the current situation as anything other than ‘shambolic’, and if our way of working is proving unattractive to would-be head coaches, it’s down to the club to show the kind of flexibility required in order to make the Sunderland job attractive once again.

If last season should’ve taught the club anything, it’s that sticking rigidly to a flawed vision is only going to lead one way, and that’s towards decline.

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the perception of Sunderland is that of a club in disarray and without a clear plan in place. That’s the result of months and months of poor decisions and it’s entirely self-inflicted, sadly.

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Dear Roker Report,

I’m fed up with excuses for coaches rejecting us, with gossip saying ‘they need to talk to other clubs’.

When will we realise that if our offer was good enough, they wouldn’t need to talk to other people?

Ian Hold

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

I think the point you raise was summed up by the Will Still saga, as he seemed to be at the centre of a tug-of-war between ourselves and Lens, with the French side eventually coming out on top and hiring Still as their new gaffer.

It was all slightly messy and it did feel as though he’d used us as leverage in order to get a better deal from Lens.

As I say above, I’ll always believe that coaching Sunderland AFC should be an exciting prospect for any manager, but given our current situation and the restrictions placed upon the head coach, ‘selling’ the club to potential candidates seems to be a very tricky task, and it’s down to those in the boardroom to change their stance, or else we’ll continually find ourselves in this position.

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Dear Roker Report,

Whilst there’s a plethora of journalists falling over themselves to tell us how badly run our club is and how the ‘model’ is putting off prospective managers and head coaches, it’s fair that we wait until the process is over before judging the management team on their decisions.

There weren’t many people happy about the length of time it took them to appoint Alex Neil, and he wasn’t a fans’ favourite to be fair. However, come 5:00pm at Wembley, there wasn’t a dissenting voice to be heard; in fact, they received all the praise that was rightly due.

That said, I can’t help but feel that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has undermined his own credibility with the use of the word ‘imminently’ in last week’s press release, and once credibility is lost, it’s gone forever.

No amount of good work undoes the damage, and players and fans alike will look upon him with a lack of trust and confidence, which I believe will ultimately lead to a change of ownership down the line, sooner rather than later.

One question that needs to be raised is if the model is to buy cheaply and sell for profit, why has the money from the sales of Ross Stewart and Isaac Lihadji not been reinvested?

That would’ve been the perfect opportunity to highlight the purchase of a £5-7 million young, exciting player (God forbid I should mention the word ‘striker’) to show the fans that the plan had started to work.

Dreyfus maintains that he’s learned from past mistakes, but I fear he’s creating new ones from which he will not recover.

G Thompson

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

In terms of the ‘process’ that’s supposedly ongoing, the fact that it’s been over 100 days since we had a permanent head coach in place suggests that all is not well, and that lessons haven’t been learned from previous mistakes, most notably the hiring of Michael Beale.

We’ve often been told that the club places an extremely high premium on ‘succession planning’ (a process that saw Alex Neil depart on Saturday morning, with Tony Mowbray taking charge of the next game against Rotherham back in 2022), but it feels increasingly as though the current search is taking on the feel of a ‘hit and hope’ exercise, rather than a measured and meticulous process.

With that in mind, I do feel it’s fair to question those who are overseeing it, and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ use of the word ‘imminently’ in his latest statement now looks ever more naive, to say the least.

When it comes to the money raised from the sales of Ross Stewart and Isaac Lihadji, it’s important to remember that new deals have been awarded to several players since they left the club, but we’ve also spent carelessly as well, as illustrated by the purchase of Leo Hjelde in January.

Our transfer business is another issue entirely, and the sooner we know the identity of the new head coach, the sooner we can hopefully move forward and begin to strengthen the squad for next season.

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Dear Roker Report,

115 days and still no manager. What the hell are the owners and the board doing?

Pre-season is nearly upon us and we deserve better. Clearly, coaches don’t want to come to Sunderland with the present model/setup.

It’s just not working. Please sort it out.

Michael Fox

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

It’s pretty dismal, isn’t it? No new head coach, the transfer window now open, pre-season on the horizon, and a smog of growing uncertainty hanging over the club.

Although the sentiments of the statement released by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus last week might’ve been fair, the fact that he used the word ‘imminently’ seemed to suggest that a breakthrough and the appointment of a new head coach was, well, imminent.

The fact that nothing’s happened during the seven days since that statement was published is a bad look for the club and it’s difficult to blame the fans for growing restless.

All we can do is wait and hope that something will happen soon, but time is ticking away and you do wonder exactly how much patience we’re expected to show. The past seven months have been largely horrendous and everyone really needs something to feel positive about.

Let’s hope it arrives soon.

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Dear Roker Report,

Could it be that a large majority of the 31,000 season tickets sold are via direct debit and a lot of those fans are still trying to cancel?

T Young

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

I’m not 100% sure what the situation is regarding season tickets and possible cancellations but I do feel that it would be no surprise if sale and renewal figures begin to slow down, if they haven’t already done so.

Thousands of fans renewed as soon as they had the chance, possibly in the hope that a new head coach would've been appointed long before now, and I don’t think anyone could blame the supporters for choosing to give next season a miss, based on what’s happened at the club recently.

Loyalty has its limits, after all, and does feel like the fans have been taken for granted at Sunderland for quite some time, so the club needs to work damn hard to regain their trust.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

‘Disturbing’, ‘inept’, ‘unbelievable’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘thoughtless’ are just a few words that come to mind when discussing the Sunderland debacle, but when it’s over and when we have a head coach in place, brace yourselves, because it’s going to start all over again in the club’s attempt to acquire a goalscoring centre forward.

Then there’s the small matter of trying to persuade our current stars that Sunderland is the club at which to progress their careers. Then the season kicks off and where do we find ourselves?

At the start of another very long and very winding road, that leads us to…

Stephen Jameson

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

I hope the words you chose to omit at the end of your letter were ‘League’ and ‘One’, but given that we finished a mere six points above the drop zone and that our form towards the end of the season was utterly dismal, I’m just glad that we had enough in hand to avoid being dragged into a relegation scrap.

This summer, by any metric, is colossal.

Once we finally hire a head coach, we’ll be faced with the daunting task of strengthening a squad that is currently unbalanced and with weaknesses in key areas. We need to add experience, strength, and goals, and that’ll probably be on the back of losing one or two key players as well.

I’d be lying if I said I was feeling optimistic about what lies ahead, but we’ll have to see what happens between now and the end of August.

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Dear Roker Report,

Paul Heckingbottom - why would anyone not want him?

He did a great job at Sheffield United and would be the best manager we’ve had for years.

We’d be crazy not to go for him. I would’ve made him the first contender, but I don’t think he’s a ‘yes man’.

George Leblond

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

I said from the start that Heckingbottom ticked quite a few boxes for us and that he would probably be a good fit, personality-wise, for Sunderland.

However, given that he’s been out of work for a while and his name hasn’t been solidly linked with the vacancy, I suspect the club have moved beyond him and are looking elsewhere at this stage.

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Dear Roker Report,

Sunderland will have to dramatically change their stance on the coaching side and transfers if they’re to attract a decent manager.

They need to swallow their pride before we end up in the lower divisions again.

Ian Frame

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

For months, I’ve been hoping that the club would start to show a little more flexibility when it came to recruitment and coaching, in the light of the errors that were made last season. The ‘model’ can’t be overly rigid and if changes need to be made, that’s what needs to happen.

There’s still ample time for that to happen this summer, but I can’t shake the feeling that ‘carry on regardless’ will be the order of the day.

I think that would be a deeply misguided approach, but only those in the boardroom can make these calls, as frustrating as it might be for us as fans.

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Dear Roker Report,

This regime is destroying the club day by day.

The club won’t spend any money and was happy to play without a centre forward for a season and a half. Kristjaan Speakman has too much power and control, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus being brainwashed that this is the way forward.

It looks like Mike Dodds will continue as head coach, with Speakman picking the team. I can’t think of another club that operates as badly as us; from ticketing and club shop issues, the list goes on.

No wonder any manager turns us down, working with these clowns. Patience is at an end.

Alan Metcalfe

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

I fully understand the frustration you’re currently feeling about what’s going on at Sunderland.

I feel largely the same way and there are doubtless hundreds (if not thousands) of fans who might well agree with you. I also hope and pray that your prediction of Mike Dodds remaining in charge doesn’t come true, and I don’t mean that disrespectfully.

That said, there’s only so much we can do as supporters in order to let the club know that we’re unhappy with how things are going. At Roker Report, we’re currently receiving many letters that are similar to yours and it’s important that the fans are given a platform to share their views, whichever side of the argument they’re on.

Without the supporters, a football club’s status is greatly reduced, and I hope those in the Stadium of Light boardroom are fully aware of that.

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