Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus ‘totally underestimated’ one thing when he hired Michael Beale last year.
Sunderland hired Beale in December of 2023. But the former QPR and Rangers boss would last just 12 games, leaving in the February.
It was an appointment that summed up a rather disastrous 2023/24 campaign for the Black Cats who eventually finished in 16th place under Mike Dodds.
And there’s growing anxiety among fans with Sunderland seemingly no closer to hiring a new manager; there’s several names linked but no clear front-runner at this moment.
Alan Nixon recently claimed that there’s more than one front-runner to replace Beale the Stadium of Light, suggesting that Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman aren’t entirely sure on what they want from their next manager.
But journalist Phil Smith thinks the pair may look for one specific thing with whoever they hire as the next Sunderland manager.
Sunderland ‘totally under-estimated’ communication skills
Speaking on The Roar, Smith discussed Beale and the process that the Sunderland officials went through which eventually led them to hiring Beale.
A key downfall for Beale was his inability to bond with the fans; some of Beale’s comments in the media and the way he handled criticism suggested that he was lacking experience in the way of communication.
Smith said: “My gut instinct tells me that, that process, or that journey they went on; in that, they totally underestimated the importance of what we might say, are more traditional management skills. Communication, man management, all those sorts of things.
“I think there’s maybe been a bit of a learning journey that, at a club of this size, those more traditional leadership skills are actually incredibly important.
“And so I wonder if, to an extent, that is going to be more of a factor in this appointment than it was in the last one, where I think they got a bit complacent.”
Sunderland not learning from Michael Beale lessons
The above comments from Smith make a very good point; both Alex Neil and Tony Mowbray were successful because they could handle the stature of Sunderland and the pressure from the board and from fans.
Beale though, as we saw with his Rangers fallout, couldn’t handle that pressure, and so it should suggest that Sunderland will now hire a manager with a blend of whatever it is they really want, and experience.
But so far, the names that continue to be linked with Sunderland suggest that Louis-Dreyfus and co haven’t learned their lesson.
And there’s one name that seems to be linked more so than most, and has been for longer than most; Will Still.
He’s vastly inexperienced. He’s never managed in England and he’s not managed a club of Sunderland’s stature either, so whether or not he’d be able to do what Beale couldn’t, remains to be seen.
But it’s certainly something that Louis-Dreyfus will surely bear in mind; Beale, no mater how good of a coach he might have been, just couldn’t handle the traditional side of the manager’s job.
Mowbray and Neil could, so Louis-Dreyfus needs to find someone who falls in between and offers the best of both.