Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has now been told of one ‘big issue’ he currently has at the Stadium of Light.
There is no time to panic just yet but it’s been three months since Sunderland sacked Michael Beale and they’re no closer to appointing his successor.
Beale was sacked from his role at the Stadium of Light following a disastrous tenure and supporters would have expected a new name in the hot seat by now.
Will Still was the person most likely to take the role after leaving Reims at the end of the season however, after courting him for the best part of six months, the Black Cats were dealt a huge blow in their pursuit of the 31-year-old as he opened talks with Norwich City on Thursday.
Sunderland’s misery was then compounded on Friday when one of their other targets, Danny Rohl, committed his future to Sheffield Wednesday, claiming he never planned on leaving.
Supporters have ultimately been left in the dark over the managerial situation, and while taking their time to name an appointment is crucial, the longer it goes on the more anxiety will be created.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus told of a ‘big issue’ he has at Sunderland
The Sunderland board have shown a lack of transparency since looking for a new manager, with fans not kept in the loop over what is going on.
Having watched Beale replace the hugely popular Tony Mowbray in December, some fans don’t have the trust in Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to get the next appointment correct.
It’s also alarming how supporters have been kept in the dark over this situation, with journalist Michael Beale claiming it is a ‘big issue’.
Writing on X, the journalist said: “For me, the fact the club appear to feel they don’t have to communicate with fans is a big issue. No one is asking for total transparency on everything, but they either don’t know the current mood among fans or they don’t respect fans enough to address it. Neither is good”
For Graham and many others, there feels like a lack of respect being shown by the Sunderland board, putting extra pressure to get an appointment spot on.
The Sunderland board have a lot to answer for
The Sunderland board have shown a lack of organisation and inexperience in this situation.
Once Beale was relieved of his duties, they should have had an ideal candidate in mind to take over and while they were perhaps waiting on Still to become available, that could prove to be a fatal mistake.
The Black Cats are now in a similar position to other clubs looking to appoint another manager, including recently relegated Birmingham City and Championship rivals Norwich City and Hull.
It’s a scenario that supporters didn’t want to see play out as the longer this saga rumbles on, the less chance of Sunderland appointing the right candidate, with targets Paul Heckingbottom and Bo Svensson no longer available.
Irrespective of that, how the board have dealt with managers previously, namely sacking Mowbray for Beale, doesn’t offer much in the way of hope.
However, there is still a couple of weeks until the transfer window opens, so let’s hope Sunderland can have a new manager in place by then…