Breaking the Silence! Sunderland finally speak on head coach hunt.
This afternoon, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus informed supporters via a Club statement that the search for a new head coach is almost over. Why say anything at all, and what does it really teach us?
After 110 days since Sunderland fired their last permanent head coach, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has finally provided a concrete update on X (previously Twitter).
Kyril, please don’t give us too much information! Go more slowly!
All humour aside, the fact that the statement was released at all is quite telling, regardless of the content of the message. First of all, it informs us that the club is acutely aware of how poorly the lengthy hunt for a new leader appears on the outside and how much it has irritated certain fan bases. However, the second, more optimistic, item it informs us of is that an appointment has to come within a few days.
I believe Kyril would not have agreed to issue a statement pledging a “imminent” appointment were there any possibility of it falling through at this late hour, given the obvious dissatisfaction the club has been experiencing over the months-long process of replacing Michael Beale permanently. He would undoubtedly be aware that doing so would essentially constitute ownership suicide, and that he and Speakman would likely be contacted before we even learn out who we’re playing against in Spain this summer.
It is evident that this communication contains no meaningful information indicating that a specific candidate has been selected for the position. The lengthy list of names that have been associated over the previous few months—Still, Rosenior, Heckingbottom, and others—is well known to us, and this statement doesn’t say anything new other than the club wants them to be the best candidate.
Yes, that is what you would wish for.
Once more, what’s more telling is not who they selected in full, but rather how they qualified it below. There is a clear acknowledgement of responsibility for the shortcomings of 2024, along with a commitment to have grown from it both “on and off the pitch.” This is something that owners of premier football teams very seldom see—billionaires don’t want to take responsibility for their actions—and Sunderland supporters shouldn’t ignore it.
Even though there are a few things about Kyril’s ownership that we might critique, the owner who is prepared to grow and accept responsibility for his or her mistakes is usually the one who understands the need to adapt and be careful not to make the same mistakes twice.
The true test of those words is where we are at this moment. I share the frustration and disappointment of many Sunderland supporters with the team’s performance this year. The choices that led to the acquisition of Beale and later Mike Dodds, as well as the forwards hired after Ross Stewart, have not won me over. I am not really excited about the upcoming season. But I acknowledge that the men I am criticising for these choices are also the ones who brought us Stewart in the first place, managed the hiring of players like Amad and Jack Clarke, appointed Tony Mowbray as head coach, and ultimately caused us to suffer some injuries and miss out on the 2023 Premier League final.
They merit an opportunity to make up for the mistakes they committed in the previous campaign and to regain our trust, which they more than earned from our efforts to save the team from the verge of League One. That opportunity is now. Without exception, this appointment needs to be the proper one.
We might be in for an incredible season if they live up to their statement. But please, give them a chance, no matter who the name is when the big revelation happens. If not, we might as well call it a day and the name of the head coach won’t be relevant at all. This coming season, let’s all support every person in the club, regardless of who enters or exits between now and September.
Leave a Reply