Sunderland are likely to appoint an overseas coach willing to work with younger players after dismissing Tony Mowbray in a move that insiders believe was “inevitable”.
There has been some shock in the wider football world that Mowbray has left Sunderland after leading their young team to the play-offs last season but less so on Wearside, where the relationship between head coach and the club’s hierarchy had been starting to fracture before their semi-final defeat at Luton in May.
While the results have been largely positive – notwithstanding a recent downturn that has seen them slip to ninth with just two wins in nine games – there have been clear signs of tension between the Black Cats’ bold model that favours youth development and Mowbray’s belief that recruiting more established players would help push Sunderland towards the promotion he craves.
Mowbray reaffirmed his commitment to Sunderland’s development policy after the draw at Millwall but it sounded lukewarm at best. With a January transfer window looming and the hierarchy believing results could have been better a split felt – in the words of one source i spoke to on Tuesday morning – “inevitable”.
Indeed i understands that Sunderland have been succession planning for life after Mowbray for months, first beginning the process of identifying candidates near the start of this year.
While insiders would argue those are the actions of a responsible football club it always felt as if Sunderland were waiting to make a change. When up-and-coming coach Francesco Farioli was linked with the job back in March there was more than a kernel of truth to it and Sunderland’s board will no doubt have noted the impact the 34-year-old has had since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Nice handed him the opportunity in France.
It nevertheless feels extraordinarily harsh on Mowbray, who has been at Sunderland since August 2022. He had a 40 per cent win rate but his reign is most notable for the free-flowing football his team played for long spells last season and their late surge into the play-offs. He will not struggle to find another job. He is also popular with the players – it was notable that former loanee Amad Diallo posted a broken heart emoji on X as he responded to Sunderland’s official statement.
What next? Early bookmakers favourites include Plymouth’s Steven Schumacher, ex-Birmingham boss John Eustace and former Luton manager Nathan Jones but the belief in the game is that owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kirstjaan Speakman will go overseas for the next coach. It is undoubtedly a risk but part of the club’s philosophy is to take calculated gambles and they have taken the decision in good time for any new boss to have an impact this season.
Short-term, experienced options like Neil Warnock and former boss Mick McCarthy would be interested but aren’t likely to get a look in. Julien Sable, assistant to Farioli at Nice, has been linked and may be a contender.
Dreyfus said Mowbray will “always be welcome” at Sunderland but reaffirmed the club’s desire to their “long-term strategy”.
“As custodians of our great club, we believe in our long-term strategy that we hope will ensure sustainability and success for SAFC,” he said.
“Central to that approach is a relentless demand for a high performance culture to be implemented throughout the club and the development of a strong playing identity that you, our loyal supporters, can all be proud of.”
Therein lies the rub for the Black Cats: they have been praised for an undoubtedly bold approach, which has seen them lean heavily on younger players and risk-tasking, looking for innovation and utilising data in decision-making.
But the next stage was always going to be the most difficult – wedding the undoubted potential in their squad with consistent results which take them into the promotion mix. The size and history of Sunderland mean they are a club that should be in the Premier League and their supporters will always feel restless in the Championship.
Mike Dodds, the former Birmingham academy coach who helped develop Jude Bellingham, will take temporary charge of the team for Saturday’s home game against West Brom.
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