Hubris is a rather posh word which simply means someone guilty of having an over inflated view of their abilities. In politics it can lead to disastrous decisions by the person in question believing themselves to be almost infallible.
For example, Margaret Thatcher's decision to introduce the disastrous Poll Tax, or Tony Blair's decision to join the USA in the invasion of Iraq. In football it can be seen in the decision of Birmingham to sack John Eustace when their team were sixth in the table and appoint Wayne Rooney who ushered in a disastrous period for the team as they gravitated towards the bottom of the table.
Of course, we see it much closer to home when Tony Mowbray was sacked by Sunderland only to be replaced by Michael Beale. In considering Kristiann Speakman and surely KLD's recent bout of hubris we have to take out of the equation what we were not to know. That Ross Stewart would be plagued by continuing injury and that Tony Mowbray would fall victim to serious illness. And, of course the very humanity which characterises Sunderland fans, focuses first and foremost on wishing them both a full recovery.
However, Speakman and Dreyfus did not have 20/20 vision when they decided to sack Mowbray. Yes the team were experiencing a dip in form, just as teams like Spurs, Southampton and Norwich were at the time and from which they have subsequently recovered. Instead, the Chairman and Sporting Director were not prepared to be patient and it seems irritated by Mowbray's more explicit and correct comments on inexperienced young strikers holding Sunderland back decided the time was right for him to go, this at a time by the way when we were very much in touch with the play off race.
Then amidst much hubristic language about wanting to pursue a path of relentless progress Michael Beale was appointed. Beale was never seen as the right fit for Sunderland, both culturally and technically and so it turned out in practice, justifying the shock and sense of deep dissatisfaction with his astonishing appointment. This was intensified when the club were not prepared to retain Pritchard, a player whose experience and skill was so crucial to our young squad.
So where are we now? Well, some well-worn phrases spring to mind. Like “If it ain’t broke, don't try to fix it.” Or the classic Oliver Hardy comment at the end of Laurel and Hardy films; “that's another fine mess you've got us into.” We now know that Tony Mowbray has serious health problems to address which would have taken him away from Sunderland, but no one knew that at the time and in recognising the mistake in appointing Beale by sacking him, and at a human level one has to feel sorry for the man, the shallow and misguided hubristic thinking and actions of KS and KLD are now only too apparent and have destroyed our season.
Our current form is surely not much better than Rotherham’s. Many fans rightly see our season as being over and just for once, there is a slightly nagging feeling that if we don't chalk some wins up on a more regular basis thoughts of being dragged nearer the relegation zone are not alarmist.
If this is relentless progress that Speakman speaks of then I am the King of Siam (Thailand). If we do manage to stay in mid table limbo, then serious questions remain about the club's future direction next season and beyond. But for my own and I assume many others' perspectives, decisions must be made on a more common sensible approach rather than the intoxication of hubris.
