On this day in 2022, Alex Neil made the controversial move from Sunderland to Stoke. Stoke finished 16th that season, with Sunderland reaching the play-offs in their first season back in the Championship with a young, exciting team.
After Jack Ross, Phil Parkinson and Lee Johnson had failed to end our third tier misery, Neil was appointed in February 2022, revealed at Durham train station in SAFC training gear courtesy of a grainy image from a fan. He came in and soon implemented the changes necessary to make us sturdier defensively, took some players out of the team and managed to go on a 16 game unbeaten run. His press conferences were a breath of fresh air - succinct, knowledgeable and down to earth. Neil has provided us with the greatest moment we have had in years in that comprehensive and professional 2-0 play-off win against Wycombe.
Games against Oxford, Gillingham, Fleetwood and Sheffield Wednesday proved the tenacity of Alex Neil’s transformed Sunderland side and in Neil, we had the first League One manager you could place total faith in to earn us promotion. The fans loved him, but despite many people thinking the club had got under his skin, he left for Stoke City in August.
In 48 hours, Neil had gone from being one of the most loved men on Wearside to a money-hungry snake. He was even sitting in Ewood Park watching Stoke, despite still being employed by Sunderland AFC. The Lads had a big game against Norwich earlier that day, and the fans chanted "F*ck Alex Neil."
It really was a bizarre series of events in such a short turnaround. From the press conference being delayed in the morning, then being pushed back to 2pm, to reports later claiming Neil was in a car headed to Stoke for negotiations. Working in ALS that day was chaos because the story was moving so quickly and the mood around the club seemed to instantly change.
The Stoke hierarchy were hoping that the appointment of Alex Neil would turn their season around, but things didn't do to plan. Stoke were extremely inconsistent and finished 16th. Meanwhile, Sunderland replaced Neil with the established Tony Mowbray and secured the playoffs. One journalist even asked Neil if he regretted his decision, in which he responded with "That's a ridiculous thing to say."
However, Stoke did beat the Lads 5-1 at the Stadium of Light in March, so he did have his own little moment of victory. Well done Alex.
