On this day in 2017, Chris Coleman was named as Sunderland's manager to try and clean up the mess left behind by Simon Grayson in the Championship.
Cookie (a nickname he earned at school when his mates compared his eating habits to those of the Cookie Monster) had done well with Fulham, but was most notable for his success as Wales manager. He took over the National Team in 2012, ahead of the Euros in Poland and Ukraine.
Wales didn’t qualify for the 2014 World Cup, and in 2015 Coleman said he was considering resigning. However, everything changed in Euro 2016. When they qualified for the competition, it was their first qualification for a major tournament since 1958.
In the group stage they beat Slovakia and Russia, finishing top of their group despite a 2-1 loss to the mighty England, who were making Harry Kane take corners. A Gareth McAuley own goal helped them through the round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, in a tense affair.
Then came a tricky game against Belgium in the quarter-finals, with the Red Devils overwhelming favourites to progress. Radja Nainggolan put Belgium ahead early on, but Coleman masterminded a comeback which will go down as one of Wales’ greatest ever sporting achievements.
Captain Ashley Williams equalised after half an hour, and free agent Hal Robson-Kanu gave them the lead with a world-class Cruyff turn and finish. They soaked up pressure in a nerve-shredding second half, but right-back Chris Gunter broke free down the wing after 85 minutes. Coleman, understandably wanting to run down the clock and not squander possession, shouted "Don't cross that f***ing ball Christopher!”. Gunter ignored the instructions, and set up Sam Vokes to make it 3-1.
Despite losing to Portugal in the semi-finals, Coleman had brought immense pride to the Wales National Team and created a memory that would never be forgotten.
He signed a two-year contract extension as Wales headed into World Cup 2018 qualifications, but resigned on 17 November after failing to qualify. Just two days later, with his stock at an all-time high, he came to Wearside replacing the ever-inspirational Simon Grayson.
His arrival was well-documented on the Netflix series Sunderland Til I Die, and Coleman was tasked with escaping relegation- despite the team being bottom of the Championship, his appointment was seen as a step in the right direction. He said all the right things, claiming he wanted to ‘get the stadium rocking and rolling again’.
Chris, who never met or spoke to Ellis Short during his time at SAFC, was quickly told that the chairman wasn’t willing to invest in January and wanted to sell the club. This was news to Chris, who didn’t realise the true size of the job he’d taken on.
We got off to a losing start, a 2-1 defeat at Steve Bruce’s Aston Villa, but the positives were there and in the following game we went to Burton and won 2-0 on November 25th. Incredibly, It was our first win since August 13th.
We beat Coleman’s former side Fulham at home, thanks to a late Josh Maja goal. It was our first home win in 364 days. I’m sorry for subjecting you to reading about this awful season that you probably want to erase from your memory.
We all know we were relegated at the end of the season, and a fan called Chris a prick; Coleman retorted with the ludicrous comeback: “You’re calling me a prick? I’m a married man with six kids!”. Add that to his Netflix highlight reel, along with dodging the office Secret Santa by pretending to be excited by a Freddo. Ellis Short eventually sold the club, with Coleman getting sacked as soon as Donald and Methven arrived.
Overall, Chris Coleman’s time on Wearside is a hard one to judge. He had no money, inherited a 'toxic' squad that were already adrift at the bottom, and seemed to genuinely care about the fans and the people at the club. On the other hand, he seemed to have no tactical flexibility, sticking to a back five which clearly wasn't working and playing Ashley Fletcher up front instead of Maja and Asoro. Let’s not forget he was the man who brought Lee Camp to the club in January, which should have been a major red flag.
His Sunderland spell seems to have caused irreparable damage to his career. Other than stints abroad in China and Greece, he hasn’t done anything of note. To be fair to Chris, I’d want to travel to the other side of the world if I had to manage the squad of 2017/18 too.
