Sunderland’s Chief Operating Officer, Steve Davison, will leave Sunderland at the end of the current season.
During his time with the club Davison has been credited with helping Sunderland Women secure promotion to the Championship, bringing several concerts and England Women to the Stadium of Light as well as securing the SoL as the stadium to be used for the opener of the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year.
His tenure also saw the introduction of a cashless stadium and digital ticketing. He was also at the club when the recent announcement of improvements to several areas of the stadium were made, including 5G within the ground, new floodlights, a new PA system and safe standing.
However, the reaction amongst our fans to this news isn’t exactly one of sadness that he’s going but actually the opposite.
Davison is responsible for all non-footballing aspects here and therefore he has to be held accountable for some of the horrendous mismanagement that has occurred over the last few seasons.
The club’s official statement goes to great lengths to mention how difficult of a position he was placed into when he came into the club during the Covid-19 pandemic and how he had to deal with the effects of a severe lack of investment from the previous ownership group. Whilst this is true and he does deserve credit for some positive steps taken during the years that followed, it’s hardly been a complete turnaround.
Merchandising continues to be poor, although it has improved. The area around the stadium has
continued to be neglected and the inside of the stadium is just as bad.
Of course his worst moment had to be when the Black Cat’s Bar was decorated in the colours of Newcastle United for the derby, something that won’t be forgotten and something that shouldn’t have ever happened in the first place. Why did we even give them hospitality in the first place?
Digital ticketing could have gone smoother when it was first introduced and the delay to the release of the kits at the start of the season was a bit of a joke as was the extension to the deal with Nike and Just Sport (which has now thankfully been reversed).
We were promised a better online shop which has been delayed and overall his impact was taking the club from very poorly managed off the pitch to below average. That’s not good enough for a club of our size and getting basics right, like having a functional online shop, ticketing system or not having a leaky roof need to be minimum expectations for a club of our size. The Newcastle debacle should have been enough on its own to see him depart.
It’s not all his fault though, there are other people at the club and the ownership also need to invest more in the off the pitch matters here. Unless there’s more money put into these things the departure of an individual employee won’t make much difference.
Hopefully though, with the addition of David Bruce and the recent announcement of improvements that are going to be made at the SoL we can look forward to finally being run like a professional, major English football club rather than a non-league side.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus had this to say: “On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, I would like to thank Steve for his commitment and dedication throughout the past three years. Integrity and professionalism have been at the forefront of his leadership and although we have collectively faced challenges along the way, his contribution ensures that he departs with the Club ready to progress to the next level. Steve and his family will always be welcome at the Stadium of Light, and we wish him well in the next chapter of his career.”
Steve Davison made these comments: “I joined the Club to implement a long-term project to take SAFC from League One back to the Premier League. I am pleased to leave the Club in a much stronger position than when I joined. I wish to thank the Club staff for their support and wish them every success in the future, and I look forward to once again following SAFC as a fan from next season.”
