It feels like I say this every year, but the upcoming summer is a huge one for Sunderland. Arguably, the biggest since the KLD/Speakman era began.
With the club falling down the league table, the sacking of Mowbray closely followed by the abhorrent appointment of Michael Beale, Sunderland fans are rightfully losing some trust with the club.
That added with the Black Cats bar debacle and the ongoing striker calamity, Sunderland’s hierarchy need to get this summer right and it starts with the appointment of a new head coach. This appointment has to be right. Will Still, Paul Heckingbottom and Danny Rohl have all been linked with the role and whoever is appointed needs to be backed. Don’t force them to work with Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor. They’re highly-rated as coaches, but every single manager works better when he brings his own backroom staff in with him.
We need a striker. One with some form of experience. Countless games have gone this season where one point could easily have been three if Sunderland had an experienced, Championship goalscorer in the box. So many times, a teasing ball will run across the goalline and there’s no poacher gambling at the back post to turn it in. Jobe’s goal against Cardiff was the perfect example of what we need, game after game.
Another position that has been left untouched since the signing of Corry Evans is the defensive midfielder of the team. It’s been clear for years that Sunderland have been lacking a combative midfielder to ease the pressure on the backline. Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah have both played in the position but doing so takes away a lot of the ability they can provide higher up the pitch. We need a proper leader to sit in front of the defence, control the tempo and let the more creative players push forward.
Will we get this summer right? Who knows. Our resolve will be tested with bids for the likes of Ballard and Clarke inevitable but in a weird way I am excited to see what the summer can bring.
