IDEALISM AND REALITY ARE CLASHING JARRINGLY AT SUNDERLAND

When a sixteen-year-old who’s still finding his feet in senior football is your brightest spark during a grind of a match, what does that say about the environment in which he’s currently playing, the tone being set by the man in charge, and perhaps most crucially, the mindset within the squad?

As many of his teammates were bogged down and shackled, either by fear as a result of the limitations of ‘Doddsball’ or possibly the fact that the summer is approaching and therefore application simply didn’t matter against Millwall on Saturday, Chris Rigg was his usual lively self, doing everything in his power to keep Sunderland on the front foot.

His performance was admirable and it also told quite a story as the Lads, set up in a ‘don’t lose at all costs’ fashion by Mike Dodds, stumbled to another loss, and despite a lively and fearless display, Rigg was sadly unable to turn the tide against the visitors.

And so, after another desperately disappointing defeat- the latest in a winless run at home that now stretches back to February- the knives were, and still are, out for the usual suspects: Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Dodds himself, and Kristjaan Speakman.

In some ways, it’s an exhausting process that we seem to keep going through, but on the other hand, is it unreasonable at this stage?

Let’s be brutally honest: 2023/2024 has been a campaign that the majority of us would be happy to consign to the dustbin of Sunderland history. Yes, there have been a smattering of highs and some signs of promise from our players, but on the whole? It’s been a season to forget.

Personally, I’m already looking ahead to the summer and I have to be honest: I’m wholly unconvinced, but willing to be proven wrong, that the club are fully geared up for what’s to come.

Sunderland’s ‘model’ (a phrase that should ideally be scrapped as it’s now become a truism) will face the kind of scrutiny this summer that it’s never been confronted with before. Players will depart, voids will need to be filled, and the stakes will be higher for our third season in the Championship.

The points gap to the league’s top six won’t be bridged next season without more flexibility being shown than we’ve seen at any stage since the current structure was put into place.

At the very least, a clean sweep in the dugout, the acquisition of a handful of Championship-hardened players and the rebuilding of trust between the hierarchy and the fans- through actions rather than words- is needed.

It’s true that 2023/2024 always had the potential to represent a ‘difficult second season’, but for things to go this badly wrong? That’s surely more than just bad luck, and when all is said and done, we’ll reflect on a litany of self-inflicted screw ups that sapped the momentum from what was once a promising-looking season.

Amid all the recriminations of a campaign that’s turned sour and is in danger of ending on a flat note, perhaps the most pertinent question that should be fielded by Speakman is this:

‘What, if anything at Sunderland AFC, currently embodies the ‘high performance culture’ and level of progression that you’ve openly targeted?’.

The standard of coaching? Forget it. Player development? Borderline, as many seem to have hit a wall or have been poorly managed during 2023/2024. An evolved style of play? No. Results? Absolutely not.

When even those closest to it are blinded by the flaws within a system or an ideal, it becomes a dogma, and there’s a real danger of that exact scenario coming to pass this summer.

It’s always difficult to gauge tone from a written transcript, but Speakman’s explanations during the most recent set of minutes of the supporters’ meeting didn’t scream of a man who’s feeling the pressure and at this stage, it feels as though ploughing on regardless would be his favoured approach.

Turning a blind eye to the problems on the pitch and a deaf ear to the discontent on the terraces and the concourses is an exceptionally risky play.

No sporting director worth his salt could possibly look at Sunderland’s season as a whole and casually brush off the setbacks, poor decisions and PR calamities that have resulted in apathy seeping into the fanbase.

Yes, Speakman can point to a record marked by ample success since his arrival on Wearside, but for how long can he realistically fall back on it?

Since Tony Mowbray departed in November, he’s found himself on the back foot, overseeing poorly-judged decisions and scrambling desperately to make up lost ground as much of his credibility has been chipped away.

For weeks on end, we’ve made the trip home from the Stadium of Light having experienced dour football, sub-par results, and the masterplan of a head coach who, despite making us harder to beat, has also made it harder for us to score and has also sapped any traces of genuine creativity from the team.

It simply doesn’t tally with Speakman’s vision for the club and although we’d ideally keep the criticism civil and constructive, you can’t blame the supporters for voicing their discontent.

After all, the emotional and financial investment in Sunderland remains as costly as ever, and it’s not been an enjoyable campaign on any front. New kit deals and stadium improvements are welcome, but far more needs to be done to demonstrate that ‘progression’ really does remain at the heart of Sunderland’s ethos.

2024-04-23T05:11:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd