Sunderland have brought an end to Michael Beale’s horror spell on Wearside, with Mike Dodds taking interim charge.
Beale leaves Sunderland with a win record of four in 12, and although it doesn’t sound like the worst record, few will remember the 43-year-old’s time at the Stadium of Light with any fondness.
In his first game in charge, Beale’s Sunderland lost 3-0 at home to Coventry City. Then in the weeks following, Beale created a huge rift between himself and the supporters with some of his comments in the media.
Back-to-back defeats against two relegation candidates was the final nail in the coffin for Beale, with the last being against Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham City side.
But Beale’s poor tenure could well have been endured by another young coach.
Kim Hellberg linked with Sunderland before Michael Beale appointment
Swedish coach Kim Hellberg, 36, was closely linked with the Sunderland job after the club sacked Mowbray back in December.
Then coach of Swedish outfit IFK Varnamo, Hellberg was reportedly set for talks with the Sunderland owners regarding the job.
But Sunderland eventually appointed Beale, and Hellberg landed the Hammarby IF job in the Swedish Allsvenskan, after QPR poached Marti Cifuentes from the Stockholm-based club.
Hellberg was appointed on December 14th last year during the off-season.
Since then, Hellberg and his Hammarby side have played four games in pre-season; losing three and drawing the other, with Hellberg then losing against newly-promoted Allsvenskan side Vasteras SK in his first competitive match in charge in the Svenska Cupen.
Reports coming out of Sweden say that Hellberg and his team were booed by the fans.
Sunderland chiefs may need to think re-think manager strategy
Hellberg remains a highly-rated coach in Sweden. Though he’s not managed at a top level in Europe and now it seems like even a top job in his native Sweden could be too much for him.
And Beale undoubtedly struggled at Sunderland. He looked like the wrong man from the outset and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman will surely hold their hands up and admit defeat on this one.
Now though, they have some time before the summer, and plenty of time to set the search criteria for their new boss.
Someone like Hellberg may be less preferable this time round. Sunderland will want a manager who can handle not only the big stage but a large and passionate fanbase; something that Beale maybe struggled with.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see which direction the club goes in and whether or not any previously linked coaches come back into the running.