Sunderland made the shock decision to part ways with manager Tony Mowbray last night after spending a largely successful 16 months at the club.
In their first season back in the Championship last term, the 60-year-old led the Black Cats into the play-offs and although Luton Town beat them in the semi-final, huge progress was made.
Known for his ability to develop young players and deploy an attractive brand of football, Mowbray became an instant hit on Wearside.
He helped develop and nurture the likes of Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, Jack Clarke and Dan Ballard, who all blossomed under his tutelage.
Despite being winless in three matches, Mowbray leaves his job with Sunderland sat in ninth position, three points behind the play-offs.
Whilst that has left many dumbfounded over that decision, here are perhaps three reasons why the former Blackburn Rovers manager was axed from his post…
Strikers misfiring
It is well documented that Sunderland have struggled to replace Ross Stewart, who departed for Southampton in the summer.
The Scot plundered 40 goals in 80 appearances during a three-season stint at the club, including 24 strikes in the 2021/22 campaign as the Black Cats were promoted back to the second tier.
However, since he left Wearside for pastures new, the strikers that Mowbray signed – Naziriy Rusyn, Mason Burstow and Luis Semedo – have all failed to score since arriving at the Stadium of Light.
Considering we’re approaching the midway point in the season, that is a damning statistic and one that needs resolving if Sunderland are to reach the playoffs.
Sunderland want a younger coach
Towards the end of last season, it was announced by Fabrizio Romano that Sunderland were on the lookout for a new manager to replace Mowbray.
The name who topped their list of candidates was current OGC Nice manager, Francesco Farioli, who is doing a fine job in Ligue 1 with the club sat in second position.
Given the 34-year-old had just left his post as manager of Turkish side Alanyaspor and Sunderland were pushing towards the play-offs, the timing of this link was bizarre.
Of course, now Farioli is flying with Nice, he is out of the running for the job but a younger manager is on the agenda.
Publicly criticising individuals
It is easy for a manager to get frustrated over his player’s performances and unfortunately, since the defeat against Plymouth, there have been signs that he’s hung them out to dry.
He admitted that Rusyn was hauled off for ‘missing opportunities’ at Home Park and also said Pierre Ekwah had not ‘been up to speed lately’.
Whilst those could be true, coming out and throwing his players under the bus seemed very unnecessary.
Indeed, it could be said that he used his players to deflect the pressure off himself and that has proven costly.