Sunderland are enjoying their third season back in the Championship after what felt like an age in League One. Next season, there could even be Premier League football at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus have steadied, reset themselves, and are now on track for Premier League football.
Whilst it may or may not be achieved this season, there’s no doubting that the Black Cats are building steadily towards the big time, with Regis Le Bris the manager putting vital points on the board.
Last time out, the Frenchman made five changes to his starting XI and watched on as Sunderland beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough, with Eliezer Mayenda scoring a brace in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
The going is good right now, but 2024 was a tough year for the Black Cats. In the end they finished just six points above the drop zone as Mike Dodds picked up a bruised and battered side following the testing tenure of Michael Beale.
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Sunderland’s quickfire decision to sack Michael Beale was the right thing to do
Sunderland appointed Beale in December 2023 after the club had parted ways with Tony Mowbray. But from the off, Beale faced an uphill battle, being a hugely unpopular appointment and taking over from what was a hugely popular boss in Mowbray.
Although his record wasn’t exactly terrible (12 games, four wins, two draws, and six defeats), the football was poor enough to contribute to the decision to sack him after just a couple of months, and Beale’s antics in press conferences, and the Trai Hume handshake saga was enough to prompt change.
Sunderland under Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman did something that they hadn’t done before and that they certainly wouldn’t do now, and sacked a manager before he really had a chance to get going.
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What Michael Beale said in Sunderland presser that riled up fans
Whilst Beale may be a qualified coach, with all the badges and good experience on his CV, his people skills severely let him down at Sunderland. More specifically, he couldn’t make a connection with fans, instead going in the other direction and riling them up.
As fans started to get on his back for performances and results, Beale claimed he was unpopular because he was a southerner.
He explained: “If it’s about your job it’s about your job, but if it’s about anything else…. look, I can’t change my accent or where I’m from. I’m proud of where I’m from.”
Beale later added: “I haven’t worked in London for ten years, but obviously I am from South London. Six years in Liverpool, four-and-a-half in Glasgow, a year in Brazil. My accent hasn’t changed. I am happy to be criticised if we can’t score goals or repeatedly make mistakes, but that one is a bit off.”
Fast-forward to now and the pain of the second half of last season seems, not exactly worth it, but like a necessary part of the process.
Le Bris, Speakman, and Louis-Dreyfus, and of course the players too, have all played their part in getting Sunderland into 4th place of the Championship table with 11 games left to play this season, and a healthy 13 point cushion inside the top six.
Up next is a visit from Cardiff City this weekend.