It has now been just over a month since Michael Beale was appointed Sunderland head coach.
Michael Beale came under huge pressure before he even stepped foot in Sunderland, with the failed attempt at bringing in Reims boss Will Still leaving a bitter taste in fans’ mouths.
Sunderland supporters expected Tony Mowbray had been sacked to bring in an exciting, young coach who could match the club’s vision and take us to the next level. That is why so much buzz came around the links to Will Still.
However, it was only days later that Michael Beale had managed to talk himself into the Sunderland hot-seat, while Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus were simply naive enough to believe it.
The city was quickly filled with disappointment, but fans continued to flock to the Stadium of Light and showed their support for Beale, who hadn’t been given a chance as of yet.
But there was no new manager bounce, no signs of improvement from Mowbray’s tenure and no indication that things were going to get better at all. In fact, things have only gotten worse.
We are only seven games in, but we aren’t stupid. We know things are only going to continue on a downwards spiral, and the only thing keeping Michael Beale in his job is surely the board’s pride.
The club need to get past their stubbornness though and appreciate they have made a huge mistake before it becomes much more than that.
Here are three reasons why Kyril Louis-Dreyfus should sack Michael Beale before its too late…
Michael Beale’s xG
It’s extraordinary how Sunderland have gone from being one of the most threatening, creative teams in the Championship to one who can’t seem to hit a barn door.
The Black Cats netted 68 goals last season – less than only Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Burnley. They were also third for the highest ratio of shots on target to goals converted (10.6%).
While Sunderland’s struggles in front of goal were clear at the start of the season under Tony Mowbray too, the team’s ability to create space, work the ball into the box and pull off some breathtaking goals has simply disappeared even further following his sacking.
As per The Mackem Analyst, four out of five of Sunderland’s lowest xG this season have come under Michael Beale so far – Rotherham (0.35), Preston (0.5), Hull (0.7) and Ipswich (0.8). In fact, the fifth one only really came under Mowbray because we were forced to play 45 minutes with only 10 men against Middlesbrough (0.55).
The Wearside club have managed only five goals in the seven games Beale has taken charge of in all competitions, while they netted seven goals in Mowbray’s final seven games at the helm.
Beale has got this team playing some of the most boring football we have ever seen at the Stadium of Light, and buying a new striker isn’t going to change that.
Lower PPG than Mowbray
While we all know Sunderland wanted Michael Beale because he was prepared to just be a ‘head coach’ and leave the rest to the board, he was also expected to improve the club’s chances of promotion.
While it has only been six games, the former Rangers boss has arguably ruined our chances further – whilst also sprinkling in a 3-0 hammering by Newcastle United too.
Beale has led the Black Cats to two wins, three defeats and one draw in the Championship, leaving them in 10th place – three points from sixth, but also another three from 14th.
As per journalist Michael Graham, Tony Mowbray was sacked by Sunderland with 27 points from 19 games and a PPG (points per game) of 1.42, while Beale now has a PPG of 1.16. If the current boss had started the season and kept up that stat, we would have been sat in 19th.
It’s absolutely humiliating for a club that worked so hard last season to get to such a high standard, while Beale looks set to bring everything down with him if he remains on Wearside any longer.
The fans have already turned
A majority of Sunderland fans were against Michael Beale’s appointment to start off with, but they were prepared to give him the opportunity to change their minds.
Even after a horrific 3-0 defeat to Coventry in his first game in charge, supporters continued to cheer the team on.
But boos and calls for Beale’s sacking against Hull City this weekend really displays how bad it has got, and once Sunderland get to that point, there is rarely ever a chance to get them back on side.
The board have already angered the fanbase plenty in recent months, but if there is ever a time to try and win them over, this is the biggest opportunity to do so.
We knew that Beale’s tenure would be disastrous and we know that this is the only opportunity we are going to get before the problem can no longer be fixed.
Please, listen to us and get Michael Beale out of our club before there is no turning back.