THE EX-MANAGER: SIMON GRAYSON
HOME is where the heartache began for Simon Grayson – and on the first anniversary of an unwanted record, Sunderland are no closer to solving the riddle.
A year has elapsed since the Black Cats took three points at the Stadium of Light. Patrick van Aanholt’s only goal of the game against Watford on December 17 last year is such a distant memory it is at the mercy of amnesia itself. For Grayson, whose reign lasted just 18 games, four months on Wearside was virtually the first bump in the road for a manager who had won promotion to the Championship with Blackpool, Leeds United, Huddersfield and Preston. But Sunderland’s astonishing winless run at home undermined his time there and Grayson pointed to a long-term malaise which has undermined a club now on its ninth boss in six years following Chris Coleman’s appointment last month. When the Black Cats were finally relegated seven months ago, they had spent a colossal 816 days in the Premier League drop zone since they were promoted in 2007.
Grayson said: “Sunderland have a magnificent stadium and a big, loyal fan base, but after being in the Premier League last year there were expectations and if you are in the bottom three of the Championship, you are not meeting them.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because when big clubs go down there is going to be negativity which needs to be dispersed. There is baggage left over not just from one relegation, but several years of fighting it and it will probably take two or three transfer windows to turn it round.
“To go a whole year without winning at home is extraordinary. I’ve never come across anything like it and it’s hard to pinpoint one single factor why it’s happened.
“More than anything, I feel it’s about the mind-set. Earlier in the season, we started several home games well – Leeds and Derby spring to mind – then all of a sudden, you concede against the run of play and it’s Groundhog Day: Here we go again. There must be something which stops players from performing to their true capabilities and it’s not just me who has tried to get to the bottom of it. “From Sam Allardyce to David Moyes, Steve Bruce, Martin O’Neill, Paolo Di Canio and Dick Advocaat, they have all been successful managers, but none turned the Stadium of Light into a fortress.
“Sunderland have struggled on the pitch for a long time. This problem has not just taken root in the last 12 months – they have not had a great deal of success at home for eight years.”
Grayson is bruised, but not wounded beyond repair by the sack at Sunderland. After selling £32million worth of goalkeepers alone, he was able to reinvest only £1.2m in new players.
His tight budget included a shrewd loan deal for 11-goal top scorer Lewis Grabban and he is keen to jump back on board the carousel.
Grayson, 48 today, said: “I’ve had 32 years in football and only been out of work for eight weeks – five since leaving Sunderland.
“I would like to stay in the Championship because I feel I deserve to manage at that level.”
It felt like Groundhog Day if we conceded