Parky, January and the Don – your questions answered...
The next few weeks at the Stadium of Light seem crucial – both on and off the field.
With staffing structures, transfer plans and the squad coming under scrutiny, fans have plenty of questions about the current state of play at Sunderland AFC.
In a wide-ranging Q&A with readers, Phil Smith provides the inside track on the key issues at the Stadium of Light ahead of a festive period, which looks set to be a vital one for the Black Cats:
Q: What’s the situation with Phil Parkinson?
A: There doesn’t look to be any prospect of a change as it stands.
I fully expect Parkinson to be in charge for Saturday. It’s a big game, and Simon Grayson returning for the first time since his infamous sacking just minutes after the 3-3 draw with Bolton just adds another layer of intrigue.
Generally speaking, Stewart Donald has backed Parkinson significantly.
He may have spoken about the need for a short-term lift and focused on the need for promotion this season, but he gave him a long contract, backed him to bring a new, extensive backroom staff, and has made plans for the upcoming January window.
Put simply, he will be desperate for this to turn around.
Nevertheless, he was back on Wearside to see the major problems against Burton Albion and though he wasn’t there on Saturday, I’m sure he will be aware just how poor Sunderland looked yet again.
Worrying times.
Q: If we had kept Jack Ross, would we be in a better position than we are now?
A: All evidence would suggest so.
You can’t say for certain, and to be fair, everyone at Lincoln will have had the sense that something wasn’t right.
The protracted takeover talks over the summer stalled the club and took a toll on everyone, including Jack.
But over a long period, Ross was averaging just over 1.8 points-per-game.
Throughout his tenure, even this season when they looked to have gone into decline, they almost always bounced straight back from a defeat with a result.
Even after Ross faced calls for his departure at Bolton, they went to Sheffield United and won days later.
They lost back-to-back games just once in his tenure, against Fleetwood and Southend, when their play-off fate was already settled.
I said shortly before his departure that I would have kept faith, but in fairness, I also said that I didn’t see that team winning automatic promotion this season. Something wasn’t right.
All evidence suggests they would have taken a lot more than seven points from these last seven games, however.
So far, the change has backfired massively.
The departure of Ross, regardless of the merits or otherwise of that decision, has exposed a lack of structure and clear strategy on the football side of the club and a lot of the things he was battling against are now catching up with Sunderland.
Q: Is there any news regarding a director of football? And who would be interested (with experience) for the job?
A: There’s no sign of it at this stage. It’s something that Charlie Methven has suggested has been considered but it doesn’t appear to have progressed any further than that.
People will have their own views on directors of football. I’d argue Sunderland’s problems with it in the past are primarily because of the personnel appointed to the role, rather than the role itself.
Certainly, it’s not a cureall solution and there’s plenty of examples where tension or disagreements between a manager and such a figure can be counter-productive.
The team just looks muddled at the moment and the transition from Ross to Parkinson just highlights the lack of strategy and clear thinking, in my opinion at least.
Q: Given recent history, why would we trust Parkinson and Tony Coton with the limited transfer funds we have available in January?
A: There are major questions over the club’s recruitment. All I would say in mitigation with regards to Coton is that we’re talking about a head of recruitment who, for most of his time here, was operating without any kind of real scouting network.
It was often down to him and Jack Ross to find players from games they had watched, and their contacts.
So in that set of circumstances, the results are always likely to be mixed.
After the play-off defeat, it looked extremely likely a takeover would lead to a complete overhaul of the recruitment department.
Coton and Ross had to spring into action pretty quickly when that didn’t materialise.
There is a scouting network being put in place, but how quickly we can realistically expect to see the results of that remains to be seen.
The club certainly needs a more coherent recruitment strategy that doesn’t just rest on a particular manager’s preferences.
Should that lead to a fresh voice on the football side of the club? I’d argue yes.