Fans call for Donald to stay
Sunderland fans have delivered their strong verdict on Stewart Donald, his plans to sell the club and whether the squad should consider taking a pay cut.
Today we can reveal the first results from our Big SAFC Survey - and the results may surprise some with a majority of supporters wanting Donald to remain in charge at the Stadium of Light.
Thousands of fans had urged the Chairman to sell up as Sunderland dropped to its lowest-ever position earlier this season, after prominent fan groups launched an online protest at the club’s performance both on and off the pitch.
The sale process remains ongoing with hopes a deal could be struck by the summer, though Donald has since admitted he would like to keep a stake in the club either way.
Of the fans that responded to our survey, 55.8% said they did not want Donald to sell the club with 44.2% in favour of him moving on after almost two years at the helm.
Donald is assessing his next steps as he weighs up the interest that has been registered.
He said in a recent interview that the interested parties were ‘pausing for breath’ in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has seen all football suspended for the foreseeable future.
As part of our survey, we also asked fans whether they thought the club would be sold this summer.
Just 16.4% were confident the Black Cats would be under new ownership by the summer with 83.6% saying they didn’t feel a sale was any further forward and that the coronavirus pandemic would only slow things down further.
We asked fans how they rated Donald’s performance as Sunderland owner, with the results mixed.
Around a third - 34.5% were happy with the efforts of Donald, with 42.9% satisfied.
However, 22.6% were unhappy with the performance of the owner since taking the helm from former owner Ellis
Short.
Sunderland failed to win promotion last season at the first attempt and find themselves currently outside the play-off spots before the League One fixtures were suspended.
Fans were also asked what the priority should be for Donald - with a quarter saying he should be putting all of his focus into selling the club.
A further 25% of Sunderland fans felt the priority should be improving the club’s recruitment structure and strategy.
The majority - 28.7% - felt the focus currently had to be on sorting new deals for those players out of contract this coming summer - with No1 goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin entering the final couple of months of his deal with a new one no further forward.
We asked fans if the club were to change hands, what should the priority be for the new owners? And more than half, 54%, wanted to see investment in the squad first and foremost.
A significant number of fans, 28.3% also wanted to see the structure of the club improved with SAFC lacking a chief executive in day-today charge of proceedings currently.
With all football suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak and no date yet set for when it will be safe for the season to conclude - albeit the likelihood is it would be behind-closeddoors - we asked fans whether the squad - currently on furlough leave along with backroom staff - should consider taking a pay cut?
A clear majority of 61.4% said yes that may have to be considered if it continues into the summer.
However, 38.6% were of the opinion it should be avoided if possible as the current playing squad are not on the same level of wages that used to be enjoyed when the club was in the Premier League.
All clubs up and down the country are facing financial problems with no matchday income and commercial and hospitality revenues down as a result of the suspension of fixtures.
Donald has gone on the record to say Sunderland are well placed financially, though he also admitted they will continue to evaluate all options to ensure the club remains in a strong position.
That will be tested if there is a long delay in football being played in front of crowds again given the drop in revenue.
We asked fans whether they were confident Sunderland would come out of the crisis in a strong position and 67% felt they would, adding the club had taken the correct steps so far.
Finally, Sunderland supporters were asked whether they agreed with the decision to place the players on furlough - along with the backroom staff and office staff - with just a few members of staff still working including manager Phil Parkinson.
An overwhelming majority of 84.7% felt it was the correct call as it makes business sense to do that given the reduced levels of income, especially on a matchday.
Just 15.3% of the fans that responded to our survey felt it was the wrong call, adding there are moral questions over football clubs using the Government scheme.
We will be releasing further results from the Big SAFC Survey over the coming days.
The focus turns to how fans want to see the 201920 season concluded, the job done by Phil Parkinson since replacing Jack Ross and fans have their say on the big contract dilemmas facing the Black Cats.