Golden chance to halt Black Cats’ slide
DONALD CAN SET CLUB ON RIGHT PATH
AUSTERITY, no money to spend, no ambition, and expectations kept firmly in check.
Had Sunderland been facing up to life in League One with Ellis Short still in control, the narrative would be already set.
The club would still be expected to challenge for an instant return to the Championship, but the excuses for falling short would be already in place. No longer. There is a new king in town – or at least there will be when the EFL gives the go-ahead for the coronation.
And once the consortium led by Eastleigh owner Stewart Donald takes charge, there will be a change of mindset among Sunderland fans.
With a new owner at the helm, and with Short freeing the club of the millstone of debt that had hung around its neck, supporters will accept nothing less than promotion next season.
Yes, the squad needs rebuilding, but to put together a pool of players capable of winning the third tier will not cost the Earth.
The club’s losses will still need to be managed carefully but the second year Premier League parachute payment of around £33.5m, plus the fact that they will have the highest gates in the division by a distance, means Sunderland’s income will dwarf that of their League One rivals.
Details of the consortium and its plans remain scant while the deal is grinding its way through the EFL’s approval process, but when news of Donald’s takeover was announced last weekend it was welcomed by Sunderland fans who long ago tired of Short.
Supporters have welcomed Donald’s willingness to interact with them via social media this week – in stark contrast to Short, who had no desire for any kind of public profile and spoke only a handful of times in his decade in charge.
And, while Short has not been seen at the Stadium of Light since August, Donald has floated the idea of sitting in the stands with the fans to watch Sunday’s season finale when Championship winners Wolves visit Wearside.
Such gestures may be populist, but at the very least they indicate that Donald will be a very different kind of owner to Short.
However the important thing is how Donald intends to run the club.
What the club needs now is investment, spent wisely, in order to rebuild. That process will begin with the appointment of a new manager.
Chris Coleman was unable to save Sunderland from relegation but he still retained considerable support on the terraces.
But he was not part of Donald’s plans, and Sunderland supporters are now waiting to discover just who he has in mind.
Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder is the stand-out name linked with the role, followed by a return for former Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy.
Some of the other names that have been bandied about have been lessthan-inspiring, and there will be a real sense of disappointment if Donald plumps for either a low-profile candidate, or takes a punt on a managerial rookie.
If the feel-good factor engendered by Donald’s takeover is to gather momentum, he must avoid such elephant traps.
Sunderland has been on a downward spiral for too long, and the club is at its lowest ebb.
But the change of ownership – and the lifting of the debt burden – makes this a golden opportunity for Donald and his team to draw a line under the past and start to move the club in the right direction.