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unimaginative signings, either great gambles on unproven youngsters, or players picked off the fringes of Premier League squads, without regular football in an age and needing too long to rediscover their best form.
The team was built not to an image or an identity, but in the hope that there would be enough individual quality to stay afloat.
It has not worked and too often they have been picked off by better drilled, better balanced, tougher opposition.
Preston, meanwhile, carried on as they had before.
In January, they picked up Louis Moult and Billy Bodin, regular goalscorers picked up at no great expense.
There may not have been a great difference between Sunderland and Preston last Saturday, or indeed between Sunderland and QPR the previous week, or between Sunderland and Millwall the week before that, but is no coincidence that these teams have found better consistency and their fans a greater sense of contentment.
In Grayson, McGeady and Hugill, Preston lost what many believed to be their best assets in the space of six months. They’ve improved, thanks mainly to a brave but considered signing strategy.
Both Grayson and his Sunderland successor, Chris Coleman, were faced with daunting transfer windows, having arrived with little time to prepare. The results have shown that the processes in place away from the manager’s influence have not been good enough.
This summer has to be the moment that the department Martin Bain revamped, headed by Jimmy Sinclair and Neale McDermott, delivers some return.
Successful teams in the Championship this year have had very different paths to success, but clear paths nevertheless.
Sunderland’s scouting network and off-field connections mean a Wolves-style plunder of Europe’s finest is unlikely. Their finances mean a Middlesbrough-style splurge is impossible.
Over the course of the Black Cats’ Premier League tenure, too many players passed through with talent but little application.
The disconnect has been slow, steady and now seems irreversible.
Sunderland fans will pray for a takeover and a new direction. Most will hope that Coleman will be given the scope by a new owner to lead it.
Whatever happens, it is time for a change of course.
Across the British Isles, in the less heralded leagues, Sunderland have long found fertile grounds.
Their prolonged Premier League stay perhaps led to neglect of these traditional scouting avenues, but circumstance surely calls for a rethink.
Under Coleman’s guidance, they may just find the pace, power and identity they need – players with hunger and drive, everything to prove; players that supporters build an instant affinity with.
What a thrill it would be to see the next Sean Maguire celebrating in the Stadium of Light, wearing red and white.