No fanfare, no lofty promises... just the moment fans longed for
It was the moment that Sunderland supporters have been waiting for over a year for.
A new owner at the Stadium of Light; officially confirmed. It was in early January last year that the club released a statement confirming that the sale process had begun.
In truth, though, that simply told supporters what they already knew.
Some element of ownership uncertainty has plagued the Black Cats for the best part of a decade, a problem most hoped the Madrox takeover would solve. In reality, the future only became ever more uncertain.
By the time Sunderland confirmed that they would look for new owners, there had already been two failed takeover attempts.
Mark Campbell had staff measuring up their new offices before his deal collapsed, while F PP Sunderland took in games from the Stadium of Light before ultimately stepping away from a deal and injecting funds in the form of a loan. So you could forgive the nervousness with which the Sunderland faithful waited for this club statement.
Arriving just hours after the club booked their place in what will be an admittedly surreal Wembley final behind closed doors, the jubilation told you most felt it was worth the wait.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has arrived with no major fanfare, just one paragraph acknowledging his pride and the magnitude of the task ahead.
No grand statements, no lofty promises.
For anyone who has followed Sunderland closely in recent years, that comes as something of a relief.
ThestoryoftheMadroxera wasoneinwhichwordsdidnot equate to actions. After arriving,theyspokeofamodelcomparabletoBorussiaDortmund, onlyforasteadyanddamaging drain of talent from the Academy
of Light to begin.
They spoke of transparency, only for a long, contentious reveal over the reality of their purchase of the club to begin.
ThedepartureofEllisShort was the moment for Sunderland to reset and rebuild.
Instead, a failing regime locked the club into another spiral of short-term thinking and decision-making – pushing Sunderland, every day, not closer to where they needed to be, but further away.
Madrox will be a word foreversynonymousonWearside with acrimony and unfulfilled promises.
Louis-Dreyfus’workhasalreadybegun,theappointments ofKristjaanSpeakmanandLee Johnson a nod to an overdue change in direction.
The decline of the past twoand-half-years has left key departments understaffed and in need of urgent investment.
Though the mood now is buoyant,thescarsoftherecent past run deep and it will take consistent, clear communication to rebuild trust.
Mostimportantofallwillbe evidenceofbuildingblocksbeing put in place that will allow the club to grow not just this season, but in the years ahead.
There will no doubt be far more talk to come in the coming weeks and rightly so too, but this most understated of arrivals met the moment at a club where false dawns have been too many.
This has been the worst period in Sunderland's history and hauling it back to where it belongs is going to be an arduoustask.Fornow,it'samoment for supporters to take stock andhopeforbetterdaysahead.