To replace an influencer like Evans
It's often said that the Sunderland shirt is a 'heavy' one. To wear it is a privilege but the intensity of the club means it also brings with it real pressure.
Some footballers grow taller in it, others can shrink. There was a time when you didn't quite know which way it would go with Corry Evans. He had been a steady presence in the side after joining from Blackburn Rovers, but when it looked as if yet another League One promotion push was falling by the wayside, the criticism he faced was often intense. It didn't last. Evans established himself as a vital player in Alex Neil's team, a leader and calming presence in the XI that dealt with its soft centre and ground their way to Wembley glory. Evans can leave with the satisfaction of a job well done. His last campaign on Wearside was blighted by injury but he did what he came to do, to help haul Sunderland back to the Championship and stabilise them there.
In an emotional message the 33-year-old said he and his family would forever be supporting the club, Evans in the end well and truly living up to his brother Jonny's legacy. The respect which he is now afforded by supporters is all the greater for the way he was able to ultimately win over those doubters. The decision to release Evans is an understandable one, he had featured little in the last 18 months and as continues his recovery from that major ACL injury, there are no guarantees that he'd be able to establish himself as a regular in the team.
With that in mind it makes financial and footballing sense to look forward but, equally, it's clear that in the process Sunderland are going to lose something that they simply have to replace.
When Evans spoke to this paper in the build-up to that play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers, he reflected on those more difficult days and seemed genuinely unmoved. A holding midfielder for just about the entirety of his career, he deadpanned that he'd never been much of a fan favourite anyway - his role wasn't always going to draw the headlines and that was fine by him. By now, Evans had just about seen it all in the game. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses, and the importance of not getting too high or too low. Like Lynden Gooch, Danny Batth, Alex Pritchard and Bailey Wright around him, he had the mettle to stay the course when the pressure really rose. With a sprinkle of stardust around them, they were able to get the job done.
Incredibly, his departure and that of Bradley Dack means that Luke O'Nien will, as it stands, be the oldest player in the squad next season at just 29. A side that lacked experience through a difficult second half of the campaign last time out is about to lose its captain. Even in his long months on the sidelines, he was an important sounding board for the players and even in the final weeks at the club, you would hear younger members of the squad praising his steadying influence. Sunderland's hierarchy are always quick to stress that age doesn't necessarily equal experience, and that is of course true. Dan Ballard and Dan Neil, for example, are two relatively young players but who now have enough second-tier appearances under their belts and have reached the stage where you can be sure of a certain level of consistency in their performances. There were not enough of those in the squad last season and Sunderland's struggle for stability was no surprise as a result. In fairness, Dack's arrival was meant in part to offset the loss of Gooch, Batth and co but the hope that he would be fit enough to feature in a significant number of games proved to be misplaced. Few would wish to see Sunderland dispense with the youth policy that has created a genuine pathway to the first team and a (previously at least) thrilling style of play, but that class of 2022 is a reminder that there is a balance to be struck. This season, Sunderland didn’t find it.
Evans will be missed on the pitch, too. To know that, you only have to look at the way Mike Dodds often turned to him in games during the final weeks of the campaign, admitting at times that he was playing more football than was either imagined or initially intended. Why? Because no one else in the squad brings Evans' reliability in front of the defence, his no-frills but effective play on the ball and his positions to protect against counter-attacks.
Since he suffered that knee injury Sunderland have had three windows to replace him, but have steadfastly opted against doing so. Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale both spoke of wanting more cover but it never arrived, and while there's never really been a clear answer on why that was the case, the inference when the question has been asked has been that Sunderland are trying to move the team forward. By which we mean, to play a more attacking style that requires 'hybrid' midfielders - good out of possession but able to impact the final third.
The truth was that the balance in midfield was never quite right. Sunderland consistently looked vulnerable to counter-attacks and, though Neil's maturity has been impressive, dragging him deeper has taken away some of his best skills around the opposition box. The apparent desire to build a more aggressive team also jars with the reality of what happened over the final months of the season, when a more conservative style did little to reverse results.
In short, then, Evans will leave a greater void than might initially be apparent both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Sunderland simply cannot miss another chance to replace him.