Pundit says Sunderland have had an ‘absolute shocker’ appointing Michael Beale

Scottish football pundit Michael Beale was recently appointed to Sunderland, and this has drawn criticism.

 

After a patchy season in which the Black Cats had primarily finished in the top six, Sunderland recently decided to break ways with Tony Mowbray.

Mowbray’s last game in charge was a 1-1 draw away at Millwall which left Sunderland in 9th and just three points outside the top six.

 

Mike Dodds took temporary charge and picked up wins over West Brom and Leeds United before losing at Bristol City, then seeing Beale take the reins.

 

The appointment was met with surprise and criticism following Beale’s contested spell at Rangers, which has been described as ‘awful’ by Chris Sutton.

Beale then lost 3-0 against Coventry City at the Stadium of Light in his first game in charge; Sunderland remain in 9th and three points outside the top six.

Tam McManus blasts Sunderland’s appointment of Michael Beale

Former footballer and now Scottish football pundit Tam McManus has offered a rather scathing review of Sunderland’s appointment of Beale.

McManus posted on X:

Sunderland are away at Hull City this afternoon for what promises to be

another tough game for Beale’s side; the Tigers currently sit in 6th but have been

in mixed form of late, losing three of their last five.

How soon will Beale come under pressure at Sunderland?

Sunderland looked set to hire a foreign coach with no experience of the British game.

And should that have been the case then he’d arguably be given a bit more leeway

after defeats as it’d be his first stint in English football.

But with Beale, and especially after his controversial QPR exit and his widely

criticised spell at Ibrox, there’s a degree of expectation, and a huge degree of

surprise as to how he’s landed the job in the first place.

Former Sunderland player Micky Gray has already questioned Beale’s loyalty as

a coach whilst also saying that Beale is ‘very fortunate’ to have gotten the Sunderland job.

In light of this, Beale may come under increasing criticism, particularly if his team loses again today.

 

It’s a difficult game, but an increasing percentage of Sunderland supporters who didn’t want Beale in the first place may now begin to express their annoyance at the appointment.

Mowbray was a well-liked name and a reliable hand, as McManus notes, so there are some questions about Beale’s hiring.

 

But a victory today might drastically alter the course of his appointment.

 

The MKM Stadium in Hull City will kick underway at 3 p.m.