Sunderland must avoid rumoured managerial target, he’s way worse than Michael Beale

A few names appear to be on Sunderland’s management radar right now, some of them are from far and wide.

 

Michael Beale was fired by Sunderland last week, and Mike Dodds took over as manager until the summer.

However, rumors have begun to associate other names with the Stadium of Light opening; Will Still has been named as Sunderland’s ideal candidate, Steve Cooper is expected to enter the race, and Polish coach Marek Papszun is also suggested.

 

However, more recently, rumors have suggested that Alex Neil, the previous

manager of the Black Cats, is eager to return to Wearside. The Sun stated that

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus “could make” an unexpected comeback for the Scot.

Alex Neil linked with Sunderland return

It’s said that Neil is open to potentially returning to Sunderland.

The 42-year-old led Sunderland to promotion from League One in 2022 and left the team soon after to take over at Stoke City following a successful start to the 2022–2023 season.

 

However, Neil was fired at the bet365 Stadium in December following a just 22 victories in 66 games as manager.

 

Neil managed Sunderland for just 19 games in all. However, 11 of them (57.9%) were victories, making him, statistically speaking, the club’s finest manager in almost a century.

Why Neil return would be a travesty for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus

The owners of Sunderland gambled on Beale, and it went tragically wrong. They now have to concede that front and give themselves till the summer to choose their next boss.

 

Even while the majority of supporters still fully support the club’s goals and direction, another bad management choice might seriously alienate the supporters.

We saw how it panned out with Beale and whilst the Dodds appointment plasters over some wounds, the club will need to make a decision at some point, and another Beale-like appointment could send the club into meltdown.

 

And that’s exactly what Neil would be.

 

Whilst he did well at Sunderland, and whilst he still might have something to offer in the Football League, he wouldn’t have the fans on his side, and that is

something that Beale’s tenure showed us is crucial when managing Sunderland.

 

What’s more is that Neil had a huge summer spending spree at Stoke City which ultimately failed, so whether he

really does have Championship credentials anymore is up for debate.

The ideal candidate would be someone who is unknown to Sunderland, but not completely unknown; someone who would be joining the team from scratch and has no prior connections to the team.

 

remains the preferred name for many supporters and the team as well. Should Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman be able to get him to Wearside in the summer, it might make for an extremely thrilling 2024–2025 campaign.