Cack Stottie
Winger
Personally I'm more disappointed with some of the stories in the locals and on the rumour mill today just capitalising on hearsay and clickbait. There's a real opportunity this week for us all - fans, forums, blogs, the media - to have a serious discussion about the direction that the club needs to take from here. Hopefully now the leading contenders have been established, we can start thinking collectively about where we go.
Firstly, I think it's safe to assume that whilst some of the stories today suggest that the decision to sack Parky and find a successor has been led by those currently at the club, that's probably not strictly true. The incoming Sporting Director will have a say, you'd imagine, but they can't paint that picture publicly as it doesn't reflect well upon them if someone who doesn't even own the club yet is having a say in the sacking of the current first team coach.
I think something similar occurred when Chris Coleman was here, and he was sacked right before Donald took the reins. I'm fairly sure Coleman went on to sue the club for unfair dismissal, though not sure if he was successful. Regardless, you'd imagine that they'll be keen to avoid that happening again.
Personally, I hope we get all of this information at once - the ownership, new leadership structure, the appointment of new key staff, the appointment of the manager, and some very clear communication on where we go from here. What's the plan, what do we hope to achieve, where will the investment go, what do we want Sunderland to be, what's the plan for the short, medium and long term future? They don't have to do this, but I believe this new regime would benefit immensely from being very clear on all of that from day one. We need something to judge them on, the manager on, the Sporting Director on, and so on and so forth.
Whoever is appointed should demonstrate they're able to embrace data and analytics, have a clear philosophy on youth development, a defined style of playing, a willingness to work with a Sporting Director (obviously), and importantly, they need to be someone the fans can buy into. That is important. Big characters thrive at Sunderland and I feel we can't afford to hire someone who fails to light a spark under the entire club from the minute they set foot in the door.
Getting promoted is so vitally important, but I don't want the bigger picture to be missed here. Not only do Sunderland need to get promoted, but we need to do it with an organisational structure that is solid, and with proper footballing people making the decisions for the football side of the club. Integrated into all of that is increasing our scouting network, focusing on recruiting young players with resale value (as opposed to the tried and tested method that has failed us for so many years) and, quite simply, for the first time in our history we need to embrace the fact we have a category one academy. Become academy centric! Make that place the basis for everything we do.
I'm rambling but I so desperately want to see my vision for my club play out before us, because now feels like a better time than ever to stamp our mark and become a proper, well-run football club.
