The sacking of Jack Ross split opinion among the Sunderland fanbase. On one hand, the Sunderland manager stabilised a club in freefall, but on the other, he oversaw two Wembley final defeats with a squad that arguably should have comfortably taken Sunderland out of League One.
Impatience grew at the start of the 2019-20 season as Sunderland made a chequered start to the campaign. It appeared that the scars of the play-off final defeat against Charlton still existed, and fans didn’t seem to have as much
patience with their manager as they once had.
By October 8th, the pressure had finally reached boiling point, and Ross was sacked by Stewart Donald, with attention swiftly turning to who could replace him.
Rumours were circulating that finances at the club were in dire straits and that Sunderland would be shopping in the ‘cheaper’ market for a new manager.
According to newspaper reports, several names were being mentioned, including former Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel, Nigel Pearson and Phil Parkinson, along with outside bets Kevin Phillips and Roy Keane, though the latter two seemed to get mentioned whenever a managerial vacancy arose at Sunderland during this period.
The Northern Echo reported that Sunderland’s financial situation, coupled with Stewart Donald’s attempts to sell the club following the collapse of a proposed deal with American investors, made managers who were out of work particularly attractive. After all, there would be no compensation to pay.
Meanwhile, Ross’s assistant James Fowler revealed that the former manager was ‘gutted’ at losing a job he truly loved, adding that he had been a popular figure amongst those working at the club.
Nevertheless, attention had now turned to finding his replacement. With the football under Ross having become increasingly slow and turgid, there was a growing clamour amongst the fanbase for a manager who could bring a more attractive style of play to the Stadium of Light.
Surely the next appointment would play good football. I mean, surely?
