Sunderland fans loved Tony Mowbray because he almost took them to back-to-back promotions. Photo: Getty Images/Stu Forster
Among all the kind words and the usual platitudes that form the basis of the club's official announcement of the dismissal of the manager, Sunderland made one thing abundantly clear: this is the way of sporting director Kristjan Spykman or not.
< p>By removing much-loved veteran manager Tony Mowbray, Speakman and almost silent owner Cyrille Louis-Dreyfus, two of Sunderland's most powerful men, reminded everyone who was in charge and what direction they believed the club should go. .The problems started with the knockout play-offs
When Mowbray began to question the logic of his recruitment strategy and obsession with signing young players from around the world to nurture, develop and ultimately sell them on for profit, in order to reinvest in more of the same players, it was dropped. He warned privately that a raise was unlikely.
Tensions that first surfaced in the dying embers of last season's surprise top-six finish and narrow play-off semi-final defeat to Luton Town – when injuries robbed Sunderland of their most reliable and experienced defenders – have been bubbling beneath the surface for months.
< p>Sources describe an “uneasy truce” in the summer. Mowbray backed Speakman into a corner by provocatively declaring after the defeat at Kenilworth Road that he did not know whether he would return as manager this season.
Kristjan Speakman has a clear vision for Sunderland's future. Photo: Focus Images/Ross Johnston
His popularity with the fans, who fully appreciated the job he did in leading the recently promoted Championship side to the brink of promotion, protected him. He could tease his bosses and get away with it.
They wouldn't dare fire someone the fans adore. They didn't have the courage to do so, but the suspicion inevitably arose that they were biding their time.
The sacking came as Sunderland were ninth in the Championship, just adrift of the play-off spots. three points, but with six defeats in the last 12 games. Very few supporters were calling for this.
Mowbray was well aware of reports earlier in the year that Sunderland had already begun looking for his replacement. It seemed that succession planning had already begun.
Speakman and Dreyfus may have been just “window shopping” and might have argued that it was best to plan ahead, but this created suspicion and distrust.
Hands shook and everyone got on with their work, saying the right things in public and tried to move on, but Mowbray knew it would be more difficult. In particular, when the team's best striker, injury-prone Ross Stewart, was sold to Southampton, and star loanee Amad Diallo returned to Manchester United in the summer.
Suddenly the 60-year-old, who had achieved far more than anyone expected by leading Sunderland to the play-offs, looked like an interim manager. Was brought in as a reliable backup after the shock of Alex Neil's defection to Stoke City last August, but is not seen as a long-term answer.
Speakman considers himself a visionary
Mowbray developed young players throughout his career, had vast experience in the Championship and kept them at least in the second division. After the promotion, that was all that really mattered and gave Speakman and his recruiting team time to identify the next generation, within budgetary constraints, to add to the team.
Speakman considers himself a visionary, a modern man . football player who developed the Matrix. He is obsessed with youth development.
Dreyfus may well be a very rich young man from a very rich family, but those who know how the club operates have emphasized to Telegraph Sport that this is very much a business project for the Frenchman. He will not spend large sums of money chasing his dreams. There's nothing wrong with that.
At 26, Kyrill Louis-Dreyfus is the youngest owner in English football. Photo: Focus Images/Ross Johnston
The recruitment department headed by Speakman, who at the age of 44 had risen through the football ladder after starting his career as an academy coach at Derby County and Birmingham City, could provide the manager with players to work with.
The manager or head coach will continue to mold them into a successful championship team while improving them as individual players.
The more experience they gain, the better they and the team will become. At least that's how the board thought it should work. This is the model they also chose for themselves. This is the plan and will not change.
However, at this stage it is worth remembering that Mowbray was only appointed because Neil, the manager who finally pulled Sunderland out of League One after four years in the third tier, left for Stoke because he also questioned the recruitment strategy and business model.
He didn’t want to work with children; he needed experience and proven championship players next to them. They are not cheap and do not have as much potential for profit on resale.
He, like Mowbray, began to believe that the promotion that the Sunderland board said they wanted would not be possible without compromise. in recruiting. He left because he didn't think they would ever be like this.
21st manager in 21 years
The end result is that Sunderland, a club known for chewing up and spitting out managers , looking for someone else. This will be their 20th shift in the dugout since 2002.
What happens next will determine everything. Two managers ultimately disagreed with the model and questioned its vision. If two turn into three, the situation will start to deteriorate and Speakman will be in the line of fire.
“This was a difficult decision, but we remain true to our ambitions and our strategy,” Speakman said. , in a statement that many fans suspect has been sitting in the project file for some time. “And I felt that now was the right moment to take this step.”
The tone of Dreyfus's comments was equally frank: “As custodians of our great club, we believe in our long-term strategy, which we hope will ensure the sustainability and success of SAFC.”
“Central to this approach is a relentless demanding that we embed a culture of excellence throughout the club and develop a strong playing identity that you, our loyal fans, can all be proud of.” />A three-game winless streak ended Mowbrow's time at the Stadium of Light. Photo: Getty Images/Ian Horrocks
If promotion to the Premier League, a division the Wearsiders last graced six years ago, is the ultimate goal, it will be Speakman and Dreyfus, 26, the youngest owners in English football, who will decide how they achieve that goal. We hope that it is their project, as well as the vision and model of Speakman, that will return the club to the top division.
Supporters remain willing to trust the people in charge. After relegation from League One and failure to reach the play-offs last season, there is goodwill. The players who have come under Speakman's leadership have talent and obvious potential. Some football matches were nice to watch.
But ultimately it is pointless if they don't have the right coach to lead them. Mowbray said too many were “not quite ready” to give Sunderland the results they needed in their promotion battle.
Young managers making their mark
It is believed that Speakman already knows who he wants to replace Mowbray with. Sources said he needs a younger, more dynamic manager with modern methods, language and style.
He will look at the work someone like Kieran McKenna has done with Ipswich Town and convince himself that there is someone like him who can do a better job than Mowbray. It is quite possible that he is right. He can also be wrong.
Southampton sacked popular manager Nigel Adkins many years ago and replaced him with a young Argentine named Mauricio Pochettino, and things worked out quite well.
Hull City appointed Marco Silva and almost avoided relegation when they looked dead and buried before his arrival. Both were little-known foreign managers who achieved success in English football.
But would they do it with a team as young as Sunderland? Could they turn youngsters from France, Ukraine, Portugal, the Netherlands, Costa Rica and of course the British Isles into promotion contenders, knowing that these players would be sold when the time came to cash in?
Will they be able to consistently compete with teams with much larger wage budgets and larger transfer funds, those relegated from the Premier League with all the high quality and squad depth that brings?
Can they thrive without a proven striker in their squad – Sunderland's supposedly professional centre-forwards haven't scored a single goal in the league this season?
Because that's what the new Sunderland manager will have to do if they are going to bring to life the concept of Speakman and Dreyfus. reality.
Every football executive has a plan, whether it is the right one depends entirely on the results.
From the outside looking in, Mowbray has done a good job within the testing parameters. The people running Sunderland disagreed. But if they mishandle the next meeting, supporters may well begin to disagree with the way they are doing things.
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