Fan Letters: "Stop using the head coach as the scapegoat for unreasonable expectations!"
06/26/2024 01:00 AM
Do Sunderland need to realign expectations for this season? Share your thoughts! Drop us an email: RokerReport@Yahoo.co.uk
Dear Roker Report,
I suspect that KLD, Speakman, and the majority of the fans have too high expectations. Most seem to believe that reasonable expectations for the upcoming season should be to challenge for the playoffs as a bare minimum. So that might mean at least a top 8-9 finish and not adrift from the top 6. Le Bris might get the sack if he fails to meet such expectations.
The bookies currently rate us to finish around 16-17th. Promotion odds are currently 12/1.
Someone will be proven wrong. Either the bookies, or the majority of people associated with the club.
By the way, this seems to be a longstanding issue. It has been the same for at least a year, the bookies being more sceptical regarding our ability to compete.
Personally, I think that it would be sensible to either:
- Up the budget. Which won't happen. And I understand why KLD is reluctant to up the budget and run the club with a hefty annual loss; it is bad enough as it is with a £9m annual loss most recently announced. Or:
- Lower expectations. Perhaps to the extent to just avoid relegation, and in any case to something way below a top 6 challenge.
To me, it seems like KLD and Speakman create unnecessary problems for the club and themselves when they seem to insist on lofty expectations towards the squad and whoever is their current head coach. That Alex Neil and Mowbray overachieved doesn't warrant lofty expectations. At least not, as long as we have one of the lowest wage budgets in the league. I think it would be better for the club if KLD and Speakman lowered their expectations and made it clear to the public that this is a slow, long-term project. They should be more patient and supportive towards their head coaches. They should be less sacky. Less inclined to use the head coach as the perpetual scapegoat for their own unreasonable expectations.
In time, I think that promotion will be achieved. I like KLD and Speakman's long-term focus. They seem to do a great job gradually building the wage budget and the market value of the squad. Within a few seasons, we will likely be in a position to mount a sustained promotion challenge before we eventually succeed. But unless we overachieve, it is too early to have such ambitions.
I suspect that the issue with unreasonable expectations is the norm in football. Not just at Sunderland, but at most clubs. I don't know, though; I barely follow football except for Sunderland. In any case, just because most clubs perhaps fall into this trap doesn't mean that we should do it as well.
Thanks for a wonderful fan site, by the way. I enjoy reading most of the content here and listening to the podcasts with Gav, Martin, Chris, and others. I appreciate the high-quality content that you guys create.
Dan Ejstrup-Andersen
Ed's Note [Martin]: Hi Dan, thanks for the email and the kind words about the site and podcasts – really appreciate it. It's a funny one – I do think the way the club's being run that slow, consistent improvement over a number of years is the aim, rather than going all out for promotion – however, some statements from the club do seem to contradict that. What's the club's aim for next season? We don't know – it may become clearer when the new head coach is officially introduced. It needs to be, otherwise we're setting him up to fail unless we win promotion! From a supporters' perspective, I imagine 99% of us would say playoffs at a minimum. Wishful thinking? Maybe, and that needs to be aligned. I don't want us to risk the future of the club to get up, but conversely, I want us to give it a good go. Ultimately, as long as we can see decent progress – which we couldn't see any of last season – I think most will be happy.
Dear Roker Report,
My four priorities for our new bloke are pretty simple: Win, win, win, and finally, win.
Gerald Kearney
Ed's Note [Martin]: No pressure then! He can only win if he's given the right tools, which means some significant strengthening of the squad. As Dan says, the head coach cannot be the scapegoat for unreasonable expectations!
