Don Goodman, a former Sunderland player and current football pundit, has spoken about the club’s model.
Former Sunderland striker Don Goodman has slammed Sunderland’s’model’ and the Black Cats’ play-off ambitions.
Sunderland suffered their fourth consecutive Championship defeat away to Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, leaving Mike Dodds’ side nine points from the play-offs and the same amount from relegation.
Sunderland’s philosophy has generally yielded positive results, with the team progressing from League One to the Championship and reaching the play-offs last season under Tony Mowbray, while also recruiting outstanding players such as Dan Ballard, Jack Clarke, Patrick Roberts, and Trai Hume.
However, as of this season, the club’s recruitment appears to have dipped, with many of Sunderland’s signings from the previous three windows struggling to make an impact, while experienced players such as Danny Batth, Lynden Gooch, and Alex Pritchard have all left the club, with the Black Cats focusing on signing young players.
Sunderland’s administration and decision-makers have also faced criticism for replacing Mowbray with former Rangers manager Michael Beale, who had a catastrophic 12-game term as head coach before being removed of his job.
In an interview with West Brom News, Goodman discussed the Championship and Sunderland’s approach: “Anybody would look at Chelsea or Sunderland for a more balanced model in the Championship – that’s the model those clubs use.”
“Sunderland lost a brilliant manager in Tony Mowbray by refusing to change that model, and now I doubt they will make the play-offs because they changed managers and their model means young players will be inconsistent.”
“Young players require leadership and guidance from more experienced players. That’s something I had when I was 17 years old and breaking through at Bradford all those years ago.”
Sunderland’s next game is against promotion-chasing Leicester City on Tuesday evening at the Stadium of Light, followed by a long trip to St Mary’s to face Southampton on Saturday. The Black Cats have not won a Championship game since a 3-1 win against Plymouth Argyle at the Stadium of Light on February 10th, under former coach Beale.
