Unbelievably, former Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray has announced his return to the team
After just two months in the position, Sunderland’s head coach,Tony Mowbray, was fired.
Twelve games into his tenure at the Stadium of Light, the 43-year-old former QPR and Rangers manager—who took Tony Mowbray’s place—lost his job due to back-to-back Sky Bet Championship losses to Birmingham and Huddersfield.
According to the official club website, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman stated, “We are disappointed that Michael is leaving Sunderland AFC.”
“We accept full responsibility for our lack of progress, which is regrettable, and we believe that taking swift action is in the best interests of the club.
“We wish Michael the best of luck for the future; it has been a difficult few months for him.”
For the rest of the season, assistant Mike Dodds will lead the team.
“To ensure we achieve the highest possible league finish, our focus is now on the players and supporting Mike Dodds in the remaining games,” Speakman went on. We will keep our supporters informed as new information becomes available.
Beale, who assisted Steven Gerrard in leading Rangers to the Scottish Premiership in 2021, entered Wearside to a furor from supporters who were miffed about Mowbray’s exit and weren’t overly fond of his replacement.
Not only did his on-field performance not help him, but his suggestion that the supporters disliked him because he was a cockney did little to defuse the situation.
He was in the dugout for just four games overall; the other six were losses, one of which was a tame 3-0 home loss to archrivals Newcastle in the FA Cup third round.
Beale drew more criticism over the weekend when he seemed to refuse to shake hands with substitute Trai Hume as he left the field at St Andrew’s, but he later issued an apology and claimed he was unaware that he had done so.
With 13 games left, Sunderland is currently four points outside of the play-off spots in the table, sitting in 10th place.
After placing sixth in their first season back in the second tier, they advanced to the semi-finals under Mowbray’s leadership last year. However, they ultimately lost 3-2 on aggregate to Luton, who defeated Coventry on penalties in the championship game to earn a spot in the top flight.
The job of finding the club’s fourth manager since he took over for Lee Johnson in 2021 falls to chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. The previous manager, Alex Neil, left for Stoke after the team was promoted, making room for Mowbray.
