12 June 2024
A letter from the fans of Sunderland AFC

Dear Mr Louis-Dreyfus,

This letter has been written & signed by fans of our historic club and is addressed to you as the current owner and custodian of Sunderland AFC.

We, the signatories, are concerned about the direction & leadership of the club. Since the decision was taken to remove Tony Mowbray from his position as head coach in December 2023, we have seen bad decision after bad decision.

Michael Beale was appointed, against the wishes of a vast majority of the fan base. He was subsequently sacked after failing to deliver acceptable results.

Mike Dodds was placed in temporary charge, whilst the club embarked on a period of reflection to ensure the same mistakes were not repeated. During his time as temporary head coach, we displayed relegation form and won only 2 games from 13.

Since the end of the season, there have been multiple individuals linked with the head coach role at Sunderland. Most notably Will Still and latterly Liam Rosenior. Both of these appear to have turned down the opportunity to work at Sunderland.

As fans, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the direction and leadership of the club and do not think that 100 days without a head coach is acceptable.

Your statement on Friday has shown to be more a plea for patience, rather than a reassurance that the club is on the right track.

We ask the following questions -

The feeling around the club at this stage last season couldn’t be any further from the feeling now. There is a feeling that the club lacks strong leadership and we approach the summer in limbo.

Regards,

Fans of Sunderland AFC.

Update 12 June 2024

A letter from the fans of Sunderland AFC

Dear Mr Louis-Dreyfus

This letter has been written & signed by fans of our historic club and is addressed to you as the current owner and custodian of Sunderland AFC.

We, the signatories, are concerned about the direction & leadership of the club. Since the decision was taken to remove Tony Mowbray from his position as head coach in December 2023, we have seen bad decision after bad decision.

Michael Beale was appointed, against the wishes of a vast majority of the fan base. He was subsequently sacked after failing to deliver acceptable results.

Mike Dodds was placed in temporary charge, whilst the club embarked on a period of reflection to ensure the same mistakes were not repeated. During his time as temporary head coach, we displayed relegation form and won only 2 games from 13.

Since the end of the season, there have been multiple individuals linked with the head coach role at Sunderland. Most notably Will Still and latterly Liam Rosenior. Both of these appear to have turned down the opportunity to work at Sunderland.

As fans, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the direction and leadership of the club and do not think that 100 days without a head coach is acceptable.

Your statement on Friday has shown to be more a plea for patience, rather than a reassurance that the club is on the right track.

We ask the following questions -

  1. Are potential head coaches turning down the position due to a lack of commitment to investment in the playing squad?

  2. Are potential head coaches turning down the position due to working under the current Director of Football?

  3. Will a head coach be allowed to bring in their own staff?

  4. Will the head coach have to accept Mike Dodds as their assistant head coach?

The feeling around the club at this stage last season couldn’t be any further from the feeling now. There is a feeling that the club lacks strong leadership and we approach the summer in limbo.

Regards,

Fans of Sunderland AFC.

Update 12 June 2024

A letter from the fans of Sunderland AFC

This letter has been written & signed by fans of our historic club and is addressed to you as the current owner and custodian of Sunderland AFC.

We, the signatories, are concerned about the direction & leadership of the club. Since the decision was taken to remove Tony Mowbray from his position as head coach in December 2023, we have seen bad decision after bad decision.

Michael Beale was appointed, against the wishes of a vast majority of the fan base. He was subsequently sacked after failing to deliver acceptable results.

Mike Dodds was placed in temporary charge, whilst the club embarked on a period of reflection to ensure the same mistakes were not repeated. During his time as temporary head coach, we displayed relegation form and won only 2 games from 13.

Since the end of the season, there have been multiple individuals linked with the head coach role at Sunderland. Most notably Will Still and latterly Liam Rosenior. Both of these appear to have turned down the opportunity to work at Sunderland.

As fans, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the direction and leadership of the club and do not think that 100 days without a head coach is acceptable.

Your statement on Friday has shown to be more a plea for patience, rather than a reassurance that the club is on the right track.

We ask the following questions -

Are potential head coaches turning down the role due to a lack of commitment to investment in the playing squad?

Are potential head coaches turning down the role due to having to work under the current sporting director?

Will a head coach be allowed to appoint their own staff?

Will a head coach have to accept Mike Dodds as their assistant head coach?

The feeling around the club at this stage last season couldn’t be any further from the feeling now. There is a feeling that the club lacks strong leadership and we approach the summer in limbo.

Regards,

Fans of Sunderland AFC.

297
signatures
209 verified
  1. Patrick Scott
  2. Emma Forster, Sunderland
  3. Jack Hatton, Energy Consultant, PTS & LFM, Sunderland
  4. George Gifford, Retired, Thirsk
  5. Jack Dunn, N/A, N/A, Sunderland
  6. Luke
  7. Adam
  8. Tom Kelly, Waste management, Sunderland
  9. Matthew Oliver, Stock Controller, N/A, Gateshead
  10. Jake Taylor, Hard man, Sunderland
  11. Gorman Stewart, Builder, SpeakmanOUT, Gateshead
  12. Andrew McGuinness, Teacher, Thomas Bewick School, Durham
  13. Rob Hall, Retired, Sunderland
  14. Connor Swainston, Morpeth
  15. Tom Pierce, York
  16. Stephen Scott, Washington
  17. Paul Wallis, Newcastle upon Tyne
  18. Tony Mowbray, Retired, N/A
  19. Liam Hemmingway
  20. Carl G, Taxi, Gateshead
...
169 more
verified signatures
  1. Sammy Wright, free, hamas, palestine
  2. Teddy dunn, Gimp
  3. Hey Siri sign the petition, Blind Carl, Cricket, I don't know where I am I can't see
  4. Jack Williams, The Zoo, Don’t mistake me for a monkey, I can’t do nothing about my ears, Pennywell
  5. @WadeSAFC, Full Time Nonce, Hard mouth on twitter, but even harder inside kids, HMP
  6. monkey tiny tassle, Humble Bragger, SMB's resident "loadsamoney", money did not maketh the man in this case
  7. Charlie Pow, Gambling addiction, William hill, Town
  8. Kristjan Speakman, Manager deterrent, Sunderland AFC, Narnia
  9. Leon Craggs, Banned, On tag, Thug
  10. Ethan Oniell, dosser, small, annoying
  11. Bailey Pennington, Is there a problem here officers, McDonalds Security fighter, Briefcase City
  12. Die milley finley, Sunderland AFC
  13. leoisorange, Full Time Legend, Avengers, Sunlun
  14. Declan Bray, Drilling Assistant, Sunderland
  15. Steve Charlton, Manager, UOS, South Shields
  16. Lewis Baird, Spark, Sunderland
  17. Mahatma Ghandi, Proffesional Early KO Backer, Isis, Shiney Row
  18. Frederick West, Gardener, Gloucester
  19. Peter Brown
  20. Tony Gavin, Retired, SAFCSA Peterborough branch, York