“A disaster waiting to happen”: People are advised not to go near Sunderland Alex Neil

With ties to former manager Alex Neil emerging, FLW’s Sunderland fan analyst believes the team will search elsewhere for a manager.

The ‘Terrace Talk’ series from Football League World features the views of our FLW Fan Pundits on a variety of topics, including teams, players, managers, potential signings, breaking news, and more.

According to reports, Sunderland may look again at Alex Neil in their hunt for a new manager after Michael Beale was fired.

After just 12 games in command of the team, the Black Cats decided to split ways with Beale last week. Mike Dodds will take over as interim manager until the end of the season, giving him plenty of time to find a replacement during the summer.

Sunderland supporters, however, are a little concerned about the current state of affairs since the team has lost its last three games, including Dodds’ first game back in command on Saturday, a 2-1 loss to Swansea City.

Even though there isn’t a confirmed appointment right away, names are still being connected to the Stadium of Light position. The most recent is Alex Neil, the controversial former manager of Sunderland, who left the team in 2022 when Stoke City made an offer.

Alan Nixon said that Neil would be delighted to return to Sunderland and take up the managing position. Neil’s final season as manager saw them make it to the playoffs. Sheffield was defeated on Wednesday by the Scot.

There was hope on Wearside as they made a promising start to life back in the second division during the early months of 2022–2023, but Neil’s transfer to Stoke City in August 2022 threatened to spoil their season.

Many Sunderland supporters thought this was a sly move, and as a result, the 42-year-old faced a lot of criticism. After a turbulent tenure at the bet365 Stadium, Neil was fired by Stoke, but it appears he is eager to get back into management.

Sunderland supporter Jack Austwicke of FLW is against a reunion with Neil, feeling that it would be detrimental rather than beneficial. “In my opinion, I wouldn’t be too big on signing Alex Neil,” he stated. Those are burned bridges.

“I don’t see it occurring because after he departed, he made a lot of comments about how much he disliked our current model.

“I fail to understand why he would return to the same administration that hasn’t changed and won’t change.

“It is not something I see occurring.

According to Austwicke, it would be awful for Sunderland to try to re-appoint a manager who recently concluded he would be better off leaving the team. Neil, if Beale was unpopular, is sure to be unpopular as well.
It’s safe to say that when the Sunderland board appointed Michael Beale in December, they committed a grave mistake. Since Tony Mowbray’s dismissal was not widely accepted at the time, they merely needed to choose an appointee who would win over supporters.

“Despite how awful his tenure at Stoke was, I still maintain that he is a competent manager as much as he was.

“He would come in already on the back foot with people and it would be a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion.”

The club will be considering candidates between now and the end of the campaign, but Neil should be crossed off the list given his prior contributions to the team. The club has chosen to give themselves time in selecting a caretaker manager until the end of the season.

Following Neil’s departure, Sunderland advanced as a team, whereas Stoke either stagnated or regressed during the same period. They require a manager who is willing to engage with developing young players as well as one who can support the recruitment process.