Assessing Kristjaan Speakman's progress and Sunderland's return to the Sporting Director model 18 months on

Kristjaan Speakman’s arrival in December 2020 marked the start of a significant shift at Sunderland.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Appointed as Sporting Director, his appointment was closely linked to Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ impending arrival as Chairman.

He would be tasked with implementing Louis-Dreyfus’ vision on a day-to-day basis, rebuilding the club’s infrastructure and pursuing an ‘evidence-based’ strategy, essentially meaning a more extensive use of data and analytics.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It also marked the return to a model that the club had a previously unhappy relationship with, the tenures of both Roberto De Fanti and Lee Congerton in the Premier League era producing, to put it very mildly, very mixed results.

Sporting Director Kristjaan SpeakmanSporting Director Kristjaan Speakman
Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman

It has unsurprisingly been a bumpy road to date, but promotion in May marked a major high of the 18-month journey.

It’s interesting to reflect now on his tenure and where it might go next, because in the early days of February his role was under intense scrutiny from supporters.

Understandably so, too, as a promising start to the campaign was unravelling at a remarkable rate.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sunderland were listless in the aftermath of Lee Johnson’s departure, falling to consecutive and hugely damaging defeats There were at this stage quite rightly major questions also being asked of the January recruitment policy that looked to have left the squad light in key areas.

But if we step back now and look at his work more broadly, how does it stand up? We split it into a few key categories to measure…

RECRUITMENT

Ultimately the area by which a Sporting Director will be judged most closely.

There was, it’s fair to say, a mixed reaction when Speakman said in the aftermath of the Wembley win that it served as a vindication of his belief that the squad assembled by the end of January was one fit for purpose.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For many, that promotion was down to Alex Neil’s ability to get the best out of a lopsided squad with some alarming deficiencies.

There were, for sure, two key calls that did not advance Sunderland’s interests in winning promotion.

Then head coach Johnson had reservations about signing Jermain Defoe, not because he didn’t feel the striker could have an impact but because he felt that given his age and lack of match fitness, he would need another striker on top of that to ensure enough depth and competition to see out the season.

The Black Cats evidently did not have the resource to do that, so took the risk on Defoe and that versatile forwards like Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts could help plug gaps in case of injuries to Ross Stewart or Nathan Broadhead.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was a risk that didn’t pay off, Defoe retiring after nine appearances. It could have been incredibly costly.

The other key gamble was to allow Tom Flanagan to leave. That in itself was not necessarily a controversial decision, but many felt that a replacement ought to have been secured before his departure was sanctioned. As it was, Sunderland failed in their late move for a new centre-back and were left vulnerable for the rest of the campaign.

Speakman’s overhaul of the squad has meant letting players who do not necessarily fit the longer-term model leave when offers arrive, and with six months left on his deal he felt it was right to let Flanagan go.

His view more generally in January was that it was not realistic to have major depth in every position for a League One club, and so some calculated risks had to be taken. He also is strongly of the belief that keeping a player who wants to move on is damaging for general squad morale.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

By the end, he was proved somewhat right. Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts initially were lacking significantly in match fitness, but went on to have an outstanding impact in the long unbeaten run at the end of the season.

And with versatile players just about covering some key gaps, Danny Batth also came to represent a significant upgrade on Sunderland’s previous defensive options.

What is undeniable is that though Sunderland have understandably relied on the loan market to an extent, the squad is transformed from the one Speakman first inherited.

There are saleable assets aplenty, and players who are clearly capable of developing even further in the months and years ahead. Ross Stewart, for example, is arguably the club’s best piece of recruitment since dropping out of the Premier League.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Most impressively, this has been achieved on an overall budget reducing window by window.

Though mistakes have been made along the way, and there is clearly ongoing work to be done on squad balance (Sunderland probably need more balance in terms of experience next year, and clearly need more depth), the quality of incoming player has unquestionably improved.

The club is as a result in a more robust position than when the Sporting Director arrived.

All of which acts as vindication of his decision to hire Stuart Harvey from Blacburn Rovers in what was an impressive appointment as head of recruitment.

CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This is an area where Speakman has made an most obvious and hugely positive impact.

Though the decision to loan Elliot Embleton out to Blackpool last season rightly raised eyebrows given the promotion that followed, it did improve his development when Chris Maguire opted not to leave the club and put a significant squeeze on the youngster’s likely game time.

Embleton was rewarded for both his form at Blackpool and for Sunderland at the start of this year with a prompt, new long-term deal, from which he has gone from strength to strength.

The Black Cats also moved quickly to secure new deals for Anthony Patterson and Dan Neil when their development gathered pace, protecting the club from the inevitable transfer interest that would follow.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The contrast with the previous regime was stark, particularly when compared to the Josh Maja saga.

Speakman faces another stern test this summer, particularly in the case of the much-coveted Stewart, but it is an area that has underlined the importance and benefit of proper, pro-active day-to-day footballing leadership in Wearside.

HEAD COACHES

Speakman’s data-led approach to replacing Lee Johnson flagged Alex Neil up as a manager capable of implementing the club’s desire for a high-press style, and also one who consistently overachieves relative to his budget.

Though the football was not always sparkling by Neil’s own admission, he proved to be an excellent choice. Notably, Neil also proved an excellent fit for the club and for communicating with the fanbase, something not quantifiable by data but unquestionably significant.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The debate, of course, centres more around the process itself.

Sunderland admitted afterwards that they would review the time frame involved, with the seeming lack of urgency behind the scenes at stark odds to the extent at which the Black Cats were suffering on the pitch.

There was also considerable acrimony over the apparent pursuit of Roy Keane, which created an understandable frenzy that the club did not need. To what extent Speakman was to blame for this is hugely debatable, as media leaks were out of his control and suggest that in all likelihood, the clamour for Keane was coming from above.

The timing of the decision to switch coaches on the eve of deadline day also appeared strange, although the uplift in defensive organisation under Neil and the incredible points total needed to get into the top six said that Speakman was absolutely right to recommend a change. His data was suggesting that Sunderland would not just get fail to break into the top two based on their then performance levels, but could drop out of the play-off places entirely. That was absolutely a fair judgement.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Perhaps there is much to learn not just for Speakman but for the club as a whole about the process itself which almost left Sunderland too far back to recover their campaign, but this was a gamble that did prove well judged.

WHERE NEXT?

The steady rebuilding of Sunderland’s infrastructure continues, with Category One Academy status retained and appointments continuing.

Ultimately, Speakman’s work has to date vindicated the move to the Sporting Director model when you contrast the current position of the club with where it was before.

Many still harbour reservations over some of the recruitment decisions in particular, but Speakman has built a platform from which to build.

Another big summer awaits, though like all at the club, Speakman’s work is defined by the budget and stability (or otherwise) at boardroom level.