How Sunderland has changed and fared since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was announced two years ago today

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus had agreed a deal and a new dawn was imminent.

So two years on, how has Louis-Dreyfus fared and how has Sunderland changed as a club? Here, we take a close look.

IMPLEMENTING A MODERN STRUCTURE

When the deal was announced Louis-Dreyfus said that the club would seek to be ‘at the frontier of research and innovation in all performance domains’. Of course some significant changes had with his influence already taken place at the club, with Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman appointed and Lee Johnson installed as head coach.

That was the tip of the iceberg - there has over an 18-month period been a sustained period of investment at the Academy of Light. Most notably this has been in data and analysis, which has in turn had a big impact on the previously almost non-existent recruitment operation. Though still early days, the calibre of incoming player has improved significantly and the club now has the reach to find talent in new markets.

Louis-Dreyfus and the new structure have also seen the return of Sunderland Women to the top tiers of the game, and there has been some encouraging investment into the infrastructure that can sustain progress. Over time the club will need to turn to a full-time playing operation to really kick on but steps forward have been taken.

There remains much to do, all the same. The Academy remains an absolutely pivotal part of the club’s long-term plan and only recently has the staffing structure been finalised to take it forward - with Robin Nicholls joining from Southampton as manager. The club have felt the loss of major talents keenly in recent years but there is huge talent in the U16 and U18 teams right now. Convincing those players to stay on Wearside and offering a pathway will be a real test of the new operation, and it should also be said that the club’s Category One status will be reviewed again next year. Maintaining it is vital.

While the general investment in infrastructure has been notable, some will feel it has perhaps come at the expense of the general fan experience. There has at times been significant frustration with the experience in both ticketing and shopping, amongst other things. Chief Operating Officer Steve Davison is about to lead a 25-year review of the Stadium of Light, which no longer feels like the top-end ground it once was. On this side of the club it feels as if there is still a lot of catching up to do, and Davison has been fairly candid in admitting that himself.

Without doubt, though, Louis-Dreyfus has started to make good on his promise to modernise the club’s operations.

THE FOOTBALL

One of Louis-Dreyfus’ other key promises was to place a great emphasis on player development and style of play: “We want to create a team that is entertaining to watch and that embodies the spirit and the culture of those who attend.”

To say it has not always been plain sailing would be an understatement, but there can be no doubt that the implementation of the new structure has allowed Sunderland to sign players with a speed and technical capacity far in excess of the previous regime. Though it took time, that has ultimately led to an improvement in results that got Sunderland into the Championship and has allowed them to so far stabilise there.

There remains some concern that the focus on young players with resale value has come at the expense of required depth and experience in key positions on occasions, but compare the current squad to that of this time in 2020 and the improvement both in clarity of vision and performance is undeniable. And in fairness - in football that is the bottom line where you have to deliver.

TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION

This was for a time the most disappointing aspect of the Louis-Dreyfus era, though we have seen some significantly more encouraging signs in recent months.

Louis-Dreyfus impressed with his opening statements and in overhauling the club board almost as soon as his deal was completed, but then came an extended period of silence and some odd developments as Juan Sartori returned to the board he’d left months earlier.

We discovered why earlier this year, when it was revealed that Louis-Dreyfus had control of the club but not a stake in excess of 50%. Many understandably felt misled.

While Speakman, in particular, has communicated relatively proactively during his tenure (little touches such as explaining every player departure when they happen have been welcome), the hierarchy above him did not and it was now obvious that these boardroom uncertainties were the reason. The negative impact of this was seen during the long process to replace Johnson - when the club’s structure felt muddled and fans were left baffled.

To that end, consolidating his shareholding by securing the departure of Charlie Methven and reducing Stewart Donald’s stake has been every bit as important as winning promotion from League One. The disruptive stories have stopped, the club seems to have stabilised, and we have heard from Louis-Dreyfus on multiple occasions recently. His command of the language is superb, and he is both an engaging and clear speaker. His initial belief that actions were more important than words was a fair one, but a club of this size both are important. This has hopefully heralded the start of a more transparent era at Sunderland.

THE BIG CALLS

Though heavily involved on a day-to-day basis the power in this structure is devolved, first and foremost to Speakman and Davison. However, as Chairman of the Board the big calls are ones that Louis-Dreyfus is ultimately accountable for.

The decision to move to a new structure has largely been a success, though there has been criticism of some aspects of the squad building under Speakman.

The decision to change head coach earlier this year and appoint Alex Neil proved to be an excellent one, though it would be remiss to not add that the process by which the club got there was long and almost costly. The succession to Tony Mowbray showed signs of lessons well learned, and though there was bitter disappointment at Neil’s departure there has broadly been acceptance with the structure Sunderland wants to maintain. As ever, time will paint the full picture of those calls and that is true of the philosophy at large. It has not yet, for example, had to respond to the departure of a key player that has long been touted as an inevitable part of the journey. Strange as it may seem, two years in can still be seen as relatively early days.

Louis-Dreyfus has moved the club towards his stated goal of returning to the Premier League, but the next stages will arguably be the toughest.

As he himself said recently, there has been progress but plenty of mistakes to learn from and the club remains a long way from where it needs to be.

It seems fair to end by adding that it is also a good, good deal closer than it was on Christmas Eve two years ago. That’s a very important start to a long journey.