Phil Smith's verdict: Why Sunderland parted company with Lee Johnson & where they might go next after dramatic weekend

The decision to appoint Kristjaan Speakman as Sporting Director signposted a fundamental reboot of the club's footballing operation, then leading to the arrival of the new head coach.

It was a decision rooted in Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' desire to transform the club's model, moving it towards sustainability in the long term.

That meant protecting the pathway for academy graduates, and handing them a sustained opportunity in the long run. It meant aiding a recruitment model that would focus primarily on identifying young players with significant development potential, and giving the game time and responsibility to grow that they may not have enjoyed further up the pyramid.

After the Phil Parkinson era it meant, above all else, implementing a more attractive style of play that reflected what Sunderland fans expected from their team.

Aggressive pressing off the ball, dynamic play on it.

On most of these metrics, you would have to say that Johnson made fairly significant progress.

Not a single player who fell to an insipid 1-0 defeat against a then labouring Wigan Athletic started Johnson's final game in charge. Injuries played a part in some of those absences, without a doubt, but more generally it does reflect the dramatic change in philosophy of which Johnson has been a central figure.

Sunderland are leaner, younger, and have more genuine assets than at any time since they dropped into League One.

At times, they have looked like an upwardly-mobile, progressive destined for better things. That was best embodied by their run to the Carabao Cup quarter finals, a sequence that ended with a heavy defeat at the Emirates Stadium but one in which Sunderland played their way, with a core of talented youngsters who for the most part held their own.

This ruthless decision to part ways reflects the fact that for all that progress, for all those signs of a new direction, there is a priority on which there can be no compromise. In the end, long-term goals have ultimately given way to the belief that Sunderland cannot afford to consider the reality of a fifth season in League One.

After the defeat to Lincoln City in the play-off semi finals in May, Louis-Dreyfus had doubled-down on his statements when assuming a majority shareholding of the club earlier in the year, saying that Johnson was a 'long-term appointment'.

Now, he said an 'immediate change' was needed.

"We regret that we have had to take this decision, but felt immediate change was needed," Louis-Dreyfus said in a club statement.

"We firmly believe that this is in the best interests of Sunderland AFC as we strive to earn promotion this season."

Few on Wearside would contest that promotion has never seemed further away than in the aftermath of an utterly humiliating 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

Sunderland imploded at the University of Bolton Stadium, and the most damning thing was that it was not for the first time.

It was the fourth time they had conceded more than four goals on the road this season, and added to a patchy away record that unquestionably cemented the advantage already established by Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic in the race for the top two.

Ultimately, Johnson was unable to shift the perception that he could deliver the consistent run of results required to win automatic promotion over a full season.

When his team were good, they really were worth watching. When they weren't, they looked rudderless and lacking anything close to the resilience required to carve out that magic two points-per-game.

Perhaps most damning for Johnson was that in the aftermath of the defeat, he could not provide any real answers as to why it had happened

A surge in form last season had given way to a dire conclusion. That dip had been replicated twice this season, and even if the table still offers promise it was clear that another downturn (or an extension of the current) would mean the lottery of the play-offs, at best.

So what does Louis-Dreyfus do next?

The conundrum now is whether the club pursue a 'promotion specialist', a short-term figure who they believe can get the club over the line and give them the breathing space to make longer-term decisions in the summer.

That route, though, is high risk to put it mildly. If Johnson's record ultimately was one of inconsistency, then it must be said that also was in part due to the club's broader decision (and an honourable, overdue one at that) to focus on young talent who in many cases had little experience of senior football under their belt.

With only a day left in the transfer market, the club will not drift from the broader vision.

This, then, is a decision borne out of the belief that they can find a head coach who can work towards those goals while also strengthening the set up of the side in the short-term.

The new boss will undoubtedly share a similar vision to both Speakman and Johnson, given the integral role the latter has had in recruitment this month.

For all the good work that has happened on the pitch in the last twelve months, and there has been plenty, there is no doubt that this squad is capable of more than this defeat in front of over 5,000 fans in the North West.

Third in the table and with top-two still a very real possibility, it is undoubtedly a gamble to change course.

What comes next will be telling, but it speaks to the belief behind the scenes that the new structure means that changing head coach can yield improvement without major overhaul and disruption.

This is the first significant test of that Louis-Dreyfus vision, and the stakes are high.

Johnson often spoke of leaving the club in a better position than he found it.

On so many measurements, he has done exactly that. Put to the test now will be Louis-Dreyfus' conviction that more is needed to get over the line.

For this club, in League One, that can only ever be the bottom line. This dramatic night has underlined it.

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