The seven steps any new Sunderland owner must take to rebuild club from its lowest ebb

Sunderland fans are eagerly awaiting developments on the proposed takeover of the club, with a consortium led by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori believed to be in advanced negotiations to assume the majority shareholding from Stewart Donald.
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A deal is not yet concluded, and while there are other parties interested, Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori are evidently in pole position.

On Wearside, there is both cautious optimism and a touch of specticism. Better and clearer judgements will be made when the detail is more refined, and an assessment made as to whether this represents a fresh start of a reshuffle.

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So after the acrimony and disappointment of the last 18 months, what do Sunderland actually need from new ownership?

A consortium led by Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus are believed to be in advanced talks to take over the clubA consortium led by Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus are believed to be in advanced talks to take over the club
A consortium led by Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus are believed to be in advanced talks to take over the club

Here, we put together a seven-point plan that any new regime must follow....

Install proper, day-to-day leadership

Few eyebrows were raised when Martin Bain left his role as CEO in the aftermath of Madrox's takeover. Two seasons, two relegations, and the chance for a fresh start from Ellis Short's tenure was welcomed.

In not replacing Bain, though, a significant early error was made.

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Madrox's view was that with Stewart Donald as Chairman and Charlie Methven taking a place on the board, that position was essentially redundant.

Tony Davison did arrive as Managing Director, but there remained an obvious lack of day-to-day leadership.

Most alarmingly, this even extended to the footballing operation, where some key appointments were not based permanently on Wearside.

The negative impact on decision making was clear, while it also meant that communications were often muddled and often outright contradictory.

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It is too early to tell what a potential takeover could mean for Jim Rodwell, belatedly installed as a CEO as the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic became increasingly clear.

The appointment of the chair of the board, as well a decision on the CEO role, will be watched closely by supporters should a takeover go through.

First and foremost, it will give a clear indication as to where the power lies in a new regime, and who is leading decision making.

Of equal importance will be what it tells us about whether lessons of the last two-and-a-half years have been learned.

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Sunderland cannot be run effectively from elsewhere, certainly not on a micro level. It is too big, and too important.

Determine and outline a clear football strategy

The future of the first-team manager will undoubtedly be one of the biggest talking points that accompanies any takeover.

Phil Parkinson's position, though, is just one part of the bigger question about how Sunderland and any new regime plans to be successful over a period of time.

The club has been hamstrung by some level of boardroom uncertainty for the best part of a decade, and the effects on the pitch have been ruinous.

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With no long-term vision on the pitch, the club has lurched from manager to manager, and transfer window to transfer window, with no discernible consistency.

The repercussions have been severe, both in terms of results and finances.

None of this is to say that Sunderland need to be wedded to a single system or shape, or that there is no room for flexibility on the pitch.

What it does, need, however, is a broad strategy for what the side should look and play like.

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From this, crucial decisions in terms of staff, recruitment and academy progression can be made with clarity and an increased chance of success.

A decision over the manager should be two-fold.

Yes, it should be guided by performances and an assessment of the likelihood of winning a crucial promotion from League One.

Just as important, though, is whether their style and approach fits in with other key decision makers.

That serves to increase not just a current manager's chances of success, but their successor, too.

Rebuild the recruitment department

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Sunderland's decline has been inextricably linked with its failures in recruitment.

Now in the third season of the Madrox era, it is hugely debatable whether there has been much progress made in that regard.

The summer window was a curious one in that represented something of a hybrid approach, and also reflected a changing of the guard behind the scenes.

Sunderland's plans were significantly affected by the introduction of new salary cap rules, as well as the departures of Richard Hill and Tony Coton.

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With the arrival of Rodwell as CEO, and the growing influence of the club's non-executive directors, a long overdue move to a more analytical approach made the positions of Hill and Coton untenable.

The signing of Arbenit Xhemajli, a significant departure from any addition made in the previous four windows, reflected that.

There were, too, a smattering of experienced League One campaigners brought in as Parkinson's influence came through.

While Rodwell has naturally assumed a lot of Hill's responsibilities in terms of recruitment, Coton's position remains vacant.

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Below that, it remains a department still hugely underpowered.

The scouting network was dismantled by Madrox after their takeover, and it took too long for any rebuilding to be done. This was despite their first manager warning in the interview process that his knowledge of the English market was limited.

Fans noted with interest a report from L'Equipe over the weekend, suggesting that the consortium were already considering installing a Sporting Director.

Sunderland's previous attempts at following this model have been a disaster, but as time passed that came to be seen as an issue with the personnel, rather than the model itself.

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It is well known that in the short term, even an owner with the deepest pockets will be able to make little impression on Sunderland's squad. The Black Cats are right on the brink of the League One salary cap and the room for manoeuvre in January is set to be minimal.

With that in mind, one of the soundest investments would be to rebuild the recruitment department.

Do that, and when the opportunity to spend presents itself, the club will have a far better chance of avoiding the errors of the Short era.

Commit to Category One status & reach out to those who have left

Rodwell revealed last month that his preferred candidate for the role of Academy Manager has opted against taking the role.

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As such, it's a position still vacant and a key, early priority for any new regime.

The biggest step forward Sunderland can take in protecting their best talents from being poached by big Premier League clubs is stepping up the pyramid at first-team level themselves.

Nevertheless, it should give pause for thought that some of those who left have cited a perceived ambivalence from the club hierarchy, as well as a lack of pathway to the first team even in League One, as key factors in their decision.

For a new regime and a new academy manager, reaching out to those players and learning more about their experiences seems a good starting point for improvement.

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It's also key that the new academy manager has a permanent base on Wearside, enabling strong relationships to be built.

Improving the pathway should be an inevitable consequence of setting out and establishing consistency in terms of the first team's playing style and objectives.

One other issue that players have cited is the weakness of the U18 and U23 sides, which some felt stunted their development.

The current regime have taken some encouraging steps to address that, with a more experienced U23 side producing significantly improved results so far this season.

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That is something for a new owner to build on, while strengthening the structures in order to prevent a repeat of two very damaging years in terms of player departures.

Protect the future of women's football in the city

Sunderland have insisted that everything was in place to support the club's return to the top tiers of the women's game, only for the season to be curtailed due to the pandemic.

Sunderland were utterly dominant in their division, and a series of inevitable but frustrating departures from a talented playing squad followed.

When they return to action, Sunderland will be in a decent position to push back towards the top of the table.

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Yet again, the talent in the region has been underlined by the rapid progression of a number of young players. The quality is unquestionably there to return to the upper tiers. The future can be bright, and it is up to a new regime to safeguard it.

Take a pro-active approach to squad building

This should be a natural consequence of getting the footballing structure right, but it's worth reflecting on for a moment nevertheless.

Sunderland's best two players of the Madrox era, Jon McLaughlin and Josh Maja, left for a fraction of their true value as a result of poorly-handled contract negotiations.

Hill was widely praised by Madrox figures for his role in talks over the future of players such as Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong, but a confrontational approach increasingly alienated agents.

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Coupled with the uncertainty at boardroom level that prevented proper forward planning; the impact was significant.

Any new regime will arrive at the club with a handful of players with real future value heading towards the last six months of their deal.

It's another area that would underline the progress or otherwise of a new regime.

It's imperative that players such as Denver Hume, Luke O'Nien and Jordan Willis don't follow the same route as Maja.

Create consistency in supporter relations

Madrox began by making themselves accessible to supporters.

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After the malaise and silence of the latter years of Short's tenure, it was refreshing and welcomed.

Relations, though, suffered significantly when inconsistencies over much of what was said became clear, and many of the lofty promises did not lead to anything substantial.

The solution for any regime is two-fold.

Day-to-day leadership on Wearside, whether through the chair of the board or the CEO, will provide an obvious reference point for communications, both through the media and directly to supporters.

Sunderland has a thriving fan culture, from fanzines to its branches and the Red & White Army.

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The flurry of life and colour in the Roker End, as well as the staggering attendance for a Boxing Day win over Bradford City, showed the power there to be harnessed.

It isn't about grand promises, just honesty and consistency.

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