Sunderland fan blog: Alex Neil's exit to Stoke City hurts deeply as a bizarre day on Wearside ends in disaster

Less than 24 hours before a crunch match against Norwich City at the Stadium of Light and less than a week before the transfer window closes.

This one hurts. Badly.

For Sunderland and Alex Neil, this was not how it was meant to end. Yet, possibly this is the worst way for Neil's tenure to come to an end.

Gutting.

Yet, this feels like it could have been altered.

Questions will be asked, fingers will be pointed, voices will be heard. And trust me, if the reaction to this truly bizarre day on the pitch is a disaster, you’ll be able to hear those voices.

Internally, the search for Neil’s successor will churn on again. Externally, this will hurt for the coming days and weeks.

But for a long time yet, we won’t know the true circumstance for this devastating departure from Wearside. Lack of transfer spending? That 12-month rolling contact?

What is certain is that the blame will lie fully at the door of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman & Co.

This wasn’t meant to happen.

There’s no doubt this possibility should have been eradicated after the Wembley triumph in May. It shouldn’t have been allowed to go on for this long.

When Neil stepped through the door, the club were in a mid-season crisis. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the club are back in a crisis, but the club need to respond to this one, quickly and efficiently.

Perhaps we should have seen this coming.

Over the past couple of weeks, Neil voiced his frustration at the lack of transfer funds; he couldn’t “knock on the door anymore”, whilst the 12-month rolling contract always looked like it could end in disaster from the start.

Yet, in all of the uproar and noise created from this utterly remarkable day on Wearside, what Neil brought back to this footballing City needs to be considered.

This was a club heading for another season of despair upon his arrival, but he brought the good times back to supporting this club, providing memories to last a lifetime from that Wembley weekend in May.

But, this ending to the Neil reign leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

For this crop of youngsters that were shaped by Neil, where do they go from here? How will they react?

The only real answer will be sought in the coming days in a home double against Norwich City and Rotherham.

Fans need answers and a response. The answers needed soon, while the response will only come on the pitch.

Neil’s legacy upon leaving Wearside is one that ends upon pure heartache: this was simply not how it was meant to end in this thriving relationship between head coach and supporters.

On a day where it was revealed the Netflix cameras were back in the North East, this proved to be a blockbuster end to the Neil tenure for the cameras, but a devastating one for the fans.

Another purely bizarre day on Wearside ends in disaster.