The on and off-pitch factors that have brought Sunderland to its lowest ebb

Perhaps the toughest thing to accept that this was an improvement.
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It was a draw with Blackpool in which Sunderland had, at the very least, shown some application.

The wider reality was somewhat starker.

A winless run stretched to eight games and this proud club dropped to the joint-lowest position in its history.

Blackpool score the opening goal at the Stadium of LightBlackpool score the opening goal at the Stadium of Light
Blackpool score the opening goal at the Stadium of Light

They had done so with something of a whimper.

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There was some tenacity but again, precious little craft. Two real openings in 90 minutes and both of them from set pieces. In the opening stages of the second half neither side seemed to have the conviction or belief to really chase a winning goal.

This is not what was sold when Stewart Donald rolled the dice and dismissed Jack Ross.

This was, he said, about improving the club’s chances of promotion. Best budget, best facilities, best squad.

A club statement issued a few days later said the club were looking forward to ‘an exciting few months on the pitch’.

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What has followed has been as dispiriting as any generation of supporter can recall.

It has not just been the results, no matter how woeful they have been.

It has been the turgid football, the distinct lack of excitement and the rapid acceleration of the growing disconnect between the club and the stands.

Everyone had their moment last season, when it felt like Sunderland had come back to them after years of decline.

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For many, it was day one, Lynden Gooch flying in at the back post.

For me it it took a little longer, such was the bruising from those brutal final months of Ellis Short’s ownership.

It was away at Walsall, a 2-2 draw that was far more than that.

Sunderland had started superbly but Max Power saw red, a harsh decision eventually overturned. When Josh Ginnelly thumped in a stunning effort from an acute angle early in the second half, Ross and his side looked done for.

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Instead Aiden McGeady tucked infield, took the game by the scruff of the neck and dragged his team with him.

When Lynden Gooch found the far corner, delirium took hold.

A couple of days later Barnsley were dismantled in a wild, open, exhilarating contest.

That was Sunderland then.

Flawed? Absolutely. But also tenacious, fun and often pretty good.

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Now they are muddled, flat and a reflection of a club that has gone backwards.

Ross will rue the dip in form that cost his side automatic promotion but in May, he reflected on the success of Luton and Barnsley. In truth, a major opportunity had already been missed for Sunderland to reset and relaunch.

Both sides had a model, an identity and a way of doing things.

Sunderland did not and the stasis that enveloped the club early in the summer meant he never had the chance to correct it.

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If there was a model to the club’s recruitment, an attempt to sign younger and more athletic, it was mostly his own.

The structures behind him were non-existent and those first windows no feel like a major missed opportunity to put down the roots for a long-term, sustainable project.

Recruitment should have been the first port of call.

We are going over old ground here but it is relevant at a time when Donald has changed course and seems committed to it no matter the short-term consequences.

Something had fractured between Ross and Sunderland, without a doubt, and anyone there when Lincoln picked them apart could see it.

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There was, though, a dearth of leadership that left Ross isolated and frustrated.

The unity that underpinned those first months of his tenure, when the club felt alive and exciting, has gone. Without it, those in charge have been found wanting.

Since the departure of Ross, the move seems to have been to try and make Sunderland more ‘League One’ ready.

Experience in this division was placed ahead of any other consideration in the managerial search, even though both Daniel Stendel and Nathan Jones were novices at this level last season.

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The division has moved on and though Wycombe’s functional style currently sits top, the top ten reflects a wide range of styles and philosophies.

Sunderland’s approach right now looks outdated and uninspiring, and the promise of a cure-all winter window is understandably falling on weary ears.

The squad is a poor fit for the style it is being asked to play and Aiden McGeady’s expulsion has raised the stakes even further.

Nothing says bad planning like a January overhaul, but that is where Sunderland find themselves.

Off the pitch, the picture looks little clearer.

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In his recent meeting with the Red & White Army and other supporter groups, Donald said that that Sunderland ‘were in a strong place with a lean team in place to run the club’.

Yet Charlie Methven and Tony Davison have left and not been replaced, while Juan Sartori has not been seen since Methven said we could expect to see a lot more of him nearly two months ago.

Before his departure, Methven suggested that the ideal way to run a club was with a managing director for the commercial operations, and some kind of director of football-type.

Sunderland have neither.

The exciting journey it felt like we were embarking on last season has unravelled and this campaign has felt every bit as challenging as that which saw Sunderland drop to this level in the first place.

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Since the start of November, Parkinson’s side have averaged less than three shots on target per game.

It’s a stat that reveals so much, symptomatic of a club that has badly lost its way both on and off the pitch.

Donald told supporters at that recent meeting that returning to the Premier League within five years is a realistic proposition.

In its current guise, Sunderland have never looked further away.