Former Sunderland ace Phil Gray opens up on Stewart Donald and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Josh Maja's departure and John Cooke's redundancy

The Northern Irishman speaks about his old club with a fire and passion which has not diluted 25-years after his departure from Roker Park.

Gray, 52, left Wearside in 1996 with Sunderland having just been promoted to the Premier League.

A quarter of a century later and the club are competing in League One for a third straight season – an unprecedented low in the Black Cats’ illustrious history.

Indeed, recent failings have pushed questions of identity to the forefront of Sunderland fans’ consciousness, something unthinkable in Gray's day.

That issue, then, will surely be one of the key areas new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will look to address as the club finally embarks on a new course following the Stewart Donald era.

But what can the 23-year-old – who is estimated to have a trust fund worth more than £2billion – rebuild Sunderland around?

“The supporters,” Gray answers instantly. “We always knew if the support was behind us on a cold day at Roker Park that they would urge us on.

“When we used to go to places like Reading there would be 3,000 supporters and it was absolutely fantastic.

“The support is a massive loss for Sunderland at the minute, especially at home, it’s a big loss for the Sunderland supporters not to be there home and away.”

Another debate that has surrounded the club during recent campaigns is whether the weight of expectation from supporters has become a hindering factor.

Has Sunderland's passionate fanbase placed too much pressure on their team?

Gray, however, positions responsibility firmly on the shoulders of the Sunderland players.

“My first 10 games at Sunderland, I didn’t score,” the Belfast-born former Tottenham striker remembers. “I had the car crash and all that but I’m not making excuses.

“I was also staying in a hotel but I should have been looking after myself better than I did.

“There’s always a little bit of pressure but it doesn’t matter which club you’re playing for, there’s always pressure to do your best.

“It is hard because everyone wants you to do well. If you weren’t doing well then people would get on your back a little bit.

“But then again, they have the right to if you’re not playing well, but that shouldn’t bother players, they shouldn’t be thinking about that.

“As soon as the whistle goes you should be concentrating on the game.”

With Sunderland now in a new era with enthusiastic ownership, Gray was quick to point out past failings from former majority stakeholder Donald.

The businessman purchased the club from American tycoon Ellis Short in May 2018.

However, after several public relation disasters and some questionable decisions, Donald stepped down as chairman two-years later.

At the heart of fan unrest – which involved a co-ordinated protest from several supporter groups – lay concerns around the club’s finances, younger players departing and the failure to win promotion out of League One.

After stepping down as chairman in July last year, Donald publicly placed his 74% stake in the club up for sale.

The club finally changed hands in February 2021 with Louis-Dreyfus gaining control following a long process.

Another decision under the former regime that went down badly with fans, however, was the departure of John Cooke, a popular former Sunderland player and long-term kitman.

Cooke, speaking in December, said it was 'very disappointing' to have been made redundant 'without even a mention’ that he had left.

The decision prompted an outcry, with disgruntled fans setting up a crowdfunding page which was supported by former club figures Peter Reid and Thomas Sorensen.

And Gray – who worked alongside Cooke during his time on Wearside from 1993 to 1996 – still finds his redundancy a bitter pill to swallow.

“Unbelievable,” Gray, who netted 34 times in 115 league appearances for Sunderland, said. “I can’t believe Cookie has gone.

“I mean cost-cutting with the kitman? Come on, be real… with players who are earning an absolute fortune.

“I think in our day we would have chipped in and kept him and told the club to hold on a second.

“You can’t get rid of someone like Cookie. He's been there 30 years, I think he was there seven or eight years before I was there.”

Indeed, the club’s decision to make Cooke redundant sent ripples through the Academy of Light.

Cooke’s son and Sunderland youth teamer Jay Turner-Cooke took to social media to voice his displeasure, blasting the club as having ‘no class, no loyalty, no respect.’

Following an investigation into his conduct by Sunderland, Turner-Cooke was snapped up by North East rivals Newcastle United.

“With his son leaving the club,” Gray added. “They’ve bitten off their nose to spite their face.”

Unfortunately, Turner-Cooke is not the first hot prospect to depart the Academy of Light for pastures new.

Joe Hugill left for Manchester United and is excelling at youth level alongside Logan Pye.

Sam Greenwood finds himself at Leeds United via Arsenal, while Bali Mumba was sold to Norwich City.

Ethan Robson, now at Blackpool, and Hull City’s George Honeyman were also allowed to leave the club.

Add to the list the names of Josh Maja, now scoring for Fulham, alongside Luca Stephenson and Luke Hewitson, who were both poached by Liverpool, and you could be forgiven for stating that Sunderland have lost a golden generation of first-team players.

“The club has let a lot of young lads go,” Gray bemoaned. “The young lad Josh Maja who went to Bordeaux but has now come back to Fulham.

“He did great at Sunderland and made a name for himself but sometimes you have to push the boat out and keep him.

“Letting him go and bringing in Will Grigg – was that the right thing to do? It’s things like that.

“With transfers, you’re always going to get good ones and bad ones.

But could Donald and Sunderland, in Gray’s opinion, have done more to keep that crop of talented players at the club for a longer period of time?

“Sunderland are always going to be a selling club for the big boys, you look at my other club Luton and they are the same.

“In my day, we had Craig Russell, Martin Smith, Micky Gray, Dickie Ord, who all eventually left.

“Now it’s not very often that a player would stay for eight or nine years now like Bally and Benno.

“It’s still massively disheartening for the supporters to see young lads getting shipped on and doing really well for other clubs.”

Much looks set to change for the better on Wearside but Gray’s words form a poignant reminder of past failures that Sunderland’s new owners cannot afford to repeat.

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