Fan Letters: "Chill out, enjoy the summer, and don’t worry about things you can’t control!" (2024)

Dear Roker Report,

We’re seeing the same old letters every day about the situation at Sunderland.

The fans need to relax, because even if the club is nowhere near hiring a new head coach, there’s nothing we can do but give ourselves a heart attack stressing about it.

All the speculation is based on newspaper reports; recently, Paul Heckingbottom was supposedly getting the Plymouth job but now it’s Wayne Rooney.

The journalists don’t have a clue, our fans need to remember this, and it’s the same with players, as 99% of the ones we’re linked with are not being signed or are even in the club’s thinking.

No fan, with hand on heart, can name with confidence the head coaches the club are targeting. It’s all speculation.

Fans were complaining that Will Still is too inexperienced and that they don’t want him, but are now complaining that he’s supposedly been talking to Norwich City. Do the fans want him or don’t they?

On Michael Beale as head coach, does anyone not think that a potential head coach may look at the way the fans treated Beale from the moment he signed on the dotted line and think ‘that club isn’t for me’?

I don’t for one minute think that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has anything but Sunderland’s best interests at heart.

He’s addressing many, if not all of the off-field issues that the fans complained about. However, some fans are saying that he needs to concentrate on the playing side! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

I’m sure that some of our fans just enjoy moaning, especially on this forum. I’m certain that if you gave them a bag of gold, they’d complain that it was too heavy to carry.

Let’s enjoy the stress-free Saturdays and hope they get it right, as it looks like they would’ve done had we got Francesco Farioli, but admittedly it never worked out with Beale.

Peter Welsh

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Peter. Thank you for your letter.

Personally, I really don’t believe that when it comes to the identity of our next head coach, people are merely moaning for the sake of it, or that they’re taking any pleasure in the uncertainty that’s currently swirling around the club.

We all know that rumours and gossip thrive in the vacuum that appears when a season finishes and the club effectively shuts up shop.

Although we’re not owed a running commentary about what’s going on, who’s in the frame, and so on, they do need to make a decision soon, because hiring a new head coach is just one of many issues on the agenda this summer.

We care deeply about our club and we want to see it thrive, after all, and given that we finished a mere six points above the relegation zone, people have a right to ask questions and to be concerned about what’s going on.

We’ve been without a permanent head coach since February, and following Mike Dodds’ brutal spell in interim charge, it’s not unreasonable to expect some decisive action from those in the boardroom.

There are going to be some major managerial reshuffles in the Championship this summer, and it’s absolutely imperative that we don’t find ourselves scrambling around to hire someone who might’ve been way down the list of potential candidates.

Trust in those running a football club is earned, and in recent months, Sunderland have wasted a large amount of the goodwill they’d built up. It might sound harsh, but it’s true, and they can’t afford to get this appointment wrong, because the stakes are far too high.

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Dear Roker Report,

I’m sure that I’m not alone in wishing our U21s the best for their final against Spurs.

Haway, lads. Show some determination and teamwork and you’ll do yourselves proud.

Good luck, and Haway the Lads!

Stuart Scott

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Stuart. Thank you for getting in touch.

The success of our U21 side, which is due in no small part to some sterling work undertaken by Graeme Murty and his team, has been one of the real bright spots for Sunderland in recent months.

The Lads seem to be playing with a lot of confidence as well as the kind of never-say-spirit that’s helped them to dig out some superb results this season.

It would be a huge boost if they could take the final step against Spurs, but even if they don’t, it looks as though the future is bright for the Sunderland Academy, and that’s something to be excited about.

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Dear Roker Report,

I’m watching from the other side of the world in Australia, but I’m a longtime Sunderland supporter.

I still remember the day my dad took me to Roker Park to watch his beloved Sunderland play.

Little did I realise that the passion of my dad, as well as my grandfathers and uncles, would one day become mine, and as I grew older, my life was consumed by looking forward to every game that I could afford to attend.

Living in Darlington, I would climb aboard the red double decker bus which wound its way through many small towns and villages on its way to Sunderland, where I would catch up with my beloved grandfather club for a beer at the working men’s club.

Sadly, my life took another direction some forty-plus years ago and I found myself living on the other side of the world in Australia.

Thanks to modern technology, I quickly found ways to watch my beloved Sunderland at every opportunity, and as I grow older, my lasting wish is to return home to once again cheer for my team from the terraces one last time.

Win, lose or draw, we are who we were born to be: Mackems.

This will never change because our undying love for this club is stronger than many can or ever will understand.

Sunderland ‘Til I Die…but hopefully not yet!

‘We will prevail, we will return to our rightful place among the best. This I believe because in our eyes and hearts, we are the best.’

Brian Simpson

Dear Roker Report,

I’ve followed Sunderland for fifty years and I’m fed up with things from the board downwards.

The likes of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Kristjaan Speakman, Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor have to leave.

It’s a complete and utter joke that months after Michael Beale was sacked, we’re no closer to appointing a new head coach. It just shows how inept the board are.

Fiona Shirren

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Fiona. Thank you for your letter.

Admittedly, things don’t look particularly great at Sunderland right now, with a lot of uncertainty swirling around and the identity of our new head coach still unknown.

Whoever it is, I fully agree that Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor can’t be anywhere near the first team setup for next season. We need a clean sweep in the dugout and a new first team coaching staff in place if we’re to avoid a repeat of the struggles of 2023/2024.

Let’s hope that’s what happens.

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