Could Sunderland strike it Marić with a move for René?

09/05/2024 07:00

As speculation as to who'll take over at the Stadium of Light continues to swirl, Tom Albrighton looks at some of the potential runners and riders

Sunderland's 2023/2024 season didn't just peter out. Instead, it eventually ground to a juddering halt.

The reality is that the season was effectively written off when Michael Beale took the reins, but even despite the writing being on the wall for several months, the manner in which Sunderland have stalled has been depressingly impressive.

That said, there was always the possibility of a different outcome, and after the success of Francisco Farioli at Nice, many fans have asked, 'What could've been?'

With a new name in René Marić leading the betting odds alongside Will Still, I'll be taking a look at the bosses with whom we were previously linked before leaving you to decide whether it's time for the club take the plunge and go for their left-field, European-based 'turbo nerd', or to keep things a bit closer to home.

Will Still

Still is the name on everyone's lips and if reports are to be believed, he was the man who came closest to getting the job before the disastrous appointment of Beale.

However, since the turn of the year, things haven't been plain sailing, with Reims only picking up four wins in 2024.

Fans of clean sheets may also want to look away now, as since he was first linked with the Sunderland job, Still's Reims side have been incredibly leaky.

One mitigating factor is that they lost the bulk of their players early in the year to the AFCON, but their relatively poor run since New Year's Day has seen them drop to eleventh in Ligue 1, with Still's winning percentage dropping to 38%.

Things have since taken an interesting turn, with Still leaving Reims with immediate effect late last week and the speculation being fuelled once again.

Kim Hellberg

Shortly after being linked with the Sunderland job, the hipsters' pick of Kim Hellberg found himself remaining in his native Sweden at the helm of Hammarby.

Due to how the Allsvenskan operates, their season is very much in its infancy, but during Hellberg's ten competitive games in charge, Hammarby have won just four.

Information on operations in Sweden is thin on the ground but it seems that for a mid-table side, there hasn't been any clear or immediate regression under Hellberg.

How the job pans out for him remains to be seen, but the fact that he didn't manage to make the jump out of Sweden is probably telling.

Steven Schumacher

It was always a given that Schumacher would eventually leave Plymouth and work his way up the ladder, and whilst you'd like to think we showed some interest in him, it was the red and white of Stoke that he opted for.

Taking over an objective mess from another former Sunderland gaffer in Alex Neil, Stoke have been a bit erratic under their new boss, winning eight and drawing six of his twenty four league games in charge.

A winning percentage of 33% represents the same return as a certain Michael Beale, albeit in a far more palatable package.

Steve Evans

Evans has one fan, and I'm that fan, and if Evans has no fans, then I'm dead.

Initially, he only made the list because he's an experienced British manager and it was a little bit funny because he's a law unto himself.

However, Evans continued his relentless form with Stevenage until earlier this month, before leaving them in a quite frankly incredible ninth place in League One.

He then made a return to former club Rotherham, where he's been tasked with overseeing an immediate return to the Championship for the Millers.

A winning percentage of 47.5% over 120 games at Stevenage highlights just how good a job he did.

The also-rans...

Kevin Muscat was once a popular name in the betting and he fuelled the speculation when he left Yokohama F. Marinos before eventually ending up at Shanghai Port (you'll remember them for being the lads who signed Oscar) and racking up six wins in ten.

Another name that was linked (presumably because he's French) was Julien Sablé.

The assistant to Farioli, he's still waiting for his big break in management, with his mind-bendingly good 0% win rate.

A name that also did the rounds, although one can't be sure of how strong the link was, was that of Frank Lampard.

Since his disastrous spell at Everton, it's little surprise that Lampard didn't get the Sunderland job and is still without work.