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HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: Michael Beale the head coach / manager of Sunderland reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Sunderland at John Smith's Stadium on February 14, 2024 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Michael Beale’s as Sunderland AFC head coach was — and still is — a period that many fans don’t reflect fondly upon.
Beale had the difficult task of replacing Tony Mowbray as the main man at the club after Mowbray’s slightly surprising dismissal as head coach.
Mowbray was loved by most fans for his warm and kind nature, coupled with the attractive style of football that the Lads played under his stewardship. Unfortunately for all involved, it seemed that differing opinions on the club’s strategy and recruitment plan saw things go a little awry as Mowbray was keen for an experienced centre forward to help ease the pressure that rested on Jack Clarke’s shoulders during the 2023/2024 season.
Mowbray’s dismissal brought an opportunity for many head coaches who appeared to be interested in the job — chiefly Will Still, who appeared to be the club’s number one candidate. As it was, it seemed that Still had a hefty price tag placed on him by Reims, who wanted to do everything to keep a coach who was the one of the hottest properties in the game.
This led to Kristjaan Speakman looking at alternatives and one name that became increasingly prominent was that of Beale, who’d only recently departed his role as manager of Glasgow Rangers. However, as talk of Beale becoming our head coach became more and more prominent, the backlash from the fans grew stronger.
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Rightly or wrongly, Beale’s mannerisms and confident demeanour coupled with his failed spell as Rangers manager left many people disappointed with his potential appointment after the enjoyable reign of Mowbray, during which the connection between the fans and the team had improved drastically.
Beale was appointed on December 18, just days before our clash with Coventry City at the Stadium of Light, and his first game was nothing short of a nightmare, as amid the heaviest of rainfall, his hopes and aspirations came crashing down, putting him on the back foot and in survival mode as the fans made their feelings clear.
A win against Hull City offered him some breathing space before a heavy FA Cup defeat against Newcastle United in early January marked the beginning of the end as the team showed little ambition to even try and beat their arch-rivals at the Stadium of Light.
Despite still lingering just outside the playoffs, the style of play had changed completely, with a conservative approach coupled with a complete reliance on Clarke becoming very apparent and also a stick to beat him with.
Additionally, the support for Beale within the boardroom began to flounder as he openly criticised the fact that the team had no centre forward within their ranks — which was similar to the issues that Mowbray also encountered with the club after Ross Stewart was sold.
After poor away defeats to Ipswich and Huddersfield, a loss to Birmingham City — now managed by Mowbray — was the final straw for the club. After Clarke had given Sunderland the lead, the team slipped up and conceded two goals to lose in what was becoming a trend of losing tight games against supposed weaker opposition.
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What’s more, the defeat wasn’t the worst thing to happen at St Andrew’s as videos began to circulate online during which it seemed fairly clear that Beale had ignored Trai Hume’s attempted handshake as he was taken off.
One particular account on Twitter — named ‘Player ID’ — was particularly vocal in their defence of Beale, retweeting posts suggesting fans of Sunderland are ‘entitled’ and also showing different views of his interaction (or lack thereof) with Hume. Allegedly, this was a ‘burner’ account of Beale’s that was being used to sing his own praises and express some critical views of Sunderland.
With all of this going on amid some terrible performances, Beale’s position at Sunderland became untenable and it was no surprise that he was sacked on this day two years ago, with Speakman breaking the news on the club website.
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