Lee Congerton Departs Sunderland

Sunderland's dalliances with the Director of Football model are over. Lee Congerton has all but parted ways with the Black Cats according to reports. It has emerged that the former Hamburg man has been placed on garden leave while he sees out the remainder of his notice period.

Why this has happened now just as the January transfer window is about to start in earnest isn't clear. However it transpires that Congerton's involvement in identifying transfer targets and even contract negotiations of the under 21 squad has been limited. Perhaps there seemed little point in delaying the inevitable any longer.

Congerton handed in his notice at the same time as Dick Advocatt but stayed on to help newly appointed Sam Allarydce settle in. Allardyce was appointed as manager rather than head coach and it was always going to be difficult to see where Congerton was going to fit in even on a temporary basis.

Looking back on his time at the club it would be fair to say that overall it hasn't particularly been a success.  Certainly there seemed to be more professionalism than that which was shown by his predecessor but it always seemed like Congerton deployed a scatter gun, opportunistic approach to his role. Under his stewardship players were brought in based on availability rather than a need to fill a specific position in a particularly system and that has cost the club dearly over the years.

Swapping Jozy Altidore for Jermain Defoe was probably Congerton's highlight but even that can't overshadow the resounding disappointment that comes to mind when putting the words Director of Football and Sunderland together.