Fan Letters: Readers ponder Phil Parkinson’s position - should Sunderland cut their losses?

Dear Roker Report,

I have been a season ticket holder since the age of 7 and I thought things couldn’t get any worse than the 2 relegation seasons but I was wrong. We are at an all time low. Tuesday nights game was one of the worst I’ve witnessed in terms of tactics passion player interest and atmosphere. It’s as if us the crowd turned up expecting another drab pathetic clueless performance from safc.

Donald and Methven are out of their depth the 2 biggest decisions they’ve had to make while in charge of safc they’ve got completely wrong in first appointing Ross as manager and then replacing him with an even worse manager in parkinson. They both smack of the cheapest easiest options who did ok at smaller clubs. Methven says the p*ss taking has stopped and are only signing players on 1 and 2 year contracts yet give an unemployed manager who noone else would touch a nyon 3 year contract. Absolutely clueless. The only way to redeem the situation is to bite the bullet sack parkinson and get warnock in ASAP or we are drifting into league 2 where there will be less than half of the reported 26 thou fans there next season.

Genuinely worried for my football club under this ownership. What yous reckon?

Dan Regan

Ed’s Note [Tom]: Hi Dan, I think Donald and Methven gained control of Sunderland when we were in absolute dire straits - apparently we were days away from administration at that time. They’ve made some progress, but as you note they’ve also made some really poor errors of judgement and right now the club is definitely struggling.

I’m not sure where we go next, if truth be told.

Parkinson isn’t doing well - that goes without saying - but I’m not sure who else would be able to come in and change our fortunes? Pearson is the name constantly being touted, yet I feel like we’d have surely snapped his hand off if he was truthfully available? Stendel was also named, but it looks like he’s off to Hearts (we missed out there).

Would Warnock take the job on? I’m not sure, but I’d like to think so. It really feels like we’re stuck in limbo. We need to make a decision before the end of the month, however, because this upcoming window is crucial to the rest of this season and beyond. We’re in a really difficult situation, mate, and I don’t know where we go next.

Photo by Cardiff City FC/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

The biggest “blot on Stewart Donald” is taking our club to the lowest level it’s ever been in. He had limited funds when he bought the club and gambled that we would go up last season and in the process he would have made millions. He lost and we now are paying the price. All we’ve seen is cutting everything to the bone and getting players and the manager on the cheap. SAFC is not a non league club, but the mentality of those running our club is.

After reading the damning articles in the Mail, Telegraph and the Sun and going back on all the contradictory statements given by both CM and SD over the last 18 months (easily found by using google) it is very clear why we are in this position.

You can defend our owners and continue to give them the benefit of doubt but the groundswell of fans now realising the painful truth is growing. Every supporter knew when Ross was sacked that we needed a replacement that would not only lift the players but more importantly the fans. Getting Parkinson was an opportunity lost. That was the time for SD to make a clear statement of intent. Unfortunately he did but not in the way we wanted.

Sam

Ed’s Note [Tom]: Hi Sam, it’s clear to see that the owners have made a host of mistakes - I’m sure they’ll admit that themselves. As ever with our site, there’s an array of opinions from an array of contributors - there’s rarely ever a direct unified opinion on behalf of “Roker Report”. My opinions likely differ to at least half of our contributors!

That being said, on present viewing, I agree with your note that Parkinson isn’t performing as many had hoped, and that is a major issue. Where the owners turn to next, I don’t know, but they need to be bold if we are to salvage anything from this season.

Photo by Dave Howarth/EMPICS/PA Images via Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

We keep hear people banging the drum on Parkinson’s proven track record. The truth of the matter is he has two promotions and two relegations and sacked 3 times when he had teams in bottom three. He was the cheapest option available, he has lost the supporters and it looks like he has lost the dressing room. One of the main reasons why Donald sacked Ross was because the fans had turned. Make no mistake he could relegate us. I feel for Parkinson but he had to hit the ground running and that hasn’t happened so get shot. Replace him with Warnock a man with a real proven track record of promotions 8 times to be precise on top of that various rescue jobs. He would build a big, physical, quick, nasty side and would quickly get rid of the soft underbelly we have had for years. He also has a track record for doing this on a shoestring perfect fit for what we need. So come on Donald let’s grow a set and change it before you totally lose the respect of the fans

John Bell

Ed’s Note [Tom]: Hi John, I think the owners looked at Parkinson’s last stint in League One and went for it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but you’re right: Parkinson had to hit the ground running, and he really hasn’t. You could argue that we’ve regressed under his management thus far. I think Warnock would be a good appointment, but I’m not sure how keen he’d be to manage us.

He lives down South, is apparently considering retirement, and would possibly be hesitant to take on such a huge task right now. I’m also not sure we could afford him. Stendel was my pick after Ross, but he might be off to Hearts. I don’t know who’s on our radar, to be honest, but the situation is pretty bleak right now, isn’t it?