Fan Letters: Strong views from our readers re: Jack Ross and his position as Sunderland manager!

Dear Roker Report,

Jack Ross is not up to the Sunderland job, tactics are no good - score first and sit back to see if the opposition score. If the owners watched games they must see the team and the way we play is simply not good enough, even for div 1.

Get some investment in and a manager that knows how to play attacking football.

I would go for Nigel Pearson he would sort them out.

If we have to rely on Ross we will never go up.

Baz T

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Nigel Pearson?! Christ. He’s hardly famed for attacking football.

I get that people are disappointed with the fact we never got promoted - we all are - but some of the stuff I’ve read since we lost the Play-Off Final has had me scratching my head. Suggesting Nigel Pearson as the next Sunderland manager is right up there!

But... on Ross. Yes, the football hasn’t been pretty. He failed in his ultimate goal to get us promoted and now there can be no excuses - he absolutely has to win the division next season, improve the squad, improve the standard of the football and above all else achieve good results right from the off. The good grace that Sunderland fans have afforded Ross won’t last very long if they continue to see signs that the club isn’t moving in the direction they feel we should be, and I’m sure Ross is very aware of this.

He doesn’t seem stubborn and I’m going to presume that he will think long and hard about where he went wrong last season. He’s got to have the chance to rebuild the squad.

Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

Finished in our worst position in our history - hard to bear for our magnificent supporters.

Too many bad decisions, starting with selling the top scorer at an important stage.

Two strikers who failed miserably, Ross failed to get anything out of them when they have scored in League One before - why?

No second right back, O’Nien better in midfield. Ozturk missing for seven months, Loovens missing since December. youngsters AWOL.

High earners and players from the Premiership failed miserably.

And DRAW Ross never got to grips with English football. His lack of passion got to the players - he has to go. If he doesn’t, Donald and his cronies must go.

Cain J

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Another strong view re: Ross! Stewart Donald has already made it very clear that he’s right behind Jack Ross and whether you agree or not, that’s the case and we have to hope that they get things right over the summer to ensure our squad is capable of getting out of this league in a strong position both on and off the field.

Much of your argument centres on poor recruitment, and I’m not really sure we can point the finger at Ross in that regard. He’s got a massive say in what happens, obviously, but his job is not primarily to scout and target players. We have people in place who do that job for him, and to a degree I sympathise with Ross in that they struggled in both windows to sign the kind of striker he wanted. Lyle Taylor was the big mistake of the summer window, whilst selling our top scorer only to fail to adequately replace his goals in January hurt us badly.

As I’ve said in the reply above, Ross has to nail it or he’ll be out on his ear early doors. I’m sure he knows this and the fans have to hope that the promise and pragmatism that Ross showed early in his spell in charge come back to the fore with a vengeance this summer.

Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

With regards to the Wembley play off final - I have just had a pint in Glasgow with a Scottish mate who is a qualified referee, and he reckons he would have given a foul against a Charlton forward who obstructed a Sunderland defender as the ball was crossed for the winning goal (he is not related to Jack Ross).

I was at the other end at Wembley but looking at a replay of the goal I think he has a point.

Who said black cats are lucky?

Brian Swinburne

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Aye, I think there’s definitely a case to suggest that Oviedo was fouled in the build up... but, it means bot all now. I think if the ref had awarded a foul it might have been a soft one - though I wouldn’t have complained if he’d given it.