Sunderland sacked manager Tony Mowbray at the start of December, with the club down in ninth and aspirations of battling for promotion once again under threat. As the new year approaches, the hunt for a permanent successor is ongoing at the Stadium of Light.
Mike Dodds has been placed in caretaker charge for the last two fixtures, and will also oversee the trip to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon. During his stint in the dugout, Sunderland have collected back-to-back wins, first beating West Brom 2-1 before a 1-0 midweek victory over Leeds United. Those victories have moved them back into the Championship play-off places, albeit only ahead of Hull City on goal difference.
There has been a major development on Friday as the Black Cats close in on a deal with Michael Beale.
Michael Beale set to join Sunderland
According to The Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson, the club held “preliminary talks” with Beale this week, and now Sky Sports’ Keith Downie reports that a deal is close.
“Sunderland are in advanced talks with Michael Beale over their managerial vacancy. Expecting the former Rangers & QPR manager to be named as Tony Mowbray’s successor.”
Beale began his coaching career in the youth ranks at Chelsea and Liverpool and also had a stint as the assistant manager of Brazilian club Sao Paulo. When Reds legend Steven Gerrard got his first shot at senior management with Rangers in 2018, he recruited Beale to be part of his coaching staff, and together, they helped mastermind an unbeaten run to Scottish Premiership glory in 2020/21.
That feat caught the attention of Premier League Aston Villa, with Beale once again following Gerrard to the Midlands to continue their partnership in the autumn of 2021. At the end of that season, Beale was offered the chance to become the lead man at QPR, and he took it.
He only spent six months at Loftus Road before returning to Rangers following the sacking of Giovanni van Bronckhorst to take on the Ibrox role full-time. In a trophy-less first season, he finished seven points adrift of Celtic, and when the Gers found themselves behind by the same margin after just seven games this season, they took action and Beale suffered his first sacking.
What formation does Michael Beale use?
While some Sunderland supporters will no doubt be wary of hiring Beale off the back of his failure in Scotland, they should take heart from what he achieved at QPR. The London club had finished 11th in the season before he took over, and wound up as low as 20th under Gareth Ainsworth after Beale’s departure. In the interim, though, the Englishman had them top of the league table, and a highly respectable seventh when he left.
This was even more impressive when you consider that he wasn’t furnished with any meaningful transfer budget, instead simply recruiting players on loan deals and frees (via Transfermarkt). What Sunderland need right now is a coach equipped to thrive in the Championship, and the evidence is encouraging.
The 43-year-old, who loves to use an attack-minded 4-3-3 (via Transfermarkt), has won praise as both a tactician and a man-manager. Speaking on the Robbie Fowler Podcast in 2022 (via The Daily Record), Gerrard likened him to Brendan Rodgers and Jose Mourinho in his coaching expertise.
“A lot of people won’t have a clue what Michael Beale does on the training pitch, but what he does is really quite special. I haven’t had the luxury of retiring early from the game or not being a player, in terms of having that pitch time to really become a coach for the past 20 years like a Brendan Rodgers, a Mourinho or a Michael Beale.”
Encouragingly, one of his former players has spoken highly of the manager’s personal touch. In an interview with the club’s official website, QPR defender Jake Clarke-Salter said Beale had given him the tools to thrive.
“It’s always nice when the manager has your back,” he said. “He’s a really good man-manager, he gives us all confidence and hopefully I can repay that with my performances when I’m back.”
