Mike Dodds looks to have bowed out from his Sunderland interim managerial duties with a 1-0 away defeat to Bristol City, the Black Cats coming unstuck at Ashton Gate in a tight contest versus the Robins.
This defeat opens up the possibility that ex-QPR figure Michael Beale could be confirmed as Tony Mowbray’s successor very soon, the hierarchy at the Stadium of Light wanting to keep fans onside with some positive developments after a disappointing away day in Bristol.
Beale is not a figure who will not come with his own controversy, however, as he was sacked by Rangers after a torrid time at Ibrox – a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen in September deemed the final straw – whilst the ex-Chelsea coach also walked out on QPR after six months into that job post.
Yet, the much-talked-about 43-year-old boss could instantly endear himself to his potential new Sunderland fanbase by ditching Abdoullah Ba from the starting lineup on his arrival.
The young Frenchman – who has started the last two games under Dodds – has failed to make much of an impact when fielded and was particularly below-par against Bristol City.
Abdoullah Ba’s numbers versus Bristol City
Dodds hauled Ba off in the second half after a second-rate showing at Ashton Gate, and substituted him off on the 63-minute mark for Jobe Bellingham to come on.
The 20-year-old lightweight was largely ineffective with his 24 touches of the ball, as per Sofascore, only registering a single shot on target in the game.
Moreover, Ba would lose all five of his duels in the contest – the 20-year-old winger was bullied by the Bristol City defenders all match, who shepherded the ex-Le Havre midfielder out of the encounter with ease.
Ba was also unsuccessful with his only dribble attempt up against the Robins, a disastrous afternoon in truth for the Sunderland man.
The Bristol City individual display even saw Andy Tomlinson of the Roker Report give Ba a 4/10 rating in his post-match thoughts article, stating that 5 foot 11 midfielder ‘usually made the wrong choice’ in crucial moments.
Beale could become an instant fan favourite at the Stadium of Light by showing authority early on from the dug-out and dropping Ba when he officially takes the reins, who had an equally torrid time of it even when the Black Cats beat Leeds United 1-0 before tripping up away from home.
Beale’s answer to Ba woes
There’s a multitude of possible routes Beale could go down after dropping Ba, the most logical being to switch Jack Clarke back to a left wing spot after Dodds surprisingly started the former Tottenham man up top last game.
Football pundit Adrian Clarke described Clarke’s ability as “one of a kind” on the What the EFL?! podcast in October at the height of his impressive form and his comments are justified, Sunderland’s star-man hitting double figures for the season already with ten goals.
This would free up a striker spot for Beale to experiment with Sunderland’s plethora of misfiring attackers, but the ex-QPR boss managed to get the best out of the forward players during his short stay at Loftus Road who have since gone back to being ineffective.
Lydon Dykes netted six of his eight goals last season under the divisive manager, Beale hoping he can get the likes of Nazariy Rusyn and Mason Burstow up to speed in a similar fashion for the Black Cats if he comes in at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland fans will just want this manager saga to be over and done with now, praying that Beale can be the manager to make the necessary calls and decisions to help the Black Cats win promotion – starting with Ba being ditched from the starting XI after his woeful displays.
