"Significant decline" - Simon Jordan issues surprise verdict on Tony Mowbray's Sunderland exit | OneFootball

Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan says Sunderland's decision to sack head coach Tony Mowbray is understandable.

The Black Cats parted company with Mowbray on Monday night, with the 60-year-old departing after just over 15 months in charge at the Stadium of Light.

Mowbray arrived at the club last August, replacing Alex Neil after his departure to Stoke City, and he guided his side to the Championship play-offs last season, where they were beaten by Luton Town in the semi-finals.

Sunderland had made a decent start to the season, but their form has declined slightly in recent weeks, winning just two of their last nine games, prompting the board into action.

Mowbray's final game in charge was the 1-1 draw against Millwall at The Den on Saturday, and he leaves the club sitting ninth in the table, just three points from the play-off places.

The Black Cats are back in action when they host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

What did Simon Jordan say?

Mowbray's sacking was greeted with shock by many in the football world, but Jordan says the decision is understandable due to the poor recent form and his comments about the club's transfer policy in the media.

"He's taken 11 points from 10 games, so they're in a decline and they're not performing at a level that their early season form would have given heart and encouragement to the ownership that they were going in different direction which has now been replaced by disappointment because they're dropping away," Jordan said on talkSPORT.

"They're only ninth, they're only three points off a play-off spot, but the trajectory is that they're dropping away.

"If you've taken 11 points from 10 games, that means you've taken 16 points from the previous nine, so your form is in quite significant decline.

"It's an easy one to say he's a young owner, so he doesn't know what he's talking about, but they've got a blueprint. "If their blueprint is that we want to develop within the confines of budgets and we want to develop our young players, then they have to also accept that there's a challenge with that.

"Ultimately young players take time to develop and very rarely, besides the famous expression of Alan Hansen, do you win things with kids, you need a blend of experienced players and quality players to be able to get yourself out of challenges."

"It would appear that there are ideologies that are departing," Jordan added.

"Football managers sometimes need to engage their minds rather than their mouths because they forget who ultimately controls their destiny.

"You can say what you want, of course you can, and perhaps the listening public will say the manager has got a right to say whatever he wants, but that's not how it works in the real world.

"Push owners, but not in the public domain.

"You do that privately, and if you don't like what you're being told, you leave."

What next for Sunderland?

While Jordan is right that Mowbray should have expressed his views to the board privately, it was an incredibly harsh decision for Sunderland to sack him.

Mowbray did an outstanding job at the Stadium of Light, and his side were firmly in contention to secure another top six finish this season.