Sunderland: Mike Dodds makes Tony Mowbray style of play and recruitment claim | OneFootball

Mike Dodds has revealed what Sunderland's hopes are for the summer and next season, and linked some of their goals to former manager Tony Mowbray.

There were some awful managerial choices made in the Championship in the 2023/24 regular season. Birmingham's decision to part ways with John Eustace in favour of Wayne Rooney, which started the snowball effect that eventually led to their relegation, is, unquestionably, the worst of the lot.

But, they did eventually hire Mowbray after Rooney was dismissed, and the Black Cats' own decision to part ways with the experienced manager was an odd one too.

They had just been to the play-offs the season prior, and weren't in a bad position in the league. After Michael Beale's failed attempt to lead the side, and Dodds' poor second stint as interim boss, Sunderland ended up finishing 16th, having been three points off the top six when the 60-year-old left.

Sunderland need to take a slightly different approach this summer. They still haven't appointed their new head coach, although that decision is expected to be made soon, but the former interim boss has said that the way the club should do things should be more in-keeping with what Mowbray wanted to/did do.

Mike Dodds makes Tony Mowbray admission

The 37-year-old has said that they want to get back to the free-flowing style of play that their former boss had implemented at the club, and that he would like to see some of Mowbray's transfer ideas used too.

"In terms of the direction, we want to have a certain style of play which I think the fans are completely on board with," said Dodds, via the Northern Echo.

"It’s the style of play which Tony had that was really free-flowing, it was really entertaining to watch.

"We’ll have a little bit more structure out of possession which I feel, in some of my games, we’ve seen that, but the hard bit is obviously trying to find the balance between the two because you want more structure and organisation, but it takes away from other areas. It’s always that counterweight in finding a balance between the two.

"The recruitment, in terms of how we recruit, isn’t going to change," continued the former interim head coach. "The club want players with upside. They want players who have a value but there’s a gap between the value and their ceiling.

"I’ve said previously I do feel we need to recruit a couple more players, not in terms of age. When we talk about experience, I’m talking about a couple more players who have a couple of hundred league games under their belt at this level or in and around this level.

"So I do feel the group need that and we as a club probably need a little bit more depth."

When Mowbray was sacked, it was reported, by the Northern Echo, that he had pushed for more experience to be added to the squad after their play-off semi-final loss to Luton Town.

He diagnosed this lack of nous as the issue, but his ideas fell on deaf ears. Of the list of more experienced players that he wanted to sign, only Bradley Dack was brought in.

This clear misalignment in vision set Mowbray and the hierarchy on a collision course that, in hindsight, was only going to end in his departure.

The right appointment will soften fans' anger towards the club over Mowbray's sacking

Dodds talking about getting back to a similar style of play that was present when the 60-year-old was in charge, and recruiting in a somewhat similar fashion to what he wanted, tells you everything you need to know about the club's choice to get rid of Mowbray: it was the wrong one.

Everything from then went downhill, but that annoyed feeling that fans have towards the likes of Kristjaan Speakman could be wiped away if they get the right man.

Danny Röhl, the Sheffield Wednesday manager, Will Still, the soon-to-be former Stade Reims manager, and Rene Maric, the Bayern Munich under-19s boss, are all under: "serious consideration," as per the Northern Echo.

If one of that trio is appointed, or even someone else, and they turn Sunderland into the team that the likes of Dodds feel they could be, then feelings about Mowbray's dismissal could be quickly forgotten.