Sunderland AFC's 5 worst managers ever (ranked) | OneFootball

Sunderland are a club that have had many highs and lows over the years, but who ranks as their 5 worst managers of all-time?

Sunderland have certainly had an eventful existence, achieving great highs and succumbing to disappointing lows aplenty over the 145 years since their foundation in 1879.

While hopes are high of a fresh era of success under newly-appointed French coach Régis Le Bris, many past Sunderland bosses have struggled to make any impact at all, finding results hard to come by.

Here, we take a look at who ranks as the five worst Sunderland managers of all-time, using Transfermarkt's PPG (points-per-game) statistics. As a further rule, we have only listed those that took charge of ten matches or more. So, who takes a spot on the unwanted list?

In as the Black Cats' fifth-worst manager ever, statistically, is Simon Grayson, who took over as boss following the club's last relegation from the top-flight in 2017.

Coming into a club in something of a freefall, and with an ingrained losing mentality, it was a tough task for anybody to take on at the time.

Grayson, who'd previously been in charge of Blackpool, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Preston North End prior to arriving in the North East, couldn't steady the ship, however, and lasted just 18 games, earning a PPG of 0.89, before being sacked at the end of October.

4 Chris Coleman - 0.79 PPG

Former Fulham, Swansea City and Crystal Palace defender Chris Coleman took the managerial reins at the Stadium of Light following an exceptional spell in charge of his native Welsh national team.

Having spent time in the dugout at Craven Cottage, as well as time in Spain and Greece with Real Sociedad and AE Larissa respectively, Coleman took charge of Wales in 2012, ultimately leading them through an incredible Euro 2016 tournament in which they reached the semi-final stage.

Taking over after the aforementioned Grayson was dismissed, Sunderland fans were hopeful the Swansea-born man was the one that could galvanise all at the club and get them moving on an upward trajectory once more.

This was far from the case, however, as the negativity and gloom over the club was deep-rooted, making it tough to turn things around, leading to a second consecutive relegation, this time into League One.

As the club was sold at the end of the campaign, Coleman was sacked with a points-per-game ratio of just 0.79 from his 29 matches in charge.

Experienced Scottish manager David Moyes has had a reasonably successful career in the dugout on the whole.

With strong records in charge of Preston North End, Everton, and West Ham United - whom he managed to the UEFA Europa Conference League title in 2023, it was hoped Moyes would be the man to stabilise their position in the top-flight during the 2016/17 season.

Unfortunately, the former Celtic defender had the opposite effect, overseeing a dismal campaign that led to relegation, and ultimately Moyes' departure, with a PPG ratio of just 0.72 over his 43 matches in the Wearside hotseat.

Mike Dodds started coaching at Birmingham City, operating in various capacities at St Andrews between 2009 and 2021.

Initially joining Sunderland as Head of Individual Player Development three years ago, the 38-year-old has acted as caretaker manager for the Black Cats on three separate occasions, in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively.

While his first two spells in the dugout were very brief affairs, between one and two weeks and inclusive of two games, his most recent stint earlier this year was a little longer.

Taking charge of 13 games as the club searched for a new manager following Michael Beale's departure, Dodds, perhaps understandably in difficult circumstances, failed to get a tune out of his players, who picked up just 0.69 points-per-game during that time.

1 Kevin Ball - 0.50 PPG

Former tough-tackling midfielder Kevin Ball is a legendary figure on Wearside, having made 379 appearances for the club as a player, many of which wearing the captain's armband.

The 59-year-old, who also played for Portsmouth, Fulham and Burnley either side of his nine years with the Black Cats, has taken over as caretaker manager on two occasions over the past 18 years at the Stadium of Light.

The second of which was a brief spell in 2014, but the first was a ten-game stint at the end of the 2005/06 season.

The campaign would end with relegation as Sunderland finished bottom of the pile in the Premier League. Ball's time in charge saw them average an all-time low of 0.50 PPG, but he can't be blamed for the poor squad he found at his disposal and the predicament they were in at that time.