Sunderland

We asked for your thoughts on Michael Beale and some fans calling for the Sunderland head coach to be sacked.

Here are some of your comments:

Korky: Beale deserves more time but he needs to understand he cannot deflect blame onto the players. He annoyed a lot of people by saying the fans need to get behind the team. Sunderland fans are passionate about their team and are amongst the best supporters in the UK. 40,000+ gates weekly should tell him that.

Michael: I think Beale should be sacked immediately. It's not good enough. We were doing well with Uncle Tony, the board have a lot to answer for!

Bill: Would be crazy to sack him now. Must be given a chance and a centre forward which we have needed for so long.

Joe: Tepid football with none of tactics or seemingly amazing coaching he talked about. No Plan A let alone Plan B for any game. He's taken an exciting vibrant attacking team and turned them into a cure for insomnia. Easy option - Beale out and Dodds take over until end of the season.

Coz: Beale should go, the football now is shocking. I don’t like the way he deflects blame like saying fans should get behind the players which we always do, boos were aimed at him. We were promised an upgrade to Mowbray, never this bozo.

Ned: We've gone from playing some of the most exciting football in the league to playing sideways with no game plan. Yes it's a transitional period but this man has no track record of progression, in fact his track record is regression. We didn't need a new approach. We were 6th in the league and pushing for playoffs. Now we're in danger of free fall.

Arthur: It's not just him, the owners have a lot to answer for. Even if we had the right man in charge, they haven't got the money or the ambition to put us where we deserve to be. The fan base is there, the stadium is fantastic. Going back to the days of Sir Bob Murray, nobody listened and it's still happening. We haven't had a good manager since Peter Reid.

Ken: He doesn't fill me with confidence with either his tactics or professionalism. He doesn't appear to be a team leader who can inspire players to achieve their best. He doesn't present himself well to the press. The "rabbit in the headlights" look is not ideal for a huge club like Sunderland. One has to question the decision makers in the club too!

Digby: The knee jerk hatred of Michael Beale is bizarre; it's a kind of group think response but the root is really hard to fathom. Perhaps Mowbray's popularity and vaguely north eastern background made him feel like family and his rejection was too much to bear. Either way, Beale deserves a fair crack of the whip in my opinion. We need stability.

Malcolm: We have to stick with Beale but he needs to switch on to the culture of the North East.

Edward: As much as I believe it is a poor appointment you cannot judge him yet. He came in at a busy Christmas period time so has not had a great deal of time to change or put his ideas across.

David: He needs to go ASAP. If we have any chance of making the play offs.

Sunderland host Stoke City this weekend in the Championship looking for to bounce back from three consecutive defeats.

The Black Cats have only won twice in Michael Beale's seven games in charge and the head coach is under-fire from fans. There were chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" at the Stadium of Light during Sunderland's loss to Hull.

Stoke won the reverse fixture 2-1 when Alex Neil and Tony Mowbray were in charge of their respective sides. Can Michael Beale get the better of Steven Schumacher?

What do you think the score will be? Have your say with any other pre-match predictions here.

Some Sunderland fans are already calling for head coach Michael Beale to be sacked after just seven games in charge.

The new boss wasn't a popular appointment to replace Tony Mowbray but most Black Cats supporters pledged to give him a chance if he got results.

Sunderland have only two wins under Beale and have dropped to 10th in the Championship, three points off the play-off positions.

#BealeOut has trended on X since Friday's loss to Hull and fans at the Stadium of Light were chanting "you're getting sacked in the morning" after the visitors scored.

Do you think Michael Beale's time is already up or does he deserve more time to prove himself at Sunderland?

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It has been one year since Pierre Ekwah signed for Sunderland.

The Frenchman arrived on Wearside from West Ham and has since made 40 appearances for the Black Cats alongside featuring three times for the under-21 side.

The midfielder has become a regular in the side under Tony Mowbray and now Michael Beale, often partnering Dan Neil.

This season, Ekwah has added a more attacking presence to his game with three goal involvements during the 2023-24 campaign so far.

What have you made of Ekwah's first 12 months at Sunderland? Let us know here.

We asked for your reaction to Sunderland 1-0 loss to Hull City.

Here are some of your comments:

Neil: Frustrating - in a word! We need to use our fast attacking style of football to dominate the opposition - whilst having older, wiser (calmer) heads on the pitch to engender changes depending on how the game is going…

Gary: Totally inept performance. Same old tactics Beale brings nothing new! No plan B either! Totally cheesed off.

David: New manager bounce jettisoned for ineffectual insipidity. Lack lustre and weak performance can only be down to the manager.

Jim: We are what we are... a mid-table Championship club!

Connor: It was a terrible performance by a poor tactical team layout by a manager who doesn’t have a clue. Something needs to change because what I saw today was utter garbage. Maybe we rushed in too quickly to appoint someone who knows nothing about football, especially a team like Sunderland.

Milo: A performance colder than the weather. Beale has failed to improve our level of football and looks like we've made a mistake. Good to see Hemir brought back into the fold, however.

Paul: Awful stuff. Slow, predictable and too negative. His strategy seems to be take no risks so we don't concede and give it Clarke to try and nick it 1-0. But we're always giving the ball away, so inevitably they will score. The board have allowed themselves to be conned by Beale who is clearly not a leader. Get him out now to save our season.

Lee: From the moment Mowbray was unbelievably sacked and Beale appointed, the football and every decision on and off the field has been a complete disaster! We are sleep walking into a bottom-half finish and the powers that be in our club have nobody to blame but themselves but as normal its the fans that suffer. Beale must go simple as that!

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Michael Beale has asked fans to get behind and support his Sunderland side during his post-match interview with Nick Barnes.

The Stadium of Light was filled with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" directed at Beale after the visitors' goal and fans boo'd at full-time as Hull beat the Black Cats 1-0.

Beale told the BBC Radio Newcastle commentator that the young team are "finding it difficult" to cope with the negative atmosphere.

"I'd ask the fans to get behind them. I get the frustration. They can see the effort on the park from the players and any little help they can give them or big help. I think they have to understand the strength of the help they can give to the team.

"Listen, when you're at home and you're a club like us, we expect to win. We're the same. We're bitterly disappointed."

You can listen to the full interview here.

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Luke O'Nien has spoken to BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes after the Black Cats suffered defeat against Hull.

The captain remains optimistic about the season ahead, discusses leadership in the the dressing room and getting back on track against Stoke next weekend.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Sunderland suffered defeat at home to Hull - The Black Cats' third consecutive defeat.

Michael Beale's side were beaten by a deflected shot from Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho.

Sunderland are now two points behind the Tigers who have climbed up to the Championship play-off places after their win at the Stadium of Light.

What did you think of the performance and the result? Have you say here.

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Sunderland head coach Michael Beale has spoken to BBC Radio Newcastle commentator Nick Barnes ahead of the Championship clash with Hull City.

Beale says there's "no update" on any incoming or outgoing transfers although insists there are people working hard to get one or two in, has spoken about the squad players not getting into the starting eleven and tensions around the club.

He also reflects on the loss to Ipswich, the importance of a supportive atmosphere at the Stadium of Light and the options he has in central midfield.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Sunderland host Hull City this Friday night (20.00 GMT) hoping to bounce back after defeat to Ipswich.

A win could put the Black Cats back into the Championship play-off positions while another loss could see them drop as low as 12th, dependent on other results, at the end of the weekend.

Michael Beale's side did beat the Tigers just a few weeks ago in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day with Jack Clarke scoring the winner.

What are your predictions for Sunderland v Hull? Let us know here.

Image source, Getty Images

Jermain Defoe's move to Sunderland in 2015 was fuelled by a desire to prove critics wrong.

Talking to Troy Deeney on their Football Firsts podcast, Defoe discussed times when he used negativity to spur him on. One example that the striker cites is during his time at Toronto FC when he says critics would suggest "he's done, he's gone to the MLS, he's chilling."

Following the stint in North America, Defoe returned to the Premier League with Sunderland. He says, "I think I needed that little bit of negativity to get me going because I was comfortable in Toronto. I signed a four year contract and that.

"I came back, and even when I came back to be fair, in my head I thought I've got nothing to prove because that's why I went [to Toronto] in the first place. Nothing to prove in the Premier League but then, when you start seeing things, it's time."

Defoe scored 34 goals in 87 appearances during his first stint at the Stadium of Light and is currently the ninth highest goal scorer in Premier League history with 162.

You can listen to the full podcast here.

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Liverpool are willing to sell 24-year-old goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher for £20m this summer and have identified 23-year-old Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson as his replacement. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer news including Amad Diallo and Jordan Henderson? Read Monday's full gossip column

We asked for your views on Sunderland's 2-1 loss to potential play-off rivals Ipswich.

Here are some of your comments:

Matthew: Everything fell apart when Beale took Abdoullah Ba off.

Claire: Just shows how utterly clueless Beal is. Taking Ba off who was having a good game, taking Pritchard off who was having a good game and there's always a chance he can create something. We had Jobe and Ekwah who had poor games but were kept on, until 80 odd minutes when he finally brings on a striker. Get out of our club, clueless!!

Dave: Good overall effort, however not starting without a centre forward is costing us points. Cannot understand the thought process. Move on to the next game.

Ray: Same old mistakes Sunderland make week in week out. We are our own worst enemies.

Michael: We don’t have a centre forward and it shows in most games. We rely too much on Jack Clarke to score. Tony Mowbray had the confidence of the players and the fans but not the ownership, who should be looking at the Director of Football. The new manager, Beale, will struggle to succeed.

Graham: Bellingham needs dropped. Ba was not exceptional - he does not know what he is doing and nor does anyone else. Ekwah needs reminded that opponents are allowed to tackle him. Play a centre forward. Prepare to replace Beale in the summer with someone who can lead a team.

Image source, Getty Images

Dan Neil has spoken to BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes after the Black Cats' loss away at Ipswich.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Image source, Getty Images

Black Cats boss Michael Beale has spoken to BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes after his side's loss to Ipswich at Portman Road.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Sunderland are out of the Championship play-off places after a 2-1 loss to Ipswich at Portman Road.

Michael Beale's side took the lead through the prolific Jack Clarke but The Tractor Boys came back through goals from Jackson and Chaplin.

What did you think of the performance and the result? Have your say here.

We asked for your pre-match predictions for Ipswich v Sunderland.

Here are some of your comments:

Jim: 2-1 Ipswich. Hope I'm wrong!

John: Sunderland to win 2-1.

Colin: Think Ipswich will win the game 2-0, they have a much better midfield than us at the moment.

Edward: Lack of a striker is costing us dearly and the performance of our defenders last week means we will need to step up several gears to come away with anything at Ipswich.

Kevin: Sunderland is a team l have followed for nearly 70 years, l am going for a 2-1 win.

Gene: We aren't playing well. Hopeless in the FA cup. Away at a tough and good team. Too much movement and speed for us. We like to play sideways and backwards and hope for magic from Jack Clarke.

BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes is ready to get back to league football as the Black Cats travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich.

You can listen to commentary from Nick alongside former Sunderland captain Gary Bennett on DAB and Freeview via BBC Radio Newcastle.

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Pritchard has been awarded Sunderland's Player of the Month for December 2023.

The attacking midfielder has been a creative powerhouse for the Black Cats in recent games and has become the first name of the team sheet for many fans.

Pritchard proved pivotal in wins over play-off rivals West Brom and Leeds with three assists across the two games. His wonder goal against Preston was also a highlight of December for Sunderland.