Sunderland told 'majority of football' want them to struggle after Kyril Louis-Dreyfus decision

Former Stoke City, WBA and Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis has made an astonishing claim that, “the majority of football” wanted Sunderland to struggle after they sacked Tony Mowbray.

Pulis also believes someone should have been behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light telling owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus that getting rid of Mowbray was “an absolutely ridiculous decision.”

Sunderland went for Michael Beale after Mowbray and he left after just 12 matches in charge in what was as ill-fated reign as the supporters never took to the ex-Rangers and QPR manager. Since then the team have dropped off alarmingly in the Championship having been in play-off contention as recently as February, when Beale was sacked. That dismissal was seen as an admission that the club had made a big mistake.

Mike Dodds has led the team since Beale left and the team and results have been uninspiring and they are yet to win at home under Dodd’s latest spell as interim head coach. Speaking to OLBG, Pulis was typically forthright with his views.

He said: “There’s a lot of people behind the scenes who aren’t football people and they make unbelievably bad decisions. What the hell were they up to getting rid of Tony Mowbray? He’s a staunch football man who knows how to build a winning team. When they sacked him, the majority of football wanted Sunderland to struggle because Tony Mowbray did not deserve it.”

He added: “The biggest mistake owners make is not appointing an experienced man behind the scenes. If Sunderland had an experienced football person or someone who had been in the game for a long time behind the scenes, they would have told Kyril Louis-Dreyfus that it was an absolutely ridiculous decision to get rid of Tony Mowbray. The majority of football wanted them to struggle after that decision.”

Pulis also had an opinion on Sunderland’s best player, Jack Clarke, and added: “In a football team, there are certain things that you need to have in order to be successful. One of those things is a player that will take defenders on because defences are so well organised, so you need someone to create space and open doors. Jack Clarke is one of those players.

“I watched him at Leeds and I think he’s now more mature and is a lot stronger. He’ll have a very good future but I don’t know if Sunderland will sell him to a Premier League team this summer. I don’t see why he can’t play in the Premier League as he’s a promising and exciting player.”