Following a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Bolton on Boxing Day, Sunderland fans have begun a movement to get Stewart Donald out of the club. Frustrated with a host of issues, including not sacking the calamitous Phil Parkinson, fans now believe change is needed. Roker Report, Wise Men Say, and Red And White Army collaborated to publish a statement. Alongside the statement is the creation of #DonaldOut which trended at number 8 in the UK.
Sunderland Fan Groups Collaborate to Get Stewart Donald Out
A Season of Abject Failure
Sunderland fans have endured some woeful lows in recent seasons which has culminated in the club’s lowest ever position. After missing out on promotion at the final hurdle last term, the ownership came out fighting. The target was to achieve 100 points this campaign.
The summer saw a lack of ambition, failing to land key targets such as Marcus Maddison. Instead, Jack Ross had little to work with recruitment consisting of prioritising free agents and loans to cut costs. Stewart Donald’s recruitment team arrived from Eastleigh and are seemingly running the department like a National League outfit. Inevitably after a poor start, Donald sacked Ross with the club 6th in the league.
Up steps Phil Parkinson, who represents everything Sunderland do not stand for. The lack of passion, intent and attacking energy is a microcosm for a club that is failing in every department. Winless in almost two months, Donald needs to pull the trigger on Parkinson as the threat of relegation becomes more real every week.
In summary, from recruitment to the players on the pitch, this season has been an abject failure and is a huge reason for the Donald Out Campaign.
A Financial Mystery
Donald’s takeover in the summer of 2018 has been marred in mystery since completion. Continually the story has changed. Donald and Charlie Methven reportedly paid £40million, then this figure was changed to £15million with Ellis Short taking the £25million parachute payments. Currently, there is no evidence that Donald spent over £5million on the club. A Sportsmail investigation concluded that Donald used an additional £10 million to fund his purchase of the club. This would allow him to sell the club for a large profit.
Within months of his tenure, Donald spoke of investment in the club. This chat resulted in a potential takeover from FPP Sunderland, who were in talks with the club over the summer. As a result, excitement grew within the fanbase of a new era with ambitious billionaire owners willing to grow the club. The only problem being it did not go through. Despite leaking details to the press, Donald and Methven could not complete their sale – instead – accepting a loan.
The way Donald misinforms the fans is a huge abuse of trust. His persona to keep the fans informed has backfired, to an irreconcilable loss of that trust. Cutting costs seems to be the aim of the game, with Aiden McGeady and Jon McLaughlin set to leave in January with no talk of replacements. It certainly seems as though Donald cannot afford to keep the top earners as a third season in League One looms.
Donald Out?
Simply, Stewart Donald has ran his course as Sunderland owner in the minds of the fans. He arrived with good intentions, perhaps a will to make a profit too. That is fine – business is business after all. However, the reality of the situation is that mismanagement and poor decision making has made his ownership untenable. From chucking £3million for Will Grigg as a Josh Maja replacement to appointing his Eastleigh staff to head a recruitment team, it is clear that Donald is out of his depth. Sunderland is a prestigious club that does not belong in the depths of League One, and under Donald’s stewardship, promotion does not seem likely whatsoever.
The perfect way of demonstrating the dip in the Donald era can be summed up quite ironically. The fanzine which benefitted from Donald’s ownership with podcasts and exclusive interviews are a major component of the Donald Out campaign. A damning transition over just a few months.
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