How Sunderland pulled the plug on Ange Postecoglou appointment back in 2018
Ange Postecoglou was very close to joining Sunderland seven years ago.
Sunderland are enjoying life under Regis Le Bris, and with six points from their opening three Premier League fixtures, it couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start for the Wearsiders.
However, over the years, Sunderland have had a remarkable number of managers, including 12 since 2018.
The same year in which Postecoglou was being lined up for the Sunderland job, had it not been for one person.
Martin Bain prevented Ange Postecoglou hire at Sunderland
Charlie Methven, Stewart Donald and Martin Bain are three of the names that provide Sunderland fans with a bitter taste in their mouth, and it was the latter that prevented a move to Wearside for Postecoglou.
Back then, Postecoglou was plying his trade in Japan, before moving on to Celtic, then Tottenham and now Nottingham Forest following the sacking of Nuno Santo.
However, he was close to joining Sunderland before Celtic, with Bain ultimately pulling the plug on any potential deal, as mentioned by former Black Cats star Michael Bridges.
In quotes reported by the Daily Record, he said: “There was an opportunity during the Sunderland Netflix documentary (Sunderland Til I Die), there was a guy there, a CEO called Martin Bain.
“Halfway through the season, I got a phone call from Martin Bain, knowing I was an ex-Sunderland player, knowing that I was living in Australia.
“He wanted a reference on Ange Postecoglou because Ange was in the frame for the job. I gave Ange a glowing report. He (Bain) actually said, ‘I don’t know, I’ve never heard of this guy’.
“Their reaction was, ‘I need a big name for the fans, ‘ that really irked me.”
Ange Postecoglou could have changed Sunderland’s future
From 2018 until recently, Sunderland were a laughing stock, and a lot of it stemmed from the failed managerial appointments.
Chris Coleman joined instead of Postecoglou, and he would win just five of his 28 games in charge before facing the sack; an outcome which became very familiar from there on.
Jack Ross, Phil Parkinson and Lee Johnson are some of the names that followed him, all of whom suffered a similar fate.
- Chris Coleman – 5 wins from 28
- Jack Ross – 38 wins from 75
- Phil Parkinson – 11 wins from 31
- Lee Johnson – 40 wins from 78
- Alex Neil – 12 wins from 24
- Tony Mowbray – 26 wins from 65
- Michael Beale – 4 wins from 12
- Regis Le Bris – 25 wins from 55 (ongoing)
In the end, who knows what could have happened if Postecoglou got the job, but it certainly begs the question.
With several trophies in Scotland with Celtic, and a Europa League trophy with Tottenham last season, it would be fair to make the assumption that he would have fared significantly better than those who preceded him.
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