Despite guiding Sunderland to the playoffs last season and sitting 9th in the Championship, just three points behind the playoff positions, it appears that sporting director, Kristjaan Speakman and the board, have decided that the time is up for Tony Mowbray. After a strong 5yr stint at Blackburn, Mowbray replaced Alex Neil in August 2022, lasting just over 15 months before being sacked, a decision that hasn’t been popular with all of their fans.
Mike Dodds, re-appointed for the second time as the interim manager, has only ever presided over two games, both of them lost, so the board will be under pressure to appoint a new manager before their next games against West Brom and Leeds United, both of which are currently in the top 5 places in the Championship table. So just who is being reported as a potential replacement for Mowbray and what do the bookies think when it comes to the next Sunderland manager odds.
With 5 names at the top of the list, it seems like there are plenty of choices to choose from when it comes to appointing the role. At BetVictor, at the time of writing, here are the leading candidates and their odds. In 5th place is Frank Lampard, with odds of 10/1 meaning a £10 bet would pay £110. His caretaker performance and win rate of 9.1% earlier this year at Chelsea, however, might not make him the most popular choice. Tied in 3rd place at odds of 8/1*, where a £10 wager would return £90, are Nathan Jones, the former Southampton manager, and Kevin Muscat, who won the J-League title earlier this year with Yokohama F. Marinos last season. Finally, tied for 1st place at 6/1*, with a £10 bet paying £70, are John Eustace, the former Birmingham manager, and Steven Schumacher, who is currently in-charge of Championship rivals Plymouth Argyle. While neither of these names would be a bad choice to make, it might be easier for the Black Cats to land Eustace with Schumacher likely to cost more as he is still under contract.
With no early obvious choice bubbling to the top, it seems that Sunderland fans may just have to wait until the board start narrowing down their options. As two big home games loom ever closer, however, fans will almost certainly be looking to see a decision made soon, especially where a series of wins could see them leapfrog Preston, Blackburn and Hull back into the playoff places. It seems for now that only time will tell, but be sure to stay tuned to all of our next manager odds to see how the list of names shapes up, or why not take a punt on one of the upcoming games with our fantastic Championship betting odds, ahead of a busy weekend of fixtures, now just days away.
*All odds are current at time of writing and are subject to change
