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September 22, 2024
Cardiff’s poor start to the new Championship season led to the dismissal of manager Erol Bulut.
The Bluebirds’ 2-0 home loss to Leeds on Saturday left them at the bottom of the table with just one point from their first six games. They had allowed thirteen goals and scored just one.
The team announced in a brief statement that Bulut “has been relieved of his duties and will leave the club immediately. The board of directors wish to thank Erol for all of his hard work and wish him well for the future.”
The Bluebirds hired Bulut in June 2023, and after he helped the team place 12th the previous year, they extended his contract by two years in the summer.
Cardiff has also confirmed that first-team coach Nikolaos Karydas is leaving the team. Omer Riza will take over as interim manager.
Régis Le Bris is a slightly unique Championship manager because he holds a diploma in the mental preparation of elite athletes and a doctorate in human physiology and biomechanics.
Questions were raised when Sunderland’s 48-year-old head coach, who had witnessed Lorient’s Ligue 1 relegation, moved from Brittany to Wearside this summer. The Frenchman had only managed a senior team for two years prior.
However, a risky move is becoming increasingly wise as Le Bris’s young, energetic team wins its fifth straight league game.
They have yet to concede a goal at home this year, and they appear determined to keep their manager’s promise to “bring joy to Sunderland supporters.”
In front of 42,781 spectators, Le Bris’s inaugural Wear-Tees derby resulted in a victory that erased memories of Sunderland’s shocking loss at Plymouth last Saturday and secured three crucial points against opponents who could challenge for promotion.
It was an overcast, foggy afternoon when the slate grey cloud sat so low in the sky that, from a distance, it appeared as though the Stadium of Light would sink into the nearby River Wear, begging for light. Chris Rigg was fortunately available to supply it. After twenty-four minutes,
The 17-year-old midfielder for Sunderland could seize the opportunity when George Edmundson stopped Patrick Roberts’ shot despite Middlesbrough’s dominance. Seeing Seny Dieng had been left behind, Rigg bravely backheeled the ball over the line to overcome an unfavorable angle.
The fact that Le Bris established himself as a successful youth coach in France, producing several elite players, including Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, is undoubtedly beneficial, especially considering the average age of this Sunderland team is twenty-three.
“Our mindset’s very strong,” said Sunderland’s manager. “And Chris Rigg is a symbol of our process, our model; he always wants to learn, to improve and understand the game better.”
Middlesbrough had an early chance to take the lead when Tommy Conway connected with Isaiah Jones’s perfect cross, but his unmarked header grazed the crossbar. That missed opportunity would loom large as the match progressed.
Boro frustrated Sunderland’s players and fans with a controlled, patient, build-from-the-back approach, relying on short passing to maintain possession. However, they struggled to create clear scoring opportunities, leaving Sunderland’s goalkeeper Anthony Patterson largely untested. This lack of a cutting-edge has become a concerning pattern for Boro, and it was further complicated by a crunching first-half tackle from Trai Hume that seemed to diminish Emmanuel Latte Lath’s impact up front.
With just one shot on target, Boro allowed Sunderland to take advantage, as the home side cleverly adjusted their usual high press to a more effective contain-and-counterattack strategy.
Boro’s overreliance on intricate passing might have benefited from more direct play, perhaps trying a long ball rather than countless short ones. They were fortunate not to concede further when Romaine Mundle’s free kick hit the post late in the game. Earlier, Mundle had a strong penalty shout following a challenge by Luke Ayling, but Boro failed to capitalize on the reprieve.
“Sunderland have quality, especially in wide areas, but we restricted them to a couple of bright moments,” said Boro manager Michael Carrick, who maintained Hume should have been sent off. “It was very close. If anything, we were the better side. It’s fine margins, but we have to find a way to break teams down.”
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