It took over 100 days for Sunderland AFC’s board to settle on Régis Le Bris.
And now, as the first 100 days into his tenure are crossed off the calendar (114 to be precise) there is sufficient evidence to start assessing the impact of their new head coach.
While it may be too early to predict how the club’s season will end, these first few months are still capable of offering us some insight into Le Bris’ methods and hint at what may lie ahead under his stewardship.
So, how well has he done on Wearside?
At its simplest, we need only look at the Championship league table to answer that question – very well indeed.
However, if we break down Le Bris’ excellent start into several key areas, we can begin to better understand what is underpinning his success so far.
Let’s take a look…
Tactical Evolution: Moving Away from Possession Dominance
Under Tony Mowbray, Sunderland became a team synonymous with possession football. Mogga rightly received plaudits for this style of play as once the club were back in the second tier, he steered his side to the play-offs at the first time of asking. And, last season – albeit a far less successful one, The Lads ranked seventh in the Championship for average possession, controlling 55.5% of the ball across the campaign. Only parachute clubs, and outliers like Coventry and Ipswich, bettered those figures.
Yet, as Sunderland fans have come to learn, controlling the ball does not always translate into controlling results.
Régis Le Bris has now successfully shifted the narrative from one of possession to control.
To achieve this he has engineered a style of play which sees the Black Cats purposefully surrender far more of the ball than they ever did under Mowbray. But, crucially, with more control of the game. Admittedly after what is a much smaller sample size, Sunderland are averaging 45% possession per 90 mins which sees us plummet to 21st in the league when judged by that possession based metric.
Despite the steep fall, results have clearly benefited from this more rigid approach and indeed, although Sunderland are now seeing less of the ball, it has not resulted in sacrificing their attacking flair. The Black Cats are still able to control the game from their more structured position and advance at pace with the likes of Romaine Mundle, Chris Rigg, Jobe and Patrick Roberts causing havoc for opposition defences. As such, Le Bris appears to have found the perfect union on any Venn diagram highlighting possession, ‘exciting football’ and positive results.
Defensive Solidity: A Foundation for Success
As touched upon above, a major factor in Sunderland’s strong start under Le Bris has been this newfound defensive discipline. The Black Cats have conceded just eight goals in their first nine matches, ranking seventh in the league for goals against. Third-placed Swansea have conceded only two fewer.
What is behind this defensive solidity?
As a starter-for-ten, Luke O’Nien appears to have found yet another gear. He has added more reliability to his game and continues to offer a goal threat. His range of passing cannot be underestimated either. With 525, O’Nien has the most open play passes in the squad and at 450, the most successful too giving him a percentage completed tally per 90 of 85.71%. The volume and and influence of his passing is quite literally making him vital to Le Bris’ overall style of play.
We should not forget playing at centre-back is a partnership and O’Nien has been paired with three teammates thus far – Aji Alese, Dan Ballard and Chris Mepham who have all equipped themselves well. Interestingly, both Mepham and Ballard have now played four games each. It is worth noting here that it is the loanee, Mepham who has more passes in open play (207) and more successful passes (183) equating to a higher percentage completed (88.41%) per 90 than his currently injured teammates. Indeed Ballard’s stats (106 passes with 90 successful) suggest that side of the game is not yet his forte. Further, it could suggest persisting with Mepham once the Northern Ireland international is fit given Mepham’s defensive numbers are equally as impressive, again bettering Ballard’s own stats.
Full-backs Trai Hume and Dennis Cirkin have also flourished under Le Bris’ system. Cirkin leads the team in both interceptions (21) and tackles (34), while Hume has been similarly solid with 17 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 33 possessions won per 90.
However, Cirkin’s numbers are exceptional – not just within the club but for the league. With a whopping 55, the left-back leads the Championship for the most combined tackles and interceptions. Second is Sheffield United’s Vinicius Souza on 48 who reportedly signed for a €12m fee.
Together, they have all provided the defensive assurance that allows Sunderland to play with a real confidence even when out of possession.
Squad Unity and Man-Management: Le Bris’ Quiet Strength
Régis Le Bris’ man-management skills have without question also been a crucial element of his early success. With his calm demeanour and a strategic, thoughtful approach, Le Bris is fostering a strong sense of unity within the squad. His background in sports psychology – he holds a diploma in mental training for high-level athletes – appears to be bearing fruit.
Do not take Founded1879’s word for it – midfielder Alan Browne recently spoke about the influence Le Bris is having on the team:
“I think he’s absolutely brilliant, and that’s not just because we’re winning. Even when we are winning, he’s looking at what we can improve on. He’s not getting up our highlights and saying, ‘Well done everyone, that’s it for the week,’ he looks at what we’ve done wrong and how we can fix it, and each game is different… He’s very intelligent, and I think he’s a great asset for the club.”
Browne’s own words surely speak to a head coach who is meticulous in his preparation and unrelenting in his pursuit of improvement, not just for himself but for his team. Le Bris’ calm presence has helped keep the squad grounded while also engendering an environment where players are seemingly encouraged to learn and grow, regardless of their own level of experience within the game.
Building Forward Momentum: Attacking Fluidity
As referenced above, defensive solidity has not come at the cost of attacking intent and that is very much keeping supporters on side.
With a total of 18 goals, Sunderland have scored the most in the league thus far. This is especially impressive when you look to compare the club with other, more expensively assembled sides in the Championship. Transfer fees are not always the best barometer for success. Although outlay on fees is often looked upon by supporters as a sign of a club’s intent, in reality it is higher player wages which are more likely to indicate the surest path to the Premier League. However, if we look at fees for the purposes of this exercise we can see Norwich are second on 16 goals and have attacking players such as £8.5m Ante Crnac and Josh Sargent who signed for a reported £8m fee back in 2021.
In addition, Leeds United are third with 15 goals and as Game State noted following the recent 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light, The Whites’ starting XI that day totalled some £90.8m compared with Sunderland’s lowly £5.9m. As you might expect, their squad consists of some remarkable talent and whilst individually they have some top players, Daniel Farke – unlike Le Bris – does not yet appear to be getting a cohesive tune from his (very costly assembled) group.
Interestingly, when further analysing Sunderland’s goal threat vs other sides in the league we can see that whilst the Rokermen are ninth after the same number of games, when it comes to total shots their conversion rate is actually the second highest in the league with 15.38% behind only leaders Blackburn by a fraction, on 15.46%.
What does all of the above tell us?
It evidences that Le Bris has his side incredibly well drilled and he is absolutely maximising results based on the talent he has to work with. If a head coach is to be judged positively on anything – 100 days or otherwise – it is surely this. The above also suggests after the disappointment of Michael Beale, Sunderland chiefs have now found someone capable of excelling on both the strategic and man-management elements of coaching and for supporters, that is proving such an enjoyable watch.
What Lies Ahead?
Ultimately, Le Bris has laid the groundwork for a successful campaign. He has spoken about wanting to add further backroom staff along with different tactical tweaks as the season progresses and he will surely need to implement this successfully as opponents begin to work out his methods. Yet, if we are to assess those first 100 days on Le Bris’ blending of tactical pragmatism with defensive discipline, further developing the squad unity and communicating with Sunderland fans with clarity and intelligence – we can only mark him very highly indeed.
If this early momentum can be sustained and strengthened by the board in January where necessary, Le Bris may have Sunderland AFC finally on course for a return to the top flight!
Photo by Mark Fletcher via MI News & Sport/Alamy
