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James Copley’s Sunderland notebook: Being VERY wrong about Régis Le Bris and a Sir Bob Murray appreciation James Copley reflects on Sir Bob Murray’s enduring Sunderland legacy and the remarkable rise of Régis Le Bris Before getting into this week’s notebook, a genuine thank you to everyone who continues to read it. It is probably the most enjoyable part of my working week, giving me the chance to step away from the daily news cycle and write a little more personally about Sunderland. The analytics tell us that these ramblings often “convert” non-paying readers into subscribers to The Echo. That means a great deal because life is expensive, so it is not lost on me that paying to read journalism is a conscious choice. If you are subscribing and tuning in each week, thank you. I really do appreciate it. This week, Sir Bob Murray’s recent 80th birthday offered an opportunity to reflect on a Sunderland legacy that continues to influence the club and city every day. Elsewhere, a pre-season anniversary brought back memories of Régis Le Bris’ uncertain first few weeks on Wearside, and the moment I wondered whether his mild-mannered approach would allow him to survive the demands of the Sunderland job. Sir Bob Murray’s Sunderland legacy is still improving lives Sir Bob Murray recently celebrated his 80th birthday and remains one of the most important figures in Sunderland’s history. He was the driving force behind the Stadium of Light, the Academy of Light and the Beacon of Light. That is before you even get to his fingerprints on St George’s Park and the new Wembley, two hugely important national football projects. It is easy to discuss those buildings in grand terms, and rightly so, but Sir Bob’s impact can also be found in the smaller, everyday details. I play five-a-side at the Beacon of Light every week with my mates. There is probably a wider rotation of about 20 lads and, for some of us with children, busy jobs and all the other demands of adult life, it is often the only time we properly get out each week. We value it enormously. It allows us to exercise, see our friends and switch off for an hour, benefiting both our mental and physical health. It is something we look forward to every week and would all miss enormously if it suddenly disappeared. The games cost £25 per hour, which works out at £2.50 each when there are 10 of us. Other larger and less charitable organisations, such as Goals, can charge upwards of £55 per hour and sometimes considerably more depending on the day and time you book. That affordability matters. The Beacon is not simply an impressive building overlooking the Stadium of Light or another monument carrying the Sunderland name. It is a facility that ordinary people in the city can actually use and benefit from. Sir Bob is not infallible, and I suspect he would be the first to admit that mistakes were made during his time at Sunderland. There were painful relegations, disappointing appointments and periods when the club failed to make the most of the infrastructure he had helped to create. There were also the incredible highs of the Peter Reid era, packed crowds and consecutive seventh-place Premier League finishes. That side gave Sunderland supporters some of their greatest modern memories and briefly made the club feel capable of competing with almost anyone. Sir Bob’s time at Sunderland cannot be reduced entirely to either the successes or the failures. His greatest contribution was perhaps his willingness to look beyond the immediate and make decisions which would shape the club for generations. I have been lucky enough to interview him a couple of times and one thing has always come across clearly: his genuine love for Sunderland AFC and the city itself. It does not feel performative or manufactured. It feels deeply rooted. Personally, I think Sunderland supporters owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Whatever success the club enjoys in the years ahead will, in no small part, be built on the foundations he put in place through the stadium and training ground. In an alternative universe, Sunderland could still be playing at Roker Park. As special as the old ground was, the club might now find itself in a position similar to Portsmouth at Fratton Park: steeped in history but restricted by capacity and with limited room to grow. Instead, Sunderland have a modern stadium capable of hosting Premier League and European football, an elite training complex and a community facility that continues to improve lives across the city every day. The moment I wondered whether Régis Le Bris would be swallowed up It was recently two years since Sunderland played Blackpool at Bloomfield Road during Régis Le Bris’ first pre-season in charge. I cannot even remember the score without checking, but I do remember one significant detail from that afternoon: Le Bris started Eliezer Mayenda up front. Looking back, that selection ended up being pretty important. Mayenda’s Sunderland future had appeared uncertain before Le Bris arrived, yet the Frenchman quickly identified qualities he believed he could work with. It was an early indication that he would trust his own judgement rather than simply accept the existing perception of a player. Had you told me that, over the following 24 months, Le Bris would lead Sunderland to promotion, Premier League survival, a seventh-place finish and European football, I would have laughed. That is not because I was unimpressed by him at the time. I was. He came across as thoughtful, intelligent and clear in his ideas, but the scale of what Sunderland have subsequently achieved felt so far beyond the club’s reach at that point. I remember speaking to my colleagues Phil Smith, Gary Bennett and Nick Barnes after a pre-season defeat against Bradford City that same summer. My one fear was that the Sunderland job might quickly chew up Le Bris in much the same way Michael Beale had been. There was an enormous thirst for success among supporters and considerable uncertainty around the club. Questions remained over whether enough sound decisions were being made above the head coach, while Le Bris had arrived as a relatively unknown figure in English football. He was so mild-mannered and understated that you wondered whether he had the force of personality required to withstand all of that pressure. Sunderland can be a wonderful club to manage when momentum is building, but it can also be an unforgiving environment when things begin to unravel. It turns out that I had misjudged a mild-mannered man as potentially weak. The reality is that Le Bris is a ruthless and calculated operator who does not need to shout, posture or constantly advertise his authority. He is quiet, controlled and capable of making difficult decisions without creating unnecessary drama around them. Silent but deadly might be one way of putting it. Le Bris has shown that calmness and strength are not opposites. His authority comes from the clarity of his ideas, his preparation and his willingness to make decisions he believes are right, regardless of how popular they might initially be. That calm authority has helped Sunderland win promotion, establish themselves in the Premier League and qualify for Europe at a speed very few people could realistically have imagined when he first arrived. The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel. Of course, Le Bris has not achieved all of that alone. Several important people, both past and present, helped to create the conditions for Sunderland’s rise and deserve considerable credit for the club’s transformation. Still, it is worth stepping back every now and then to appreciate what the head coach has achieved. The speed and scale of Sunderland’s progress under Le Bris have been extraordinary. Two years ago, the club were still trying to understand the softly spoken Frenchman standing on the touchline during a largely forgettable pre-season programme. Now Sunderland are preparing for European football. Quite unbelievable.