Sunderland fans turn on Michael Beale during home defeat to Hull City

Jobe Bellingham is seen competing fiercely against Ozan Tufan in the image captured by PA.

Michael Beale has only been in charge of Sunderland for seven games, and he is already hearing chants of "You're going to be fired in the morning" at the Stadium of Light. There are problems both on and off the field, and the situation in Wearside is not good right now.

At present, there is turmoil and tension among Sunderland supporters due to a string of occurrences that culminated in the sacking of Tony Mowbray and the appointment of Beale, creating a divide between the fans and the Sunderland leadership.

Supporters are really unhappy with Beale's management, and although it may not be entirely fair to blame him alone, as the owners Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman remain aloof in the directors' box, the situation can only get worse unless there is an improvement in the team's performance and results.

It was a disappointing night for Sunderland as they lost to Hull, who had previously lost on their home turf just a month ago. However, the biggest concern was how uninspiring Sunderland's performance was, lacking in energy and goalscoring opportunities. They failed to show any creativity or pace in the final third, and were a far cry from the team that was competing for promotion earlier in the season under Mowbray.

Sunderland, under Beale's leadership, struggled to create any opportunities throughout their game against Hull. This resulted in Hull securing a 1-0 victory, courtesy of Fabio Carvalho's goal which was deflected in the 71st minute. Unfortunately for Sunderland, this loss marked their third consecutive defeat across all competitions, making for a less than perfect start to the new year in 2024.

When Nazariy Rusyn was put back in his starting position as a central forward, Sunderland adopted a formation with Alex Pritchard on the right and Jobe Bellingham playing as the "number ten". Although Pritchard frequently moved from the wing to the inside, their tactics lacked a cutting edge which was evident in the tedious first half, reflecting the calm ambiance at the Stadium of Light. The system in play for the Black Cats was quite flexible.

Although the hosts had control of the ball and attempted to move forward with many players whenever they could, they only managed one attempt at scoring throughout the initial 45 minutes of play. Moreover, the one shot they managed to take was not very noteworthy as Pritchard moved forward towards the edge of the box and hit a feeble left-footed strike that Ryan Allsop had no trouble saving.

It was clear that Rusyn was struggling to challenge Hull's defense, and Bellingham also didn't make much of an impact. Although Rusyn had a great start to his time at Sunderland, it's understandable that he's experiencing a bit of a slump at only 18 years old and with limited experience.

The entire Sunderland team is struggling lately, and only Jack Clarke's occasional moments of excellence have led to any real scoring opportunities. As we've mentioned many times this month, it's scary to imagine where any additional creativity would come from if Clarke were to leave due to a Premier League offer before the beginning of February.

The main factor for Hull's creativity came from Carvalho. The Tigers were able to secure a noteworthy deal when they landed Carvalho on loan from Liverpool earlier this month. Carvalho displayed his exceptional skills in the offensive zone, testing both Luke O'Nien and Dan Ballard. However, Ballard impressively made two vital tackles during the first half.

Similar to Hull's goalkeeper Allsop, Anthony Patterson didn't face many challenges throughout the entire game. However, the Sunderland goalkeeper was quick on his feet at the thirty-minute mark when the opposing team executed a smooth passing play, leading to Carvalho passing the ball to Lewis Coyle. Coyle then took a shot towards the goal, but Patterson managed to get down in time to make an impressive save.

The remaining part of the initial period was quite messy, as Hull's accumulation of five yellow cards before half-time made the game slow and interrupted. The situation didn't get any better once the game resumed, as both teams struggled to create any attacking opportunities and maintain a proper pace.

Pritchard was the most threatening player of Sunderland due to his eagerness to explore the field to find some space. However, it was not a match where any player proved to be very dangerous.

It wasn't until an hour into the game that Allsop was finally put to the test with a shot worth saving. The fact that the only time the Black Cats looked like they might score was from a defender tells you everything you need to know. A ball was crossed in from the left and was only partially cleared. It landed at the feet of Trai Hume, who was positioned 25 yards from the goal. He took a moment to steady himself before launching a shot towards the net, which Allsop managed to tip over the crossbar.

It seemed like the situation could benefit from a fresh perspective, but Michael Beale didn't seem eager to bring on any substitutes, as he has done throughout his time as manager of Sunderland.

The Hull manager, Liam Rosenior, subbed in Billy Sharp to give his team's offense a boost. On the other hand, Beale, the opposing coach, decided to wait until the 72nd minute to bring in Luis Hemir for Rusyn. Unfortunately, Beale's team was already losing at that point.

Hull got lucky with their first goal when Fabio Carvalho took a shot from outside the box and the ball hit Hume's head before going past Patterson. However, it was not undeserved as Sunderland's defenders were unable to handle the corner which allowed Tyler Morton to pass the ball to Carvalho who recently joined Hull on loan from Liverpool.

Just after the ball went into the goal, a big group of people in the Roker End started to get angry with Beale. Even though he hasn't been in charge of the team for very long, it seems unlikely that he will be able to fix the problems they are having.