Sunderland Sold; Coleman Sacked

[Uilleam 5,960]

Sunderland sold by Ellis Short as Chris Coleman is sacked

 

• Sunderland sack manager Chris Coleman after relegation 
• Club sold to group led by Stewart Donald, chairman of Eastleigh

 

Sun 29 Apr 2018 13.02 BSTLast modified on Sun 29 Apr 2018 14.15 BST

 

 The Sunderland chairman, Ellis Short, has sold the club after Chris Coleman was sacked as manager. Photograph: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

Chris Coleman has left Sunderland and the chairman Ellis Short has agreed to sell the club on a dramatic day at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland first confirmed Coleman had been released from his contract, following their drop into League One.

Minutes later they announced a deal had been struck to sell to a group led by Stewart Donald, the chairman of National League side Eastleigh.

 

It will mark the end of Short’s turbulent ownership which has now seen Sunderland tumble from the Premier League to League One in less than 12 months.

Short said in a statement: “It is no secret I have been trying to sell Sunderland but I have waited until the right group came along that have the experience, finances and plan to take this great club back to where it deserves to be.

“Overall my chairmanship has not gone the way I would have wished; the many high points of a decade in the Premier League have been overshadowed by the low points of the last two terrible seasons.

“I was therefore determined to ensure that I leave Sunderland in the best possible hands and in the best possible state to turn the corner.

“To achieve this, higher offers from less qualified buyers were rejected and I have paid off all debts owed by the club and leave it financially strong and debt free for the first time since years before I owned it.”

The deal is subject to EFL approval and Donald has confirmed he has also put Eastleigh on the market.

He said in a statement: “With my potential involvement in Sunderland, it is a condition that I must relinquish control of Eastleigh. If the rules were different I would have loved to remain with the club for many years to come.”

The takeover came after Coleman left after the 47-year-old failed to stop the club slipping to successive relegations after they tumbled out of the Championshipthis month.

He replaced Simon Grayson in November but won just five of his 29 games, losing 16 times.

A Sunderland statement read: “Sunderland AFC announces that manager Chris Coleman and his assistant Kit Symons have been released from their contracts. The club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Chris and Kit for their tireless efforts in what has been a hugely disappointing season for everyone involved with the club. The club is unable to make further comment at this time.”

Coleman’s appointment in November was seen as a coup for Sunderland after he left Wales to move to the Stadium of Light.

But he failed to halt the slide and relegation to the third tier for the first time in 30 years was confirmed after they lost 2-1 at home to Burton last weekend.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/29/chris-coleman-sackedd-manager-sunderland

[MacK1950 2,399]

Maybe a better bet than Gerard??

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

13 hours ago, MacK1950 said:

Maybe a better bet than Gerard??

Gerrard is an unknown quantity; Coleman is a known bad one. Apart from a good international campaign, he has had a poor managerial career. 

[Uilleam 5,960]

34 minutes ago, Ser Barristan Selmy said:

Gerrard is an unknown quantity; Coleman is a known bad one. Apart from a good international campaign, he has had a poor managerial career. 

Yes, his club career is chequered, to say the least. 

 

On the bright side, we may be able to repatriate Martin Bain......