IT’S BEEN A busy day at Sunderland Football Club.
Having been relegated to League One last week — a year after losing their Premier League status — the Black Cats announced this afternoon that manager Chris Coleman and his assistant Kit Symons have been sacked from their roles.
47-year-old Coleman left his job as Wales national team boss to replace the dismissed Simon Grayson back in November, but managed to win just five matches from 29.
Owner Ellis Short has also revealed that he has agreed to sell the club to an international consortium of investors led by Eastleigh chairman Stewart Donald, subject to approval from the English Football League (EFL).
“It is no secret that 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,” wrote Short, in a statement released today.
“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 qualifier buyers were rejected, and I have paid off all debts owed by the club to leave it financially strong and debt-free for the first time since years before I owned it.
“Assuming that Stewart and his group win EFL approval, it only remains for me to wish them, and all associated with the club, the very best for the future. I will be a Sunderland fan for life, and hope to return as a fan to watch them climb back to where they belong.”
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