Next Man in the hotseat

Kevin Phillips as a no.2 would be ok for me. I just wouldnt want him to to be the one who'll be put into stocks and be pelted by rancid tomatoes when things end up going wrong.

 

I really don't see that happening, for one thing it tends to be the players that get the abuse as long as the fans generally like the manager and with the amount of goodwill that Kev has I'm struggling to imagine the crowd all baying for his blood. Few grumbles maybe but I don't see how he could be so bad it ruins his legacy.

 

Its that level of expectation of pissing the league that could get the crowds on his back if the first few results don't go favourably.

 

To be honest Burley....IF Sunderland have zero debt, and get the parachute payment and have money via investors and we don't piss this league, then god help us....we are truly doomed. As for Phillips, I cannot think of another ex player who will get more support and goodwill, if it went tits up for him I still don't see him too many brickbats thrown his way, apart from the odd Knuckledragger that all clubs are blighted with.

 

Yeh, fair points mate.

We still don't know the full details behind the deal though.

Everyone's assuming that Short has written off the debt, the parachute payments are ours and we've money in the bank.

I don't see it that way. I think the parachute payments have been factored in to cover the debt and will go to Short once its received.

I think we'll be starting with a clean slate and a £0 bank balance, to be topped up by the new consortium.

 

Graham Fenton from South Shields

 

I would love a Phillips/Rae combo.

Facts are ideal starting with little experience in a weaker league with a budget likely to be 10 times that of anyone else, means they could make mistakes and learn without likely handicapping us.

They’ve got a lot of coaching experience between them now at very good clubs, I wouldn’t be worried about the lack of management, and imagine the benefit Kev could be to Asoro and Maja.

 

A million times this.

With Short, I’d have no faith in anything, despite the size of the club etc. With a clean slate, anything other than a walk of this league is a dire failure.

I’ve posted on here long enough for you all to know I rarely set myself up for a fall, but this is League One lads, and we are a massive club which has supposedly cleared 19k in season ticket sales already.

I can’t comprehend ya not replicating Blackburn and Wigan who have steamrollered that league without any golden eggs, parachute payments and big crowds.

I’d suggest the academy lads will be a cut above the majority of the league alone, the standard is going to be ****ing gruesome.

 

I was at Chesterfield's game against Forest Green Rovers the other week, which they lost and which confirmed their relegation to the conference. Their manager was Jack Lester, who had been a massively popular centre forward for them. He'd only been in charge a few months but despite the goodwill from his time as a player, he wasn't really getting any as a manager. Especially not when a rather angry gentleman emerged from the crowd and marched towards him.
I'm caught in two minds about Phillips but I think the Jack Lester example shows he's not guaranteed to get things right or be given much leeway based on his past with us. I also don't see what qualifies him as the right man, other than sentiment. I'd love to see him manage us and succeed but I'd rather we appointed the right man than someone we all remember as a legend.

 

There's no way Short has walked away clearing all that debt and not said but I want the parachute payments to offset some of that debt.

Why would he take the debt and leave a big windfall to the incoming consortia?

Unless he's turned around and said hey guy's you've still got a massive payroll AND Rodwell to deal with so you can keep the parachute payments to cover that (yeh right!!) then I'd assume there's no golden windfall about to drop in our lap from the PL.

Things are definitely looking up but they're not that bloody rosy. Not yet, not until we've learned just who the new owners are.

 

I do fully see your point mate, I just think with Kev, even taking his status at the club away, he’s always been a sensible lad, he always wanted to stay in the game, did his badges, worked with first teams at 2 great clubs in Leicester and Derby.

Let’s not forget even Alex Ferguson started somewhere, Mourinho never played football...

We could go for a supposedly great appointment, indeed most of Shorts looked that way, and still fail.

Football is like that, on the flip side if a club legend came in and nailed it, well the feel good factor that could take years to return May well get a huge adrenaline boost, it’s could rocket the whole thing back forward.

It is a gamble, I won’t argue with any of that.

 

Yeah, its just a difference of opinion fella - no right or wrong.

 

You think the EFL would ratify a sale with the clubs future income earmarked for someone who no longer runs the club?

I can’t help but think that would be an immediate rejection of the deal it would be bordering on 3rd party ownership, one of the biggest no-no in football last few years.

Let’s not forget Ellis is a multi-billionaire, he’d write a whole lot of that of v tax, and frankly wouldn’t miss the money either way.

Like you say we will find out in due course but I can’t for a second believe that the league would allow a club to declare its future income as leaving the game in advance.

 

It would just be wrapped up as an unpaid liability within the deal. Its got nothing to do with the PL mate.

I may very well just be being overly-cynical mate.

All I'm suggesting is that we not get carried away, keep our feet on the ground until we know who the new owners are.

We'll only know what the final agreed deal was, when the details eventually appear in the accounts next year.

 

Lose 10 games off the belt and stand there looking clueless on the touchline will soon get the dissenters on his case. He might get a bit more time to get things right than the average manager but he'll still get **** thrown at him eventually. But then again he might be brilliant. Its just decades of disappointment has me assuming that Phillips as a manager would be ****e!

 

Parachute payment goes to the club. EFL needs to ratify any deal.

Now the property sale (did that ever happen btw?) would have gone straight to pay off as much debt as possible. Either to pay off the personal debt to short or RBS.

 

That's another good point dan.

How does the sale of the Charlie Hurley Centre fit into all of this?

Many questions still unresolved.

 

Yeah the parachute payment will go to the club, but they could still be an agreement that the money gets passed straight onto Short

 

Football
Report: Sunderland line up Kevin Phillips appointment

By Daniel Lewis, Football League Correspondent
Filed: Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 12:42 UK
Updated: Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 12:42 UK
Sunderland have reportedly turned to former striker Kevin Phillips in their search for a new manager, as they prepare for life in league One.

The Black Cats are heading into the unknown following relegation to the third tier, coinciding with the club being sold by owner Ellis Short subject to EFL clearance.

Chris Coleman was surprisingly sacked by Sunderland at the weekend to make room for a new figurehead and, according to The Sun, Phillips is the man Sunderland want to lead them back to the Championship.

Owner-in-waiting Stewart Donald is said to be behind the appointment, seeing it as a chance to win over supporters due to the 44-year-old's strong connection with the club.

Phillips has spent time coaching at Leicester City and Derby County since bringing his playing career to an end, and the report also indicates that he may bring Alex Rae on board as his right-hand man.

 

Its just a repeat of an earlier report.