I was surprised he was sacked, but then, the owners seemed hesitant at the end of last season to give him a new contract. I remember there was alot in the press and Warnock himself kept making the point that he had no contract and did not know if he was going to be back. It seemed that the owners felt obliged to stick with him. His signings have, in general, failed to perform and when compared with Swansea and Norwich; certainly looking the poorer of the three former championship sides [I thought Norwich were buying some questionable players - just goes to show what I know!].
I have never liked the man since his days with the Blades and I always thought the Premiership was beyond his abilities; but this does seem a little harsh. However, as posted by others; they have produced little on the field these last few weeks and I bet the owners were looking at Sunderland and seeing what a difference a new manager can bring to a squad [although O'Neil has always been an excellant manager].