Bruce gone - Confirmed

[BalDrick]

William Hills and Stan James have opened "Next Permanent Sunderland Manager" markets.

Usual suspects quoted: O'Neill 1/2    Hughes 10/1   Lee Clark  20/1

Ha! Clarkie will never go there!

and this would be because ...

Further to the above explanation, he said in an interview once something along the lines of 'imagine if any of you scored against chelsea, then multiply that by a thousand and you're getting close' - he's not a fan, put it like that (interestingly Bruce is alse a Geordie).

[HatterDon]

William Hills and Stan James have opened "Next Permanent Sunderland Manager" markets.

Usual suspects quoted: O'Neill 1/2    Hughes 10/1   Lee Clark  20/1

Ha! Clarkie will never go there!

Doubt they'd have him back after the "sad Mackem bar stewards" incident that hastened his transfer to us.  Their loss.

Edit for the benefit of HatterDon:  In 1999, Lee Clark was photographed at the FA Cup final (Arsenal v Newcastle Utd) wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Sad Mackem Bastards".  Seeing as he was a Sunderland player at the time, this was rather unfortunate to say the least.  There was a backlash against him and he never played for Sunderland again.  Was great news for us though as we signed him (I'm sure the Bracewell link must have helped) and the rest is history

Thanks for the info; this clears up a lot.

[os5889]

On BBC, confirmed departure from Sunderland

[os5889]

http://www.safc.com/news/20111130/sunderland-part-company-with-manager_2256213_2533347

Sunderland part company with manager
Sunderland Football Club has parted company with manager Steve Bruce.

Sunderland Football Club has confirmed today that the club has parted company with manager Steve Bruce.
Bruce joined the Black Cats from Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2009.
Speaking about the announcement, chairman Ellis Short said: "This has been a difficult time for everyone at Sunderland and is not a situation that any of us envisaged or expected to be in.
"It is my job as chairman to act in the best interests of our football club at all times and I can assure everyone that this is not a decision that I have taken lightly. Sadly results this season have simply not been good enough and I feel the time is right to make a change.
"Steve has acted with honesty and integrity throughout, which is testament to the character and commitment he has shown during his time at Sunderland.
"I would like to personally place on record my thanks to him for his significant contribution to our football club over the past two and a half years and everyone here at Sunderland naturally wishes him the very best for the future.
"I would also like to thank our fans, who have endured a trying start to the season. Their support continues to be the driving force behind our club and is vital as we now look to the future."
The club will now begin its search for a new manager and will make a further announcement in due course. Assistant manager Eric Black will take charge of first team duties in the interim period.