Sbragia appointed Sunderland boss

[Shaggy]

Sunderland have appointed caretaker boss Ricky Sbragia as their new manager on an 18-month contract.

The Scot, 52, has been handed the job after an impressive spell which saw Sunderland win two games, draw once and lose just once to Manchester United.

Sbragia succeeds Roy Keane, who resigned earlier this month after 27 months in charge of the club.

"Ricky took up the reins when we were at a low ebb and has revitalised the club," said chairman Niall Quinn.

"We have been taken aback by how easily he has slotted into the managerial role and are really heartened by his intelligent approach in dealing with the players and the day-to-day rigours of the job.

"He is the unanimous choice of the executive board and will receive every support in his new role. The ownership of the club have also fully endorsed the appointment.

"I'm sure all of our fans, and the players too, will give Ricky their full backing in his first senior management position."

The appointment was confirmed after a boardroom meeting on Saturday in the wake of Friday's 0-0 home draw with Blackburn, which followed impressive victories over West Brom and Hull.

Sbragia, whose side take on Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, said: "I'm delighted to have been offered the opportunity to manage a club as big as Sunderland and I'm relishing the challenge ahead.

"My main priority is moving up the Premier League table and ensuring we have unity and stability at the club.

"I've been extremely pleased by the commitment shown by the players to date and the support we have all received from the fans.

[bobbyfallon]

good luck to him. far too often caretakers are over looked.

[dww]

He has come across very well in th media and gained valuable points as caretaker - good luck to him as I think he deserves a crack at the job.

[Parm]

oh dear, I can see Sunderland sacking him before the end of the season, quite often, there is a reason why assistants stay assistants.

[dww]

oh dear, I can see Sunderland sacking him before the end of the season, quite often, there is a reason why assistants stay assistants.

What in the games he has been in charge of makes you think he won't cut it?

[tommyg]

oh dear, I can see Sunderland sacking him before the end of the season, quite often, there is a reason why assistants stay assistants.

harsh but true really, even our sammy lee had a bit of a woeful time leading a team out every week, but has been outstanding this year as the right hand man

[dww]

harsh but true really, even our sammy lee had a bit of a woeful time leading a team out every week, but has been outstanding this year as the right hand man

I think the thing is though that like Sammy Lee a lot of them are given the job when things are a bit ****ed. Bolton at the time had a lot of aging players who wanted to leave and were suffering from the club having gone as far as it could probably ever go. He also tried to completely change the way they played. I personally would have liked to have seen him given longer.

I think the real problem is that both high profile players and assistants tend to get bigger jobs than they should due to their lack of having been a manager before. Look at Phil Brown for example - he learned a lot from the debacle that was his time at Derby. Those experiences help to shape managers and sometimes I feel people are written off prematurely.

Even high profile 'failures' such as McClaren have actually done okay with both Boro and now Twente. A lot of the time it is only against unrealistic expectations that they fail. I'm not sure there are as many unimpeachable examples of people who could be top assistants and not managers as people seem to make out (that is not to say that the likes of Quieroz do not exist ).

[red g]

I think the thing is though that like Sammy Lee a lot of them are given the job when things are a bit ****ed. Bolton at the time had a lot of aging players who wanted to leave and were suffering from the club having gone as far as it could probably ever go. He also tried to completely change the way they played. I personally would have liked to have seen him given longer.

I think the real problem is that both high profile players and assistants tend to get bigger jobs than they should due to their lack of having been a manager before. Look at Phil Brown for example - he learned a lot from the debacle that was his time at Derby. Those experiences help to shape managers and sometimes I feel people are written off prematurely.

Even high profile 'failures' such as McClaren have actually done okay with both Boro and now Twente. A lot of the time it is only against unrealistic expectations that they fail. I'm not sure there are as many unimpeachable examples of people who could be top assistants and not managers as people seem to make out (that is not to say that the likes of Quieroz do not exist ).

done our manager no harm

[Parm]

What in the games he has been in charge of makes you think he won't cut it?

well the first game against the Mancs they might as well not have turned up, almsot as if he'd told them not to go past the halfway line.
win over WBA woo hoo
win over Hull well ok that makes a difference
draw with Blackburn....

Just cant see him doing much and shuffling off pretty soon. Like Les Read or Sammy Lee

[Parm]

I think the thing is though that like Sammy Lee a lot of them are given the job when things are a bit ****ed. Bolton at the time had a lot of aging players who wanted to leave and were suffering from the club having gone as far as it could probably ever go. He also tried to completely change the way they played. I personally would have liked to have seen him given longer.

I think the real problem is that both high profile players and assistants tend to get bigger jobs than they should due to their lack of having been a manager before. Look at Phil Brown for example - he learned a lot from the debacle that was his time at Derby. Those experiences help to shape managers and sometimes I feel people are written off prematurely.

Even high profile 'failures' such as McClaren have actually done okay with both Boro and now Twente. A lot of the time it is only against unrealistic expectations that they fail. I'm not sure there are as many unimpeachable examples of people who could be top assistants and not managers as people seem to make out (that is not to say that the likes of Quieroz do not exist ).

well he did have an entire pre season to get things the way he would have liked, as well as the last 2 games or so of the last season.

[Joe King]

Oh no.

Assistants don't tend to work as managers because they tend to be good cop in the good cop - bad cop act with the former manager. See post match interview on MOTD last week when some player shouted : 'Give him the job' Sbragia comes across as a bit too nice, could be a problem. The good thing is that he has been given an 18 month contract.

[Parm]

and a great start for him

[The Erectile Banana]

Oh no.

Assistants don't tend to work as managers because they tend to be good cop in the good cop - bad cop act with the former manager. See post match interview on MOTD last week when some player shouted : 'Give him the job' Sbragia comes across as a bit too nice, could be a problem. The good thing is that he has been given an 18 month contract.

I'm surprised they didn't just give him the job until the end of the season. An 18 month contract is a bit of a gamble IMO. The two big wins often seem to happen to teams that have just lost a manager. They get that temporary 'bounce' factor before settling back into their familiar groove. I have my doubts as to how long Sbragia will last. He seems like a nice chap but I have a nagging feeling he may find himself out of his depth very soon.