It had been a whirlwind few days for everyone associated with Sunderland AFC. Whilst still a big deal, a managerial departure is not exactly unusual, but when the manager that leaves is one of the most charismatic and divisive figures in the game, it sends all media outlets into a frenzy.
Roy Keane’s departure from Sunderland wasn’t a total surprise. Relations between manager and new majority shareholder were said to be fractious, and with results on the pitch not helping the situation, it appeared
that it all became too much for the Irishman, leading to him tendering his resignation.
Keane’s departure was world news and almost front-page headlines in Britain and especially Ireland. In the aftermath of the departure, Niall Quinn was a busy man, with many people ruling themselves in and out of the newly vacant position.
With the team playing – and narrowly losing – to Manchester United also on this day, there were many stories to cover in relation to the club.
For the match itself, Ricky Sbragia took charge of the team for the evening kick-off at Old Trafford. After the week that had just gone, not much was expected from a Sunderland side that were reeling from the loss of their manager.
However, in a shock to many, the team put in an extremely defensively resolute display that almost earned them a point on the road. Unfortunately, Nemanja Vidić scored late on to give the home side a late victory to spare their blushes.
Sunderland keeper Márton Fülöp was in inspired form, and United missed a string of chances as they dominated throughout. It certainly was a defensive-orientated display from Sunderland where we barely had a chance throughout the game.
We did come close to a goal completely against the run of play when El-Hadji Diouf escaped down the left and his centre almost deceived Edwin van der Sar, who made use of his legs to keep it out.
Despite United peppering Fülöp in our goal, we probably became a victim of our own enhanced confidence as we began to sniff a potential winner. United went forward and when Michael Carrick’s shot came back off the post, Vidić was in the right spot to send the home fans home happy.
After the game Sbragia expressed his content with the performance of his side and described how disappointed all the players were with Keane’s departure.
“We stuck in there; we were under severe pressure the whole game.
“Credit to the players, I thought we showed a good spirit, we worked ever so well and, on top of that, after Thursday’s episode (Keane’s resignation), the attitude was first-class.
“A lot of the players came to the club because of Roy. We were disappointed. All the staff were disappointed, and it came as a shock.”
Off the pitch, things were heating up in the managerial hunt, with many managers expressing their interest in applying for the job. Reports suggested that over thirty candidates sent their applications to the club in the wake of Keane’s exit, summarising the interest in the newly vacant position.
Soon after Keane’s departure, rumours circulated that the club were keen on speaking to FC Twente and former England manager Steve McClaren about the vacancy. McClaren had only just joined the Dutch side that summer, so the chances of this happening were slim, with McClaren himself dismissing the rumours.
“It’s nonsense,” McClaren told Dutch newspaper TC Tubantia. “I have no interest whatsoever in returning to England at the moment.”
The search would go on for a couple more weeks before Sunderland would announce Ricky Sbragia as the new manager. The caretaker coach had garnered some internal support and through the fanbase after big wins against West Brom and Hull City brought life back into the Sunderland side.
Sbragia stayed in the job for the season, barely keeping the club up after a disastrous second half of the season where the team went months without winning a game before eventually beating Hull City in April.
