Sunderland sacked manager Simon Grayson on Tuesday night.
Sunderland’s miserable form saw them draw 3-3 with Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night – and that proved to be Simon Grayson’s final game in charge.
The Black Cats’ shambolic defending and crippling home form was on show again on Tuesday, with a point leaving them 22nd in the Championship table, three points from safety.
Just five minutes after the final whistle at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday, Sunderland announced the sacking of manager Grayson, just four months after prising him away from Preston North End.
Grayson’s league record for Sunderland ends with one win in 15 games and 30 goals conceded, and whilst his reign barely got started, most fans feel that it was the right decision.
Bookmakers have already started offering odds on Grayson’s successor as Sunderland chase yet another new manager – and here are some of the main names in the frame tonight.
Aitor Karanka: 9/4
Spanish boss Karanka will be best known for winning promotion with Middlesbrough in 2016, but he lost his job at the Riverside Stadium earlier this year. Out of work since then, Karanka – who boasted a 47% win rate over his three-and-a-half years with Middlesbrough – has been waiting for the right job, and he is now 9/4 for the Sunderland job.
Peter Reid: 11/4
Former Sunderland boss Reid remains a popular figure on Wearside after seven-and-a-half years in charge of the Black Cats, in which he won 45% of his games. Now 61, Reid was last in management with Mumbai City in 2014, where he lost his job after three wins and three defeats in six games in charge, whilst he did become a coach at Bolton in 2016. It’s unclear whether Reid wants a return to Sunderland, but he would certainly be popular with fans.
Stefan Schwarz: 6/1
Former Sunderland midfielder Schwarz made more than 60 appearances for the club following a 1999 move from Valencia, before retiring with the Black Cats following their relegation form the Premier League in 2003. The Swede, 48, has previously offered his services to Sunderland as a coach, and whilst he has no managerial experience, he has emerged as a surprise 6/1 shot to replace Grayson.
Paul Cook: 7/1
Wigan Athletic boss Cook won promotion with Portsmouth last season before leaving for the DW Stadium, he has the Latics up in second place in the League One table. A consistently impressive Football League boss with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and now Wigan, Cook may be too similar to Grayson for Sunderland fans to get excited about, but he is now 7/1 for the job this evening.
Nigel Pearson: 8/1
Currently managing in Belgium following a shock move to OH Leuven, Pearson will be regularly linked with a move back to England, and it’s now Sunderland being suggested. The former Leicester boss guided the Foxes to promotion to the Premier League in 2014 and kept them in the top flight, but a recent move to Derby proved to be a disaster. At 8/1, Pearson is a name to keep an eye on.
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