Sunderland appoint Steve 'I bleed black and white' Bruce as new manager

[Neil]

Will there be any merchandise to commemorate Keane's inevitable departure? DVD? Mug?

[Jamie]

Just had an interesting Text, anybody know owt?

Same. He hasn't travelled to Blackburn or something

[Guest Nufc4Life]

Quinn's been on metro radio apparently, no truth in the rumours.

[Guest toonlass]

Quinn's been on metro radio apparently, no truth in the rumours.

 

Interesting! Century said that the club had refused to comment saying "You will have to ask him!"

[Yorkie]

Matter of time before he does walk. He's too proud to get himself into a position where he's gonna get sacked... not surprised at all if these rumours have any substance. Aye he's alledgedly got em 'safe', but he's ballsed it up big time given the money that they've spent. Tbh though, they're a better bet to go down than several others, such is the tight nature of the league and the overperforming of the promoted clubs.

[TRon]

I don't think he's pulled up any trees at Sunderland, in fact he's bought badly if truth be told. But he's still too big for that cess-pit.

Keane just doesn't look right there, they should be bossed by clueless wankers like Mick McCarthy.

 

[Benwell Lad]

Even if it's not true it's only a matter of time before he does a runner. He looks sick of life at Sunderland, and he's spent all his money on a bunch of un-motivated mercenaries.

 

 

 

Is probably the truth of the matter.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Shite manager, shite club, shite news if true. I hope he stays because he's doing a great job as far as I'm concerned 

[Exiled in Texas]

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/writers/the_limey/09/22/bungs.music/t1_allardyce_0920.jpg

 

 

"I could do that, giz a job"

 

Would love to see BSA at Sunderland.....especially after "THAT" photoshop thread that ran to over 100 pages.

[Parky]

This is going to be a fucking giggle.

[Guest BooBoo]

Wasted so much money on dross. Anybody with any sort of backbone would have sent him packing. His results and general attitude in the Premier League are rotten and he's incapable of accepting any criticism. Niall Quinn though is too scared of him to sack him.

[Dave]

Heard a mackem on the radio yesterday saying he and his mates (sounded more like meats) were sick to death of "old Keano" and wanted shot of him.

 

The panel were stunned and wondered if the mackems were deluded.

 

[cp40]

Paddy Power on the Radio, saying he heard RK had walked out after a huge row with the scumberland board.

 

 

No smoke without flames,...at least not in the part of the world Roy comes from.

[Tooj]

Paddy Power on the Radio, saying he heard RK had walked out after a huge row with the scumberland board.

 

 

No smoke without flames,...at least not in the part of the world Roy comes from.

 

[Guest Heneage]

Paddy Power on the Radio, saying he heard RK had walked out after a huge row with the scumberland board.

 

 

No smoke without flames,...at least not in the part of the world Roy comes from.

Mr Paddy Power, conjures up a leprechaun for some reason.

[Dr Venkman]

couldnt care less about keane but id laugh my tits off if they got allardyce

[TRon]

Of course he's had a massive row with the board. He's been spunking money left right and centre on greedy players who hate the city and spend most of their time getting pissed in Newcastle and they're still fighting relegation. They could have done all that without wasting £80m.

[Thespence]

Poor Louise she is gutted that her boy Roy is on shit row & randomly selecting his team i.e one game a player starts then next game not even on the bench......Louise obviously brings us into the reasons why Roy is finding it tough.

 

Roy Keane will now know precisely why Graeme Souness repeatedly likened north-east football politics to those of "a third-world banana republic".

 

The former Newcastle United manager regularly lamented the region's "hysterical" behind-the-scenes rumour mill and would doubtless have raised his eyebrows at heavily spun local radio reports declaring Keane was on the verge of being sacked yesterday. So fevered was the fallout that bookmakers suspended betting on the possibility of the Irishman either being axed or walking out last night.

 

"Complete nonsense," retorted Sunderland. Keane has been brilliantly described as an "anti-authority authoritarian" but a combination of spending £80m on players in two years, a decision to play hardball over contract negotiations and the small matter of four successive defeats has diluted his autonomy.

 

As recently as last month the idea of reporting "Keane faces axe" would have been unthinkable but, suddenly, questioning his judgment is no longer seen as sacrilege on Wearside. The boos echoing around the Stadium of Light following Wednesday night's 2-1 Carling Cup reverse against Blackburn Rovers had barely faded before the lines into Radio 5 Live's football phone-in were jammed with callers demanding Keane's head.

 

This shift in the relationship between the former Manchester United captain and a hitherto unconditionally adoring audience comes at a time when Sunderland have played some of their best passing football in years. Yet betrayed by appalling finishing, the team have followed up a famous local derby victory against Newcastle by losing at Stoke City and Chelsea - where the normally controlled Keane was sent to the stands by the referee Martin Atkinson during a 5-0 drubbing and is now on a disrepute charge - and at home to Portsmouth and Blackburn.

 

Indeed, as Sunderland's squad head to Ewood Park for today's Premier League rematch with Blackburn, the investors who form Sunderland's controlling Drumaville Consortium are becoming impatient. After backing Keane to the hilt in the transfer market it is understood that they cannot understand why he and his lawyer, Michael Kennedy, are making such a meal of negotiations to extend a contract which expires next June. Such irritation is starting to seep out into the public domain and it does not help Keane's cause that he is clearly experiencing problems with some of his more controversial summer signings.

 

While he appears to be struggling to motivate El Hadji Diouf, there have been a couple of incidents involving the regularly dropped Pascal Chimbonda. Meanwhile, David Healy has barely featured since his move from Fulham and is believed to be unimpressed by his treatment.

 

"You never know with signings until you get them into the club," said Keane recently. "I've bought players I was convinced were right for us but, after a week, I've thought, 'Nah you're not for me'."

 

If he is perhaps learning the hard way that he does not necessarily boast his late mentor Brian Clough's knack of taming mavericks, Keane has, however, presided over some notable successes.

 

The conversion of Kieran Richardson, a once flaky Manchester United winger, into a central midfielder has prompted talk of an England call-up, the skilful Steed Malbranque looks a good acquisition from Tottenham and Anton Ferdinand's assurance in possession at centre-half is making Sunderland increasingly easy on the eye.

 

However, the success of Richardson and Malbranque has often led to Keane leaving Andy Reid's goal-conjuring invention on the bench. When Sunderland's players recently paraded at a charity fashion catwalk, the guitar-strumming, Reid - a talented singer-songwriter - provided both backing music and vocals. The diminutive, slightly chunky midfielder can be similarly inspiring on the pitch and his presence invariably helps Sunderland flow.

 

Yet if Djibril Cissé craves the Dubliner's improvisational passing incision, Keane appears to have become slightly fixated with computerised analysis of players' performances just lately and Reid is probably not top of the class when it comes to the ProZone print-outs adorning the manager's desk. With Niall Quinn, Sunderland's chairman and a conciliator par excellence, tipped to pour oil on troubled waters, the odds are that, sooner rather than later, Keane will be signing a legal document keeping him behind it for two or three more seasons.

 

In time he may laugh at yesterday's hysteria but, nonetheless, it could prove something of a watershed in the career of a man who, as a player, traditionally stalled on agreeing new deals safe in the knowledge that his club wanted him more than he needed them. Roy Keane remains immensely important to Sunderland but the Irishman is possibly realising that even he is not quite indispensable.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/15/sunderland-premierleague

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

Hope to fuck they get Allardyce in and he manages to convince that gormless gobshite Quinn and drumaville that £20m for Alan Smith is a "steal".

[Guest Heneage]

What a "Third world banana republic". Oh but its different when Ramos spends 70m and gets nowhere! If a NE manager does it and fans kick off its us lot being fairweathers.

[cp40]

Do-ing the rounds again today. disagreement over his new contract.

[BlueStar]

He was quite emphatic about it being bollocks in his post-match interview after Blackburn.  But then look what happened with Keegan "We haven't sacked him, he hasn't resigned"  "So he's still manager then?"  "..."

[cp40]

reports today, that he refuses to discuss his future at Sunderland, beyond the end of this season,........

 

he has said, if im not here in six months, the club will be in a better position, than when i came here,...

 

He is fucking off then,  hehe

[TRon]

He's being ordered to sell players especially cunts like Chimbonda (what a surprise that didn't work out).

 

All that money spent on mercenaries and they are still fighting relegation. What a disastrous job he's done.

[Guest elbee909]

He's being ordered to sell players especially cunts like Chimbonda (what a surprise that didn't work out).

 

All that money spent on mercenaries and they are still fighting relegation. What a disastrous job he's done.

 

Warms the cockles.