ON THIS DAY: JACK ROSS SACKED

Ross arrived as an up-and-coming manager who wanted to play attacking, possession-based football.    But things took a turn for the worse towards the end and he became known for his flat, defensive style of play and an endless number of disappointing 1-1 finishes.


   The Scot has been on loan in the SoL since the summer as we failed to progress with a play-off defeat to Charlton.    In fact, many fans believed the timing was right to sack Ross right after the Wembley defeat.    But the ownership group have stuck with their man, who was appointed at the very start of our journey to League One.


   But after a 2-0 defeat against Lincoln, his position became untenable.    We were sixth in the league after 11 games, but the fans expected more from the team with the biggest budget in League One.    The reality was that we never recovered from the two defeats at Wembley and there was certainly no wind in Jack’s sails when he was sacked.


   Stewart Donald said: “This is a decision that has been taken with a heavy heart. When we came to the club 18 months ago, we appointed Jack because we felt he was the right man to lead Sunderland forward for many years. Jack is  he worked extremely hard and helped us achieve stability at the club, so I sincerely thank him for his efforts, I hope and believe that he will continue a successful career in management.”


   What was unusual about the cancellation was that it came just hours before the EFL Trophy game against Grimsby.    Assistant James Fowler took over, but the permanent job eventually went to Phil Parkinson.    And we all know how well it went…