Ellis Short made several poor decisions in his time as Sunderland owner. Thankfully, on one occasion, he took Niall Quinn’s excellent advice.
Short took over at the Stadium of Light in May 2009 and did not have the desired impact. The Black Cats finished in the bottom half of the Premier League in five of his first six seasons.
Having narrowly avoided relegation in 2015, Dick Advocaat’s side had only beaten Exeter City in the cup nearly two months into the 2015-16 campaign.
He resigned on 5 October with Sunderland in 19th place and the Championship looming large. Short’s next move was one of the few he got right.
What Niall Quinn asked Ellis Short to do at Sunderland
Sunderland didn’t just need a new manager, they needed a new identity. They were far too easy to play against under Advocaat, conceding 18 goals in just eight Premier League games.
Ex-striker and chairman Niall Quinn quite rightly pointed out that the Wearside club needed to go in another direction, and thought one outstanding candidate was up to the task.
“I think the same old, same old isn’t going to work,” Quinn told The Guardian during the Black Cats’ managerial search.
“I think you need a manager to really change and revolutionise everything there. Big Sam [Allardyce] might be radical in as much as he would totally change and revolutionise everything.”
We’ll never know how much of an impact those comments had on Short’s decision but Sunderland fans were thrilled that he reached the same conclusion as the former goalscorer.
Ellis Short’s next move was perfect for Sunderland
While the likes of Sean Dyche and Bob Bradley, who failed at Swansea City shortly after, were linked with the job, Short appointed Allardyce on 9 October 2015.
Big Sam lost his first game in charge 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion but his next was one of Sunderland’s most memorable in the Premier League era.
Two weeks after Allardyce joined, the Black Cats hosted fellow relegation candidates and arch-rivals Newcastle United, winning 3-0 with goals from Adam Johnson, Billy Jones and Steven Fletcher.
Sunderland won another eight league games in the 2015-16 campaign, including upsets against Manchester United and Chelsea. and avoided relegation by two points.
What made Allardyce’s achievement even more special was that his team (39 pts) stayed up at Newcastle’s (37 pts) expense.
The only shame was that Allardyce didn’t stay at Sunderland longer. Niall Quinn knew what he was talking about.