Ellis Short Replaces Niall Quinn as Sunderland Chairman: What Does This Mean?

Niall Quinn is probably the most loved chairman Sunderland has ever had.   Everybody likes him, he can do no wrong, and he was the club's saviour.  But why is it that nobody has kicked up a big fuss now that he has ‘stepped down’ as chairman?

Because, it’s the right call.

Quinn seems to have finally made the decision that he can’t take the club any further as chairman, and as usual, not many fans disagree with him.  Stepping into the breach and taking the reins is owner Ellis Short. The big question is, what can he bring to the club as chairman?

First of all, he’s prepared.  For those of you thinking this is a shock, and that Short is simply plugging a gap at the last minute, you’re very wrong.  Short has been waiting for this day, and he will have had a huge influence over Quinn and his timing.

Short has spent just over three years getting to know the club, the league and football, and this season he seems to have steamrolled into action after a series of new boardroom appointments and renewed business plans. 

The American is a billionaire, and you have to be either incredibly lucky, or incredibly smart to get there.  The way he has gone about the takeover and preparations for running the club seem to suggest Short is the latter.

Sunderland's new chairman has sat patiently and learned the football way from Steve Walton and Niall Quinn, and after three years of learning, he has set up his own team and has decided it is time he took over.

Possibly the biggest advantage to having Short as chairman is his desire to be a success.  It is clear that Short is not at the club to sell it on and make a quick profit, he doesn’t need the money and he has invested too much.  He wants to be a success, he wants to have the biggest and best football club in England, and he will do anything he can to ensure that.

It’s not that Quinn doesn’t want success for the club, it’s that he has done all he can.  He was never going to develop an international marketing plan, or be ruthless with managers and staff.  Making Sunderland a stable Premier League club is all he could do, and he has done it. 

Not only has he done that, but he has stepped aside to let someone else take the club further.  That is why the fans love him.

Quinn doesn’t have a background in business or brand building, he is a football only man and that is no longer enough in football.  Short brings a vast amount of business experience to the helm, and along with his newly appointed board members Anderson and Farnan, the legal expertise of new CEO Margaret Byrne and former MP David Miliband as vice-chairman, Sunderland is fast becoming one of the most fearsome boards in the country.

With Quinn at the helm things could have been difficult, but Short has the knowledge and experience to command and rule over the board of powerful figures, something Quinn would have been less comfortable with.

Quinn has always been a popular and likeable figure in football, and as such, has many friends in the game.  He has allies in many places and as we have seen with the appointments of Bruce, Staunton and Roy Keane, he has the ability to bring in big names.

On the other hand, Short has no friends in football, and I would suggest he won’t make many. 

Good. 

Why is that an advantage you ask?  Well, he won’t appoint Steve Staunton because he’s a mate, he won’t try and persuade Roy Keane to stay when he goes off the boil, and if Steve Bruce doesn’t turn things round quickly, he will sack him. 

What does this mean for Short, what does he have that Quinn doesn’t? 

The ability to take Sunderland further.

Football is no longer just a game, it’s a business.  Quinn is not the man to run a business, Short is.  His self-appointment as chairman means the club is finally run by a hugely successful businessman. He has the resources and desire to take the team forward into a new era of success, both on and off the field.