Who should be at the top of our wanted list if Phil Parkinson was replaced as Sunderland manager?

Tom Albrighton says...

Two managers, two different ends of the spectrum. The most obvious answer to this is, of course, Mick McCarthy. A wealth of experience as well as understanding exactly what Sunderland are about, Mick would slot in seamlessly.

A man experienced in these divisions, Mick has shown over and over again his ability to get teams promoted as well as keep them afloat - at times even against the odds - the decline of Ipswich after his departure underlines that. After a sad demise to his Sunderland days, blighted by a lack of backing from above, I’m sure Mick himself feels there may be work left undone at the Stadium of Light.

My other choice is a man who knocked us back earlier in the season, so somewhat an optimistic choice. Not getting Mark Robins earlier in the season now looks like a disaster.

Under ridiculous constraints and uncertainty at Coventry for the last two seasons, Robins has made the Sky Blues an exciting team to watch and a difficult side to beat. His and his team’s eye for a good player at a good price (though usually on loan) is unquestionable. Attacking football with flair and pace, all the things we’ve been crying out for.

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Mark Wood says...

A completely left field one is Nigel Adkins. Not a big name so he has never really been in the running, but look at his record at Southampton where he took them from League One to the Premier league and was unlucky to be sacked.

The players he recruited and brought through the ranks at Southampton reads like a who’s who of top level talent: Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain, Rickie Lambert, Jason Puncheon, Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw and more.

My second would be Nigel Clough with his record of working with no funds at Burton and getting promotion, but also because of the way he gets his team’s to move the ball around on the deck and plays to the strengths of the players he has in his squad. He would be much more likely to get a tune from our misfiring forward line.

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Matthew Foster says...

After the sacking of Jack Ross, there was one name that stuck out for me, a name not uncommon in Sunderland, and that is Kevin Phillips.

Some will have reservations about this, whether it be his inexperience or his playing time at Sunderland being forgotten quickly if things go south. But here’s a man who has openly expressed a desire to be here, a man who knows the club and its fans. And let’s face it, rookie managers must start somewhere - it hasn’t done Lampard or Gerrard any harm, has it?

In respect of fans having short memories, his ability as a manager wouldn’t change what a fantastic player he was for us, and I personally would still hold him in the highest regard for that, regardless of his managerial success.

The other name would be Nigel Clough. I think he deserves a lot of recognition for his work at Burton, working on a shoestring budget and achieving above and beyond what they would be expected to achieve. He has some blemishes on his record, but he was higher on my list than Parkinson when the job was previously vacant.

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