Source: Telegraph
Sunderland takeover by Ellis Short imminent
As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Short became Sunderland's majority shareholder last September when he snapped up a 30 per cent share in the Stadium of Light club from the Drumaville Consortium. Now he is set to purchase the rest of their shares. [LNB]It is understood that the Sunderland board will recommend that the Irish-based Drumaville group sell their shares in the near future to Short should he, as expected, exercise options to initially increase his shareholding and mount a full takeover. [LNB]That would mean he follows in the footsteps of compatriots such as Randy Lerner, chairman of Aston Villa, Stan Kroenke, now a board member at Arsenal, and Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. [LNB]Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn, who spearheaded the takeover of the Wearside club from Bob Murray two years ago for £10 million by the Drumaville group that is made up of Irish businessmen, will remain at the helm. [LNB]Short, a Dallas-based Irish-American, is known to be an intensely private person and will remain in the background, allowing Quinn to mastermind a strategy to enable the club to challenge for a place in the upper echelons of the Premier League. [LNB]While Short's increased power is a reflection of the club's ambitions, it is also believed that the economic recession has been painful for members of the Drumaville consortium, who are happy to move aside having provided the foundations for the club to become a top-flight force. [LNB]Short has already poured millions into the Sunderland kitty to finance transfers such as Anton Ferdinand's £8 million move from West Ham and salaries for the likes of Djibril Cisse, who headed to the club on a season-long loan from Marseille. [LNB]Meanwhile, stand-in manager Ricky Sbragia, who took charge of first-team affairs following Roy Keane's sudden resignation, will not be rushed into making a decision on his own long-term future. [LNB]Sbragia is the favourite to succeed Keane on a permanent basis but he will be allowed plenty of time and space to consider his options by Sunderland, having conceded that he is reluctant to swap coaching for management. [LNB]No decisive moves in terms of an appointment are expected until after Sunderland's next two league games, against Blackburn and Everton. [LNB]
