Oooh Bally Bally

Well thats it. Mick has gone.

The fact that McCarthy was sacked probably doesn't surprise many people. However the timing of it is a huge surprise. Surely if Mick was to go, the time for his dismissal was before Christmas, time for a new manager to do something. But no, our board showed faith in him. Having persisted this long, there really seemed little point to me in getting rid of him before the end of the season.

Of course the pressure on the chairman has been increasing over the last few weeks. The protests at matches have been becoming more vocal and more visual with more people joining in each week. It couldn't be that Mr Murray sacked McCarthy to deflect criticism from himself could it? I will leave you to decide that one.

So, on to the future. I only know what I've read in the media and we all know how reliable they can be. But it seems a couple of our players are already publicly moaning about the dismisal of McCarthy. Well lads, get over it he has gone now. You still play for Sunderland Football Club and more importantly for us the fans. We are still here so show us what you can really do and why Mick was right to choose you in the first place. You are his legacy.

Kevin Ball is now our new caretaker manager. Bally, best of luck to you. You really can't do worse than Mick was doing so don't worry about that. We all know we are going down but lets do it the Bally way, fighting and lets gets some pride back in this club of ours.