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Fans shocked by Quinn’s departure from Sunderland
NIALL Quinn’s decision to leave Sunderland has shocked football fans in South Tyneside.
The former striker transformed the Black Cats’ fortunes after taking over as chairman six years ago.
Now just four months after starting a new role developing the club’s international profile last October, the Irishman has left the Stadium of Light with the team ninth in the Premier League as well as in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Sunderland fans say Quinn will always be a legend, and an online petition has already started calling for the stadium’s South Stand to be named after him.
Marc Scott, 27, from Biddick Hall, South Shields, who works for a printing company, said: “There has to be a stand named after him, or even a statue. If you look back over the past six years, he has done an incredible job.
“But he was always one of my favourite players, and he really is a legend.”
Plumber Bobby Grimes, 64, from Whitburn, said: “It’s a bit of bad news because he saved the club really. We were going nowhere six years ago, but he put everything on an even keel and the club is looking prosperous now.
“He has set us up for a great future, and leaves quite a legacy.”
Malcolm Williams, 48, a Co-op warehouse worker from South Shields, said: “In some ways it was to be expected. He had already stepped down as chairman and seemed to be on his way out. But he must feel that he’s done his job. The team has come on massively since he took over. He brought investment to the club, and we also got good managers during his time.”
Alan Mulvain, a 78-year-old retired ship carpenter, who served with the Merchant Navy, said: “Quinn has done a lot for the club. Not many people can say they have been player and chairman, and he even had a brief spell as manager.
“I think it’s a shame that he has left because things are going well at Sunderland, and I thought he would have stayed in the job even longer.”
Retired electrician Bob Waugh, 73, from South Shields, says he likes the North-East clubs to do well, but fears Quinn’s departure could have a bad effect on the team.
He said: “I think they might struggle because he has been a big influence on the whole club, and he has always been well liked by the supporters.
“But he has built the club into the strong position where it is now, and with Ellis Short in charge, and Martin O’Neill managing the team, I think they will be all right.”
Newcastle supporter Angela Russell, 31, an illustrator and freelance writer from Tyne Dock, South Shields, said Quinn is well respected throughout football.
She added: “He has done a lot for Sunderland, and him leaving might set them back. But they have always bounced back regardless of what has happened to them.”
Twitter: @shieldsgazjoe
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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