The Sunderland Liz Truss - Where does Michael Beale rank in club's shortest serving managers?

The crazy Michael Beale Sunderland reign is over. Was the the shortest serving Sunderland manager in history though?

Michael Graham | Feb 19, 2024

The Sunderland Liz Truss - Where does Michael Beale rank in club's shortest serving managers? /

Michael Beale will not be remembered all that fondly by Sunderland fans, but at least you can say his reign was short.

It's probably not even his fault, really. Beale was a bad choice from the start and it was quite clear to everyone, seemingly apart from the people making the actual decision, that he was just a bad fit for the club.

He didn't excite supporters and came with too much reputational damage from unsuccessful spells at QPR and Rangers.

That would have been fine though. Sunderland fans will always embrace anyone who embraces the club and delivers decent football and results.

Beale, though, failed to do either, too often behaving like he thought Sunderland should be thankful to have him when it was really him who landed on his feet.

If there is a reacher and settler in every relationship, Beale was a reacher who acted like the settler. It wasn't a good combination.

In many ways, Beale will probably be remembered as the Sunderland Liz Truss. Appointed to a job his record did not warrant, was not wanted by anyone, put the club into a nosedive and scuttled off probably more bafflingly confident in his ability than ever.

Where does he rank, though, in the list of shortest serving permanent Sunderland managers? Click through the gallery below to find out.

The Dutchman was convinced to stay on beyond his initial short term deal when fans sent flowers to his wife. Sadly, it didn't really work out as everyone had hoped.

The way in which Neil left was like a kick to the gut, but only because he had done so well before that. A short stay but a very successful one.

Paolo Di Canio only took charge of 13 games for Sunderland - one more than Beale managed - but stayed for 176 days. Most of those were over the summer of 2013, though.

Sbragia took charge of 26 Sunderland games, more than twice as many as Beale, and he will probably be remembered as a man who gave all he had and got the job - one he didn't really want - done.

Elliott had a caretaker spell in the early 70s and returned again in 1978 to take the reigns a club at which he excelled as a player. Despite winning more than half of his games in charge, the board sacked him in favour of a younger manager.

Right man, wrong time? Coleman was a bit of a coup for Sunderland following his brilliant spell as Wales manager. His time on Wearside was a disaster, though, but then again so was everyone's at that time.

Remarkably, Wilkinson is still the last English manager to win the league title. He didn't do it with Sunderland, of course. He was a disaster here.

3: Simon Grayson - 125 days :: IMAGO / PA Images

Simon Grayson wasn't exactly an appointment that caught the imagination and his results were even less impressive. It wasn't a good time for the club and any manager coming into it, but Grayson was bad.

2: Michael Beale - 64 days :: IMAGO / Focus Images

We all knew it was a bad appointment from the off, but it's still surprising he didn't manage to last longer than he did. Michael Beale and Sunderland were just never meant to be.

May be Niall Quinn shouldn't be on this list as I don't think he ever really saw himself as anything more than a caretaker. However, he appointed himself permanent manager and sacked himself just over a month later. Got to respect that!

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