Sunl'n Chairman Bob Murray admitted the decision had been a difficult one. He said in a statement:
'Whey eye 'e 'ad t' gur tha' nurs.'
Which roughly translated means:
"Sunderland is totally unrecognisable now to when Peter Reid walked through the door at Roker Park in 1995. In taking this difficult decision it's hard to realise that it has had to come to this, but the club must always come first. Nearly a quarter of the season has gone and we are at the wrong end of the table and can't wait any longer for performances to improve. We've invested more than £22million in the playing side in the last nine months but unfortunately results have not changed for the better since last season."
Ferguson is a Reid admirer:
"It's one of the saddest things I've heard for a long time because he resurrected that club. He's been there for seven years and they were going nowhere until he went there and it's a sad day for football because he's one of the great guys."
Peter Reid’s chair has not gone cold and David O’Leary has thrown his hat in the ring:
"I'm gutted for Peter, but I'm an out-of-work manager and I'm happy to talk to anyone."
George Graham added: "I'm keen to speak to any club whose ambition matches my own."
What is it with ex-Leeds managers?