Ellis Short
Ellis Short never got Sunderland and what it means to the fans, says Jim White
Jim White praised new Sunderland owners Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven and said previous owner Ellis Short just didn't get it
Craig Johns
Former Sunderland AFC owner Ellis Short (Image: Sunderland AFC)
Jim White says Ellis Short just didn't get Sunderland AFC and what the club means to the fans.
The American owned the club for almost ten years before selling up to Stewart Donald in May 2018.
Although Short invested money to keep the Black Cats in the Premier League for a number of years, he was largely an absent owner who entrusted the wrong people to run the club, as it eventually crumbled under his stewardship - or lack there of.
As a result, with Short losing interest, the club dropped to the third tier of English football for only the second time in its history during his final season as owner.
On Thursday new executive director Charlie Methven joined Sky Sports presenter Jim White on his TalkSport show and the Scot was full of praise for the new owners, giving his thoughts on where Short went wrong on Wearside.
"I went to dinner with Ellis Short a couple of times and I was trying to get him to talk," White revealed. "I thought I had him and then he wouldn't do it.
"To me, you and Stewart get it. Ellis Short just didn't ever get it. What it means to these supporters. That is my view.
"He never totally realised what the club is all about. It is the lifeblood to these fans. That club means absolutely everything.
Newcastle fans are some of the best - if not THE best in country' says Jim White (Image: Publicity Picture)
"Even now, we see them playing their own part in trying to get you back up. If they could physically drag Sunderland back to the Championship and then back up to the Premier League they would do that.
"The great thing about you and Stewart is that you absolutely get it. You seem to have embraced the place and the fans."
Charlie Methven
Stewart Donald
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