With the days of club loyalty long gone as the modern game has become dominated by money, Alex Neil’s shamefully hasty exit to the highest bidder should come as no surprise.
Not since Darren Bent’s departure to a then lowly Aston Villa when we were a comfortable Premier League outfit have we witnessed such an act of blatant mercenary greed.
There have been murmurs about Neil’s discontent with sluggish transfer activity but make no mistake about it, this was about one thing: money. Why else would you leave a high flying team playing at the top of their game in a play-off position for a struggling side sitting fourth bottom?
Sunderland will be eternally grateful to Neil for delivering us from the wilderness of League One and providing one of the happiest days in the club’s history with his play-off triumph but this shameless act of disrespect to the fans and the club will not be forgotten.