Ex-Bolton manager Phil Parkinson is due to be confirmed as Sunderland manager today after being linked with the club over the weekend and into the early stages of this week.
Parkinson is set to replace the sacked Jack Ross who left Sunderland in the hunt for the League One play-off places. Parky will no doubt be tasked with taking the Black Cats back to the Championship just as he did with Bolton.
However, just like in his time at Bolton, Sunderland’s fanbase seems split on the idea of Phil Parkinson making the switch to the North East club.
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A brief glance at Twitter will show you that half of the fanbase feel like he would be a sensible choice, others feel his appointment would be an uninspiring and unsuccessful move.
Despite the trepidation, there can be little doubt that Phil Parkinson would be a solid choice for Sunderland. Just look at his first season at Wanderers.
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With the fragile financial status of the club looming in the background and forcing Parky to work under a transfer embargo, he was still able to lead Bolton to promotion at the first time of asking.
While promotion is no mean feat in an ever more competitive league, Sunderland are in a far stronger position than Bolton were in their last spell in League One. Of course, there are concerns over Parkinson’s playing style but there’s no doubt that the manager has plenty of promotion experience on his CV over the years.
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On top of his 2017 success with Bolton, he took Colchester up into the Championship way back in 2006 and brought Bradford up from League Two in 2013, the same season he led the fourth-tier side to the League Cup final.
Parkinson left Bolton just under two months ago and has been seen working as a pundit for Sky Sports and Quest, offering commentary on his final few months in charge at Bolton.
If there was an opportunity to get back into management for Phil Parkinson, the Sunderland job is not one to let slip by.