Only Time Will Tell For Ricky

Given that there was supposedly interest from a number of international names - and Sam Allardyce - it is perhaps strange the job should be given to a man who has never been in charge of a club before and who, in public at least, always maintained he was not interested in becoming the big boss man.

Indeed, the majority of Sbragia's experience in the Premier League came during four years as part of Allardyce's backroom staff at Bolton, so there will be some who question why give the job to the apprentice when you could have had Allardyce himself?

Yet, there is also something rather comforting about the decision to promote from within, a recognition that Roy Keane's legacy at Sunderland is a good one; that, despite the huffy way in which he stomped out of the Stadium of Light when the pressure upset him, the management team Keane put in place can still benefit the club. At least in theory...

Quinn has gone for consistency and he has gone for someone he knows he can work with, something which has become increasingly important in the modern game when you look at the rows which have erupted at West Ham and Newcastle this season - and even the sudden exit of Keane.

Having seen Keane inject some star quality into the Black Cats, was there also a deliberate decision to appoint someone whose name wasn't bigger than the club's?

Could it also be an indication that, after the lavish spending of the Keane era and the knock-on effects of the credit crunch that money is tight at Sunderland?

After all, Sbragia's appointment was also a cheap option. He will not be on the same massive wages as some Premier League managers and he will presumably not make the same demands for transfer funds as he understands the need to tighten the belts.

However, maybe I'm looking too deeply into things and searching for problems where there aren't any. The bottom line is that Sbragia is hugely popular at the Stadium of Light and the board decided he deserved the opportunity to show what he can do as a manager.

It is a risk because of his lack of a track record, but as I've already said, what appointment isn't? Even Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger had to start somewhere.

The players like and respect him and, so far so good, with three wins and just two defeats - one of which came away at Manchester United - from the six games the Scot has been in charge.

Sbragia's appointment was a surprise one, given the widespread interest in the position, but that does not make it a bad one. Only time and results will determine that.