'Can't remember the last time I was so happy' - Sunderland fans react to takeover news and Ellis Short's decision to sell up

A Stewart Donald-led consortium looks set to take over from the unpopular American, with just Football League ratification standing in the way of new owners at SoL.

While a number of fans have been overjoyed by the news, some are a little more sceptical.

Here's a snapshot of reaction to this news, and Chris Coleman's exit, from Twitter.

@safcgeorge94 Can’t remember the last time I was so happy being at work on a Monday! All it took was for short to sell up to get some optimism back

@Andrew_McVittie With the reset behind the scenes at #SAFC, managers are less likely to look at the club as a poisoned chalice. With this in mind, Sunderland has a big opportunity to steer the ship in the opposite direction. The consequence of a poor appointment is scary to imagine.

@chizznyoni 34 million parachute payment coming in..could that be light at the end of the tunnel i see ...hopefully

@TheMightyNews debt free. New owners. £34m parachute payment coming in. new manager en route. It’s not such a bad Monday

@littleletters difficult to know what to make of Stewart Donald - while many Eastleigh fans are sorry to see him go, there's history of overpaying poor players and a managerial merry-go-round. you'd hope Mick Mccarthy is the first appointment

@aky13 The biggest mistake Short made was getting rid of Niall Quinn from the boardroom, having a football brain in there was key to buying quality, instead he let a DoF come in and buy cr*p we didn't need and couldn't sell on.

@StephenMilnes Certainly not going to get carried away with excitement regarding #safc new owners. Traditionally we do an excellent line in false dawns. This could be another one. We'll see... I have plenty of hope, little in the way of expectation.

@gabenoble12 I’m sorry but i still refuse to get excited and fully expect for the takeover to not get EFL approval. would mean short still here with Coleman already gone. Would be a very Sunderland thing to happen

Meanwhile, the club's fans have also been taking to social media to react to the news that Coleman has departed.

It's fair to say people think the Welshman got a raw deal at SAFC.

@KerrieWilkinson While I’m unsure where he would have led us, Coleman was a breath of fresh air in a stinking football club. A nice bloke with a genuine desire to be at #safc - something we shouldn’t have to praise but after i.e Moyes, I will. Wish him the best of luck in whatever he does next.

@BUD_com I’m sad to see Coleman go if I’m honest. I’m not sure why as he couldn’t get the team to hold a dog lead let alone a score line but I was hoping he’d sort the defensive personnel out in the summer.

@LBrennan89 Bittersweet about yesterday’s news regarding the club. Delighted to see Short leaving, delighted he’s cleared the debts, delighted we’re getting new ownership but a bit gutted for Coleman. He had no resources and deserved a chance to get us out of League 1. All the best