Cats fan group to meet owners and again raise key ownership questions

A Sunderland fan organisation has confirmed it will again be meeting with club bosses this month – with questions over ownership again on the agenda.

Managerless Sunderland are in crisis and their automatic promotion hopes severely dented following three straightdefeatsinLeagueOne.

Frustrated fans want to see a manager appointed and have also again raised questions over the ownership structure at the club and who owns what shares.

Those questions will be on the agenda when representatives from the Red and White Army fan organisation meet club officials on February 16.

At a previous meeting, which involves a number of fan groups, it was explained that as the main shareholder Kyril Louis-Dreyfus can make some decisions unilaterally, while other decisions require shareholder agreement. Stewart Donald, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori retain small stakes in the club.

However, the full breakdown of who owns what shares has yet to be made public despite the takeover going through earlier this year. Following concerns from some supporters, questions have also previously been put to the club asking for clarity over the exact role and involvement of Methven and Sartori.

Posting on Twitter after the defeat at Cheltenham Town, RAWA confirmed: “We've a meeting with SAFC on 16th and already have lots of questions including off-field issues we've already raised but haven't been satisfactorily addressed.

"Who owns what shares?

Why is the club so understaffed? And many more. That's before we start on the last couple of weeks.”

Sunderland slumped to their third straight defeat in League One, a shocking run of results with the search for a new manager still ongoing, 11 days after Lee Johnson was sacked.

Roy Keane remains the favourite to take charge, however Grant McCann and Alex

Neil are also in the frame, further interviews held on Tuesday ahead of the embarrassing defeat at Cheltenham Town.

The Black Cats took a firsthalf lead when Alex Pritchard converted an excellent freekick, yet the visitors couldn’t make their advantage count.

Second-half goals from Cheltenham’s Elliot Bonds and Alfie May turned the game on its head.