The demise of Ireland’s economy could give Dallas businessman Ellis Short the opportunity he needs to buy struggling Premier League Club Sunderland.
 
The Drumaville Consortium, which took over the club in 2006, have been hit as hard as everyone else with collapse of the Celtic Tiger. 
 
According to a story in UK newspaper The Guardian, Sunderland’s Irish consortium could be bought out by Ellis short in the not too distant future.
 
Survival in the Premier League could be the final piece in the jigsaw as Short mulls over the decision to join Aston Villa's Randy Lerner, the Glazers at Man United and the Hicks/Gilette combo at Anfield as American owners of Premier league Clubs.
 
Short, the Irish American presidnet of Lone Star Funds, bought a 30 % share in the Consortium in the fall of 2008.
 
It would seem that Sunderland Chairman Niall Quinn is not unopposed to such an outcome. The former Irish international was recently quoted in the News of the World as saying: 
 
"Ellis Short has been superb. He has picked up everything so fast. I will have money to influence change in the kind of player we buy.
 
"We have 26,000 season tickets sold for next season. Please God we stay up and I hope that number will go up. We will be stronger next year and the new ownership will be vital."
 
Prayers could very well be needed on Quinn's part. Sunderland are on a terrible run of form, and only the inability of their fellow relegation-threatened rivals to amass points is saving them from being in an even worse position.