Sunderland Banter Archive August 18 2015

18 Aug 2015 19:04:41
a few people mentioning the youth something I have been saying for ages but like I said in previous posts the fear I had when dick got another year he isn't known for giving youth a chance so hold your breath lads

19 Aug 2015 09:05:15
Totally agree with giving the youth a go,went to the friendly at hartlepool last season and watched our first team struggle and huff and puff for an hour then Gus brought on the kids and they blew pools away with 3goals in twenty minutes,they had everything our so called star's were missing,pace,quick incisive passing,movement,but above all else,PASSION,they looked,like they enjoyed playing rather than it being a chore,there's not many times I,'ve watched sunderland and got a sense that the players enjoyed playing,maybe I.m being old fashioned but I played for over twenty years,fifteen of them in a pretty good northern league and given the chance would love to pull my boots on again,I know the premier league coming along with all the money changed the game,but come on boy's act at least like you care and are trying on a Saturday afternoon.

19 Aug 2015 11:21:27
Agree also with the youth given a chance problem is DA doesn't use many youngsters as we've seen with Watmore and he's even said this weekend against Swansea that Watmore may not feaure is this manager shooting himself in the foot?? Mandron .Gooch and others should be given more game time and DA also doesn't make a lot of sub changes even when the team is struggling I sometimes think that DA isn't picking the right players!

18 Aug 2015 15:13:26
This is EXACTLY why you sort out your transfers before the season starts. Now, players don't want to jump on a sinking ship and clubs see us coming from a mile off and raise the price. Players that do come do the same thing and end up on high wages and then don't want to leave until their contract is up. The club has been in this cycle for years. Splash the cash early, get a proper pre-season in and you don't have this problem. I could name 10 clubs that have figured this. Unfortunately, SAFC isn't one of them.

18 Aug 2015 12:51:47
It's a while since I have posted as I have been so despondent over the clubs transfer business and performances at the start of the season.

Firstly, I have no issues with the players we have signed for the reasons below: -

Kaboul - I personally think he will come good once fit and up to match speed.

Coates - Showed at the end of last season he can step up. For me however he is back up / cup matches and not first team starter.

Matthews - As good as if not better than Jones and should start this weekend against Swansea. Hopefully he steps up like he did against Messi for Celtic.

M'Vila - Actually looked as solid as he copuld in a dire team performance against Norwich. Of all the midfield he was the only one who looked to have some quality. (Even Cattermole has regressed from the levels he reached in the last two seasons)

Lens - Give him time and let's see him play when the team is performing and has confidence. I think he will step up and shine when this happens.

Even with my thoughts above we are still a long way short of the 'Quality' players Dick was told we would sign. The concerning thing is we are not even linked with anyone (other than aging over this hill injury prone payers). All other clubs in league are improving their squads considerably so I have grave concerns for us at present.

Why is this the case then? FFP keeps getting mentioned and the fact we have 8th or 9th highest wage bill (around 70% of our turnover) in the league. SAFC still make a loss each season so something is really going wrong behind the scenes!

Reports are saying we are still paying for players have have been and gone from the club. How is this possible as we have recouped money from transfers out (Think Henderson and Mignolet) that should have offset and covered these. Even Darren Bent provided a profit for us!

Is this why we struggle to get deals over the line as we try to pay for everything on the drip instead of up front fees?

Does this also mean it's not the purchase fees but the wages that are stopping us buying players?

I am genuinely concerned that SAFC as a club can not manage it's finances (Look at our friends up the road who now make a profit each year) and this is what is causing lack of transfers.

I also believe our scouting network must be poor. Other clubs find players in the 2m to 8m price bracket that are top quality and improve their squads. We simply do not! Put this alongside us not spending big and we are in real trouble.

I think PDC was right when he was managing the club. There is a core of 'Rotten' players who prefer drink and playboy lifestyles than performing for the club. Had he remained we might have been relegated but they would all have been weeded out and sold on. This might in turn have reduced our stupidly high wage bill!

I am basically at a loss. What I watched on Saturday was the worst performance I have seen (Bar Watmore of course) from a Sunderland team that were second to the ball , had no desire, no pace, no shape or structure, all over the pitch and basically no confidence.

Is this Short's fault? Is he still trying to right the stupid money Keane / Bruce / O'Neil spent? Is he trying to do an Ashley and get the club profitable before he spends? Or is he simply clueless on running a football club?

To conclude, we have a below average quality and overpaid squad, we are struggling for cash (even with the massive TV money now being paid), we can't scout a decent player to sign, we won't spend silly money to get a quality player and we can't attract anyone anyway even if we would due to North East and our previous campaigns.

A lot needs to change in two weeks or this season we will fail to escape and might even regain the lowest points total back fro Derby!

18 Aug 2015 15:36:18
Ed's . Do you have any thoughts on this post?

{Ed001's Note - you are right about the core problem, but then it has brought in players like Adam Johnson, who were known to have a drinking problem. They are recruiting like it is Peter Reid in charge. I think Short has to accept that he is to blame, he has put the wrong people in to run the club and they are making a mess of it. The insanity of O'Shea and Brown still being there says it all. Not just are they hopeless but they are also extremely injury prone.

I just don't think Short wants to miss out on the Prem money, so won't rip it all up and start again like is needed. No one at the club has the balls to tell him that he needs to do that, so it is stuck in this loop of short term managerial appointments to save the Prem status each season. Until that ends, no way can the club look to build a settled future.}

18 Aug 2015 20:02:09
Thanks Ed. I find the fact they renewed Brown and JOS contracts baffling when they could have freed up wages and squad places. It'd like they have some kind of hold over the directors. It's scary to think we are maxed out on wages and outgoing payments when our nett spend is only around £6m per season for the last two or three!

{Ed001's Note - it is quite bizarre how the club have ended up in this position. Everyone who has seen Sunderland play over the last few years can see that Brown and O'Shea are a weak link in the team, yet they got new deals. I have to say, I do think it was a mistake to give Advocaat another year as well. He is not a good long term choice.}

19 Aug 2015 07:34:56
I Agree Ed, a manager only there for.one season doesn't make sense, especially of he is not grooming a number 2 to take over. Come next summer we are looking for a new manager again who will need to assess the squad and decide what areas he wants to improve with no real time to make an informed decision

{Ed001's Note - if there is any forward planning at the club, they would agree a deal for someone to take over in the summer nice and early. That way they have time to assess the squad before they come in. It is very common on the continent for managers to agree deals in advance to move to a new team. It would make sense for Sunderland to do so, rather than scratch around desperately trying to find anyone who will take the job later.}

19 Aug 2015 09:20:10
Given the current disorganised chaos in place that scenario appears highly unlikely!

18 Aug 2015 10:00:16
Richardson? Ye, because we don't have ALL the ageing crocks that can't get into a team anywhere else yet! When is someone going to realise that if you keep doing the same thing you will keep getting the same results?
If we sign Richardson to plug a defence that needs at least three competent players- that is players who would get into most teams in the bottom half of the league- then I think that will be the final proof that no-one in the club's hierarchy has any ambition. Or much of a brain either, as these poor footballing decisions turn out to be equally poor business decisions too.

18 Aug 2015 11:51:26
Please tell me this Richardson rumour is a joke,wtf?is there anybody left at the club who has a clue?putting old sticking plasters over gaping wounds,I heard that as a result of the emergency team meeting on Sunday the players requested the reinstatement on jos as a remedy to the team's defensive problems,thats like going to the doctors with bronchitis and coming away with a prescription for calpol!

18 Aug 2015 12:47:09
Chops,if you are right about the players requesting the reinstatement of JOS then player power at Sunderland is still very much alive and kicking.They have seen off good managers by downing tools before and it looks like they are at it again.Sorting them out would go a long way to cure the rot that has spread through our club in recent years,surely the club know what is going on for heavens sake,Paul Merson saw it on Saturday and so did I.

17 Aug 2015 23:38:57
Lets have a look at this defoe rumour. If its true, I hope he goes. He is as usefull as a hand break on a canoe. It would be great business if we could get a few mill for him too. He enabled us to get rid of dozy who wern, t worth two bob. Whatever defoe has cost us wages wise etc was worth it just for that goal. But he just can't cut it anymore. He has had chances on goal but but he couldn't hit a cows rainbow with a banjoe. Bornmouth is about right for him. Englands retirement home on sea. I wonder if he would do us a big favour and take jos and wes with him.

18 Aug 2015 09:02:37
It's not, he said so on his twitter.

18 Aug 2015 17:28:38
Fabian delph told all the villa fans that he loved the club and would never leave. A week later he was a man city player. Trust twitter as far as I can throw up.