Hi there. I'm putting a piece together for Inside Wales Sport (Cardiff are one of the teams we cover). I'm just putting something together on managers and wondering if someone can help with the Sunderland section. I'm just looking for a couple of lines on Grayson, what do you expect him to achieve this season and are the fans behind him? Cheers
He's new. We don't really know anything about him. At all. A couple of friendlies and half a transfer window doesn't tell us much. Seems to talk a decent game.
Personally i think he'll get us in the top6 and im very much behind him. He seems like the perfect manager for our situation.
Fans seem to be behind him so far and seems to have sussed the situation we're in - actions speak louder than words however. Going to be hamstrung by the budget - expecting a slow start with a stronger finished once it settles down. Mid-table finish expected from me.
Nevermind that, how did you manager to join? Sign up has been broken for the best part of a year. Back to your question. He's only been here a few Months, haven't a clue what to expect. But his hands are tied financially and the squad is inadequate so what ever happens his job is already being made as hard as possible. Fans will turn on him quickly. They love him now cause he put a few positive soundbites out when he joined but Sunderland fans are about a fickle a set of fans you'll ever come across. It's already happening. Parker compared him to Moyes today. One thing is for certain with Sunderland fans. No matter the source of our problems, the problem will always be in the dug out for so many people, and they always seem to think it can be fixed from the dugout. Reality is our club is in chaos both on and off the pitch and it's going to take years of good boardroom level decision making to recover. On pitch performance and results will be a secondary priority at the club at the moment while we try and balance the books so team investment is virtually none existant. So long as we're not in danger of another relegation the chairman will probably be happy with Grayson. But the fans will never stand for it.
When I read the OP title I was expecting this to be about a whip round to finance a 50K player signing or something.
He's inherited a weak squad where it seems the spirit in the dressing room is none existent and where trouble makers need clearing out. If he follows what he says, he's the right man to sort out this mess but we still might not stay in this League. If he can't sort it out, he'll be gone by Xmas. The players who have come in are an unknown quantity, (and quality) to most Fans but I'm not expecting us to trouble any promotion favourites. If we finish fourth from bottom I'll be happy enough.
This is my worry. By the time a manager has time to flush out trouble makers he's always gone. New manager doesn't have our knowlage, they give players clean slates and has to work out the trouble makers from scratch.
It is surely time to give a manager the time and space to turn things around even if it means initial failure..
Long over due mate. Maybe I have a lack of faith in our own fans but I can see the same old **** different season coming right up.
I think Grayson has got a bigger job on his hands than he thought (good luck to him) I do fear that we will struggle and maybe involved in a relegation battle, I don't think we will go down though, my mood might lift once the window closes, if and it's a big IF, Ellis backs his words and backs the club but as it looks at the moment Grayson can expect 25% of any sales to re-invest (I.e 2m for mannone £500k on Steele) Ellis for me is the issue now, obviously wants to sell so why invest? Bad times
REASONS. ---- A Premier Lge Club is worth a lot more than a Championship Club. A Championship Club is worth a lot more than a Division 1 Club.
If our new Manager has the ambition to put a smile back on my face, (in footballing terms), I wish him the very best of luck. It's something devoutly to be wished for. However I'm not expecting to smile much for a while. As for the 'miss-managed for some years' I'm guessing he means since Niall left and our Chairman took more of a hands on role. And of course few Football Clubs will flourish if they run a revolving door policy with Managerial appointments. IF he is still in place by this time next year we just MIGHT have realistic hopes that lessons have been learned.
