Simon Grayson is pleased Sunderland backed his stance on wantaway stars this summer, and praised 'clever' Martin Bain for his work in the transfer window.The likes of Jeremain Lens and Fabio Borini were loaned out with a view to permanent deals, while Wahbi Khazri and Papy Djilobodji left with no such clauses. The Black Cats did surprise most by keeping hold of Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong, with no bids coming in for the pair who were linked with a number of clubs. Grayson says Bain was 'clever' in how he handled that situation amid a summer of speculation. “There was a lot of talk about a lot players leaving this football club but ultimately nobody offered any money for either player," he said. “There were a lot of agents saying they could get the players to do this, that and the other but I think Martin Bain was quite clever in how he dealt with things, saying, ‘Go and get the deals in black and white and then we might talk.’ "There’s so much rubbish going around why mess around chasing something up with no opportunity to take it any further? “I said in the lead-up I would be more than happy to keep those two players because they’re very good players, hence the transfer fees they’ve commanded in the past," he added. Sunderland's policy of loaning players has come in for some criticism, particularly given the large fees the club have paid in the past to bring them to the club. However, Grayson is confident that he will see the benefits of the policy over the course of the season. He said: “Again, credit to Martin Bain. He’s worked alongside me and I said I didn’t want players who don’t want to be here so do whatever it takes to get them out. That can sometimes be more positive than bringing players in because of the atmosphere it creates, the negativity. Full credit to the club for listening to me and doing what I wanted. “I think it can affect us positively them being out of the club rather than being here."
I'm a Bain fan. He's probably not doing anything that chief execs at every other club do but compared to the clueless soft arses that preceded him he looks like a genius. Good to hear that him and Grayson are clicking.
Did we? Think you'll find CaS/TaS haven't ruled yet. Check the site rather than believe the Italian rag who've declared victory on it 4 times over two years or the mag paper who've picked up on their story every time.
When they've decided fella, the case has been seen but it some cases it can take 18 months to make a decision so could still be a while yet, they warned it could be a long one. There's a **** load of bureaucracy which follows their cases.
I just don't get Shorts position on the club. I totally get that he's spent, what, £300m on the club since he bought it, and had **** all back. But the results at the end of every season have only reinforced the view of many that he got into a business he hadn't done his homework on. He owns other sporting franchises and he probably let his ego get in the way of common sense. My problem with his actions in the last season or two are that they're so short-sighted. He not only risked relegation the last few seasons trying to build a sustainable model at the club but he's risking relegation this season as well while all the time trying to find a buyer for the club. The business is becoming more and more unattractive to buy at a time he's more and more desperate to sell. I don't know what the club debt is now but for me he's just gambled too much these last few seasons and failed miserably. I'm quite a smart guy and there's a whole load of guys on here smarter than me, but truth be told, there's quite a few of us wouldn't have ****ed up the last few seasons as badly as Short has done these last 10 years or so.
