Before we go putting them at the top of a stand, remember piss and runny ****es are subject to gravitational forces.
I love to see Sunderland struggling but it can't continue. Chris Coleman looks lost and bewildered just now and hopefully will stick it out and guide the 'Black Cats' to a whole new level. League 1. I would NEVER want to see Sunderland get into dangerous financial trouble and risk the very existence of the Football Club. As much as I enjoy seeing their anguish, I would never wish a terminal wish against them.
As we found out when they smeared our bogs. I’m in the Milburn as are you mate so it’s the boys in the Leases who will feel the force lol.
Whey. Can that bad ugly. Bloke with the bad skin. Eric gates. Or fat ginger ice cream man not put there hands in there pockets to help
Whilst I don't think it's something that any sunderland fan wants, it might just be what's needed to get rid of Short. Quite where that leaves them tho is anyones guess. I've quite enjoyed seeing them suffer this season especially after their comments towards us when we went down. I wouldn't be upset if they dropped down again but not at the expense of them going into administration etc like. Like many on here, I do want the derby days back and we have a long standing score to settle having not won one for a while. I don't want us to have to drop down for it to happen either.....they need to ****ing earn the right to play us again ;-) I have good friends who are mackems and they are not the happiest of chappies at the moment and they still go week in week out and stay till the final whistle as well....poor bastards!
Should act as a warning to fat mike just how fine the margins are, particularly when the owner couldn't give two ****s.
Very fine margins indeed! Bar the top 6 or 7 clubs, then everyone else is only ever a couple of bad transfer windows away from fighting relegation and possible financial disaster. These days you can't rest on your laurels and take a breather after a decent transfer window, like you could in previous times. It is relentless now. It shouldn't be like that, but it is.
I would add to that, that the ramifications of a bad transfer window (or more) can last for many years, with unwanted, overpaid players clogging up your wage bill, building debt and crucifying you under FFP rules. I suspect that has a lot to do with Sunderland's current issues.
Very true, though there is probably also a correlation between the two issues. Clubs who don't plan well for transfer windows, or who stay inactive for too long, are often the ones who end up making poor panic buys that rarely work. All clubs will buy players who don't work out, but those who do it as part of a well planned transfer policy will have a smaller percentage of bad buys than those who don't.
Even though its the Mackems suffering currently which has its upside, football really has gone to **** in this country. I've never known so many supporters become disconnected. Its just soulless. Last weekend when we beat Man U I was massively heartened by the atmosphere inside St James. I thought where has this been. The sad thing is its never going to be the norm again. Don't get me wrong the money has brought lots of good things. Racism isn't as prevalent, pitches are better, hooligans have somewhat been stamped out, the stadiums are better equipped, the overall standard of football has probably got better (there are less **** players). However this gentrifying of the stadiums has meant the atmosphere has been killed. Football is also bloody expensive now as a hobby. The likes of the owners of Man City and Man U must think, why so much apathy when we've delivered you so much? You have Jose bemoaning the atmosphere at Old Trafford. Its not his fault he doesn't get it. Fans are no longer spectators, we're just customers to feed the monster. I look back at the Taylor Report and whereas reform was required to sort the safety out, the all seater path and the subsequent effect on the atmosphere and ticket prices has been an unmitigated disaster. You then have this two tier league developing, haves and have nots. There has always been these gaps but its moving further and furthers apart. The sums are mind boggling. You have clubs gambling with their future just to survive, managers a month away from the sack at any given time, clubs a few bad results or a bad window away from relegation. I often think is this just me getting older? Is this just what has always happened, people of a certain age just drift away from the game. Some stay but many don't. I don't think it is though, I think money has corrupted the game in so many ways. Not least there is too much ****ing football on the TV. Its just become over saturated. The business element has just far overtaken the actual passion and sporting element. That has caused many things including the cheating. Anything to gain an advantage over the opposition. Players rolling around on the ground when an opposition player’s fingernail brushes their shoulder. Diving. Faking injuries. Waving imaginary cards. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want leg-breakers brought back, violence, **** grounds, swathes of empty seats, uncovered stands, boggy pitches, tragedies or European bans etc. Nobody would. I just think we've replaced loads of crappy things with a whole load more of different crappy things. Money isn't always the answer.
Too Long! Actually, that was a good read with lots of good points. (Don't tell Pouchy I said so though). I even agree with quite a few points! I think there is always a slight loss of passion with age. Nothing necessarily sinister in regards to the game, just that we get perspective as we get older. It really isn't far more important than life and death. However, this does feel different. It's the youngsters losing touch too. I don't know if that is because the game has changed or society has. It seems more important to score points on forums and twitter than it does on the pitch. It's more fun to play football on a games console than it is in the park or on the street. A lot of the connections that we had as kids with football are disappearing for younger generations. That said, I agree with you that the changes in football haven't helped. I think they were all necessary changes apart from the amount of money in football. Then again, could football have afforded the changes without the money? It has definitely gone too far. Leicester apart, we are down to a very small group of teams who can ever win the league. The cups are losing their magic because so few teams play their first teams. Rochdale did amazingly well, but know full well that they will probably be facing a different team in the replay just to make sure Spurs progress. Like you said, clubs have to risk bankrupting themselves just to avoid relegation. It's not about investing to win things, it's investing to survive in football terms. Sooner or later every club risks not surviving at all once the football survival disappears.
I went to see Borussia Dortmund play at home one weekend back in May earlier this year, atmosphere was absolutely electric throughout the whole game. It's like that most weekends judging by the fans that we were talking to out there. Ticket prices are very reasonable, decent squad of good quality players and of course having a few beers with your mates whilst at your seat in the ground is not to be sniffed at. I'd much rather have one or two long weekends away in europe with me mates watching a game than fork out for a season ticket at the toon if I'm honest. I could do both but i just don't want to. Maybe one day that will change, but I'd rather gaan out and have a round of golf on a matchday morning and then either watch the game at home with a few beers or gaan to the pub.
Nicely put. You're definitely not alone as I see the same thing, and so do many friends of mine. It's a good mirror for society itself, 1% of the clubs having 99% of the wealth (over-exag, but you get the point). It's lost soul, if that makes sense. It's become capitalism, devolved from the tribalism that made it what it was. Now it's about flashy names, Super Sunday's, advertising everywhere. They should have stopped the wage problem years and years ago, should have addressed the loan system abuse as soon as Chelsea racked up their 20th loanee. They should have blocked Chelsea's franchising as well. Abramovic has really taken something to the next level, but he just did what all capitalists do and took advantage of a flawed and easy-to-navigate system.
Don't care about the mackems, was more worried about Pompey and Wimbledon going into administration but them, they can do one.
This is it. I find it hard to blame the Arabs, Russians, Americans or otherwise who exploiting the system. I'd love to think we set it up this way rather naively, excited by the prospect of riches flowing into the game. However given who was involved from the outset with Murdoch etc, I think they knew a loosely operated system would benefit certain people, attract certain people. Or maybe I'm just too cynical.
Cynical perhaps but it’s easy to see how wily fckers could take a look at football with its insidious jobs for the idiotic boys culture and fancy their chances.
