http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_7143983,00.html?fb_xd_fragment Yet another striker Bruce wanted along with crouch and cisse not to mention bellamy, so why don't these players want to sign for Sunderland I think the critisim for Bruce is a little harsh because it seems like he's been trying to get players but they just don't want to come, but over the years players like juninho and Emerson go to boro, and Owen and shearer go to newcastle why cant we sign players of that standard??
The likes of Bellamy wanted a fortune in wages, which we simply could't afford...It's also a little bit of a vicious circle where many of the top players want to play in European competitions, but the problem is getting there first.
Across Europe at least, I don't think Sunderland have shaken off their reputation yet as one of the, dare I say it, 'poorer clubs' performance wise. It's only the last few years where you guys have really became a strong team and top 10 finish contenders. Before that, it was lower finishes and dipping in and out of relegation. And I'm not having a go there, it's just a fact. Couple that with never playing in the big European tournaments, and the mere awareness of Sunderland as a club is perhaps lower than it should be. After all, you can't expect many foreign players to know much about Sunderland, and some won't even know about Sunderland full stop. Newcastle, on the other hand, is still revelling in the exposure we gained from being league winner contenders, matches in Europe and 'The Entertainers' tag which overall gained us a lot of exposure and a wider fanbase across europe/the rest of the world. When players think of Newcastle, they think back to then, which is probably how they first heard about us. That was the spark which gained us a lot of attention from the footballing community, and that's something Sunderland is obviously lacking so far. I'd love Newcastle to be respected as a 'huge club' based on more recent merits, but hey, it is what it is.
I think we will be able to sign them but they will be coming for one reason. To get in the shop window for a move to a top 5 or 6 side of which we are not. Gyan came tp Sunderland to get a toe hold in the EPL. He was always going to be a short term aquisition and once the big boys came sniffing he 'd be off. Thats not what is pissing me off though. What is really getting my goat is the talk of loan deals or 13m bids? If he is going, I'd expet nothing short of a healthy profit - I'd say at least 5m profit for a player that has scored 10 goals in the English top flight. A loan deal just seems a ridiculous deal for us altogether. Where is the value for us unless its a 5m a year fee and no wages paid. All the talk about him going will end at midnight tonight one way or the other but to let him go a week after our window closed would be a suicide decision by Bruce and Quinn IMO. If we had brought in 2 new strilkers last week - say Cisse and Bendtner on loan then fine but to leave us with Bendtner, Won and Wickham as the only forwards and Sessegnon as a makeshift striker (which we all know he isnt) would mean a long hard winter for us all. Maybe we should forget these highly paid problem strikers and concentrate on getting the likes of Shane Long etc instead. In Vaughan, Larsson and Gardener, we have begun to recruit that calibre of player. Not top 5 or 6 maybe but good enough to steady the ship. We can only start to get better players when we are competing in Europe. That brings more revenue and increases the European profile, both of which we lack at present.
I have some agreement with the text of your thining but just how has that has benefiited you in the transfer market this season exactly. Name me the top quality International superstars you signed this season (or the last 2 or 3 for that mater) based on that premise and which striker did you attract on deadline day? 8-10 years ago I'd have agreed with you completely but certainly not in 2011. It is YOU the fans at noocarsel that are living on those heady days but the media, Europe and top players have moved on from your club, as they have ours and your relegation 2 years ago knocked you way back down the pecking order as well. I will agree that our profile is not good enough due to a lack of European (not never played there as we did so back in 1974/5 season) competition and a history of relegations. We have much work to do on this but so does your club now as well.
We'll get some who want to play in the EPL, as Cest says for a toehold in the English game, and more will follow as a result. It's European footy that will get us noticed though and that's going to be a tough nut to crack. The cups were another way in, but we've already done the usual in the League Cup and the FA Cup is just as tough.
Another offering from Crapaz as to why his club is better. Nothing to do with the topic in hand as usual. He trots out the same diatribe in every post. Starts off discussing a topic to do with OUR club and gradually introduces how the Skunks are / have been / will be better.
- Santon left Inter Milan for us and spoke about watching us in European football. - Cabaye left Champions League football with Lille for us. He saw us as the next step in his career. - Awareness of our club could have been a contributing factor in the signings of Ba, Tiote, Ben Arfa, Marveaux and so on. Hard to say. Quality international stars? Not sure about SUPERstars, but: Santon Cabaye Ben Arfa All top players, all internationals for their respective clubs and all have turned down Champions League football for us. I'd say those three are the ones who have been more clearly persuaded by our reputation and club size. The force we were 8-10 years ago has naturally lowered quite a bit. However, it still plays a part I reckon. Obviously were not seen as big contenders anymore, but we're still seen as a big club, and the awareness of Newcastle thanks to things like European football means that more players know what we're about - whether they're from Italy, France, Spain and so on. I don't like to ride the joy from a decade ago as that was then. This is now. However, I can't deny that the reputation we once had, the exposure we had and the reputation we still do have as a 'big club' works in our favour. Honestly, if it wasn't for how we were a decade ago, I wouldn't expect many foreign footballers to have even heard about us. But, when the footballers of today used to watch Newcastle vs Barcelona and Newcastle vs Inter Milan when they were 10-15 years old, it sticks with them. Just look at Dimitar Berbatov. That's how far reaching European games can be on the big stage. And I do agree that we have a lot of work to do.
Don't know what Santon's got in his tank, mind. He was once the "new Paolo Maldini" and now he's shipped out to you bums? Could be a great buy; could be distinctly average. We'll see. Cabaye looks promising from the couple of matches I've watched on the TV, mind.
I don't know how good he is either, but either way, the buzz around him is pretty massive by normal standards. That alone could have led him towards any of the major clubs in Europe if they went after him. He has exceptional talent and he's actually USED it in the toughest games (playing against C.Ronaldo for example in the CL), so we just need to bring his confidence up I think. Like Obertan, I deffo think he's a player who just needs an arm around him.
Why don't the top players come to Sunderland? I think it probably has something to do with the fact that they probably have a browse on these forums, see the ammount of abuse and **** that gets dealt out by certain fans after a couple of bad games, or poor results, and then come to the conclusion that they can do without the grief.
They don't come to us because they don't see us improving or challenging for any honours. Getting to Europe is one way to entice top players to us but, we will only be able to do that through a cup competition that's those things that we take seriously.
I think we have been lucky with our "top players" most have been players other clubs did not want or thought were spent forces: Jones, Cisse, Bent and even Gyan to a certain extent. We have a tradition of top strikers at the club, the likes of Phillips and Quinn paved the way for Jones, Cisse, Bent, Gyan, Welbeck who have all been success's. I just hope Wickham and Ji follow on the tradition. I think we can attract players: Muntari and Sess show that as they were both at top european teams and chose to come to SAFC. I am not sure if you would call these top players but they are certainly decent names and decent quality.
Quite simple really, top players don't come to Sunderland because we can't play them massive wages. If we had a Russian or Arab billionaire come in then we could within reason sign just about anyone (not a Rooney or Ronaldo as they can get the same wages at a number of world class clubs) but we could sign players in the top 10 percent. Anybody who thinks the modern day footballer is not totally motivated by money is crackers. As for Boro and the Mags signing big name players, deluded mugs like our board stalkers may claim its because they could not wait to have the honour of pulling on the famous black and white shirt but I think we all know that is complete bollocks. Don't remember them beating a path to SJP before Sir John Hall and his millions turned up. Look at the financial mess they are in now because of it, without Ashley they would have gone bust. FACT. Can't believe the big man gets so much stick for saving their club.
Like Newcastle, Sunderland can offer similar wages as most EPL teams outside of the top 6. Certainly competitive with the upper bracket of wages for a mid-table club, i.e. £40k-£50k. However, when you're on a level playing field with other teams when it comes to wages, the players then look to the size of the club and the ambition. Most of them don't want to be seen playing for ****ty clubs if they can help it, and if they spot a bigger club which is more well known, they're more likely to jump ship there. However, when certain clubs can offer more wages than other teams, and more importantly, when they can offer wages which overvalue the player, then the players can put the decision purely down to money. Nolan and Barton spring to mind. We were a huge team and battling to win the league, so like other teams in that situation, we spent big on wages. However, even now, the reputation of Newcastle is helping us to bring in the likes or Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Tiote, Santon and so on. It isn't all down to that obviously, but it's certainly a contributing factor I feel.
I thought you didn't give a **** what I thought and my opinion was the lowest of the low. Knew you couldn't leave it alone. You can save everybody a lot of time Chappers by simply posting this instead of your long drawn out humourless posts. Sunderland are ****, Newcastle are great. Its what you mean in every post so please don't bore us with the rest of it. How's the protest banners going by the way.
What do you want me to say? That despite the obvious common sense reasons, Sunderland are a much bigger club who are more well known across Europe than us and who can attract bigger players? Believe it or not, I try to treat you guys with enough respect where I'm not gonna purposely kiss all your arses with my posts. I'll just say what I think. If you genuinely, genuinely disagree with the points I'm making, then fair enough.
