I've always been a believer that at the core of a club there needs to be an identity of what we are and what we are trying to achieve that drives every decision that we make.
I've read a couple of things recently that make me believe it even more.
I found Diego Simeone's comments after the Liverpool match to be very insightful. He didn't talk about tactics, he talked about emotion and commitment. He mentioned that his team are from a working class area and represent all of those hard working people. He said that they won because they "had soul". They have tapped into the strength of their surroundings and buy players who fit that philosophy.
Then I read a superb interview with Craig Bellamy in the Athletic. Bellamy is now under 21's coach at Anderlecht. The club is going through a hard time at the moment and are in serious debt, but they have a great academy. He talked about how they understand that they are a selling club (he thinks everyone except 5 or 6 clubs in the world is) and embrace it. He discusses that his role is not to win games (though obviously he wants to) but to get players ready for the first team and eventually to be sold for a profit. He likes old school manners, making them eat together without wearing hats and no mobile phones. When they've finished a game, he makes them clean up the dressing room before they leave. These are not pampered millionaires, they are working class players, often immigrants who learn that they have to work to get to where they want to be.
The club knows that they can lose players without professional contracts for little compensation so they create a pathway for these players to the first team so that they're more likely to stay until they're 20 or 21 for their development. If at that age, they're ready to move beyond Anderlecht, the club makes the best deal they can and pushes the next youngster through.
They pay for accommodation at a local boarding school where several of their young players stay together so that they continue their education. Like Ajax, they bring back former players who understand the club in any capacity that they can. Not just as coaches or managers but former players run their foundations and one even organises the schooling. Everyone at the club understands their culture and is pulling in the same direction. Former players still stay invested - Romelu Lukaku sends a message to every player who breaks through from the academy to the first team and congratulates them.
I have to be honest, this is the kind of thing I'd dream of at Sunderland. I don't really care about being in the premier league, I care far more about having a club that has an identity I can get behind. We could be this club. The one that gives hard working, working class people something to be proud of. The one that bucks the trend and teaches youngsters values rather than treating them like heires to the throne. The one that gives them an opportunity to succeed and makes the best deal for everyone when they're ready to move on beyond. The one that bit only focuses on making them good academics, but also schooling them on our own history so who we are is embedded in them.
The goal of our club should be so far beyond what league we're in next season.
I've read a couple of things recently that make me believe it even more.
I found Diego Simeone's comments after the Liverpool match to be very insightful. He didn't talk about tactics, he talked about emotion and commitment. He mentioned that his team are from a working class area and represent all of those hard working people. He said that they won because they "had soul". They have tapped into the strength of their surroundings and buy players who fit that philosophy.
Then I read a superb interview with Craig Bellamy in the Athletic. Bellamy is now under 21's coach at Anderlecht. The club is going through a hard time at the moment and are in serious debt, but they have a great academy. He talked about how they understand that they are a selling club (he thinks everyone except 5 or 6 clubs in the world is) and embrace it. He discusses that his role is not to win games (though obviously he wants to) but to get players ready for the first team and eventually to be sold for a profit. He likes old school manners, making them eat together without wearing hats and no mobile phones. When they've finished a game, he makes them clean up the dressing room before they leave. These are not pampered millionaires, they are working class players, often immigrants who learn that they have to work to get to where they want to be.
The club knows that they can lose players without professional contracts for little compensation so they create a pathway for these players to the first team so that they're more likely to stay until they're 20 or 21 for their development. If at that age, they're ready to move beyond Anderlecht, the club makes the best deal they can and pushes the next youngster through.
They pay for accommodation at a local boarding school where several of their young players stay together so that they continue their education. Like Ajax, they bring back former players who understand the club in any capacity that they can. Not just as coaches or managers but former players run their foundations and one even organises the schooling. Everyone at the club understands their culture and is pulling in the same direction. Former players still stay invested - Romelu Lukaku sends a message to every player who breaks through from the academy to the first team and congratulates them.
I have to be honest, this is the kind of thing I'd dream of at Sunderland. I don't really care about being in the premier league, I care far more about having a club that has an identity I can get behind. We could be this club. The one that gives hard working, working class people something to be proud of. The one that bucks the trend and teaches youngsters values rather than treating them like heires to the throne. The one that gives them an opportunity to succeed and makes the best deal for everyone when they're ready to move on beyond. The one that bit only focuses on making them good academics, but also schooling them on our own history so who we are is embedded in them.
The goal of our club should be so far beyond what league we're in next season.
