I agree and hope he stays. He would be my captain next season if I were the new coach and I would bump his wages. Fingers crossed he stays, love the lad.
I'd like them all to stay but if Patto and Clarke go and it brings in £25 to £30 million to spend across the squad then it should see us improving in all areas. Hume is another I would like to keep, but if decent money comes in, we have Pembele here already as his replacement so more funds for other areas. Neil is the really difficult one as we are already short in midfield and he has been the heartbeat of the team this season and at times has played midfield on his own.
Possibly, he just hasn't pushed on this season like we all hoped he would. Although with all the head coach disruption it does give all the players a bit of an excuse as we have been rudderless
I think we will get 1 more year out of Neil. Hope so anyway. Wouldn't lose a winks kip when Patto leaves. Clarke is the big one. Even when he is not 100, he is still our main attacking threat.
I don’t mind Ekwah to be honest, he’s continually being played as the 6 and it’s clear he’s not comfortable there. If Neil was to move on I’d like to think Ekwah would play as the 8 and we would focus on buying a 6 that’s quality.
What is Johansson like with the ball at his feet? Rotherham don’t use him in this way so it’s difficult to gauge but will be pretty vital for us with the head coaches we’re linked with. I’d probably go for Sam Tickle (I’ve seen us linked). He’s got the potential to be another big sell on profit in a season or two which would then clear the way Matt Young. If only it were that simple eh.
Just bumped into Dan Ballard in Tynemouth, absolutely lovely bloke and wouldn’t fancy going shoulder to shoulder with him, unit
The fact he’s a massive sunderland fan helps, he’d love to get us to the premier league before moving to a bigger club. But not at the detriment of his career which is sensible.
The squad is unbalanced so it needs some turnover. Although there aren’t many I specifically want to leave I think we can only afford to lose one of Clarke, Neil and Ballard. Although I’d be happy if they stayed I wouldn’t be gutted if Patterson or Hume were sold for a good fees. We could reinvest and improve overall team. To improve we need at least 2 x CF, a natural holding midfielder/ 6 , a left back and a right winger/ forward. To fund that and not bloat the squad we need to move some on.
Have to say mind I don’t want Patto to leave, certainly not for £12m. He has areas to improve such as distribution but is still young for a keeper. He’s an excellent shot stopper certainly at this level and we have been burned many times thinking the keeper is an easy position to replace. He’s not been helped by the tactics and lack of a proper DM or target man. I bet he’s one of only a few players any incoming coach would want to keep. There’s a reason he’s being linked to big clubs and it’s not just for the home grown quota.
How would people react if we offered Evan’s anther year? I’d be ok with that? He showed us what we’d been missing yesterday.
Reading between the lines, I worry about his professionalism. Could be a million miles off but comments are made now and again that seem to suggest it isn't up to scratch.
Dont think any team in our league could turn down £12 million for a GK. I dont mind Patterson but i also think he would be easy to replace If we have a manager that wants to play out from the back then we need someone better with the ball at their feet that Patterson I quite like Hedl at Rapid Wien, good with the ball at his feet and a really good shot stopper. Reckon he would be available for 2.5-3 million
