It does boggle the mind as someone who watches every u21s game (not that he even plays that often) but he's a 23/24 year old 4th choice keeper for a reason. I appreciate some people have tuned in and seen him have his first good display to date but he is currently a worse goalkeeper than an 18 year old Matty Young and 5 years older - so I'm going to hedge my bets and say he's never going to cut it here and is just a stop gap until one of our actually talented young keepers is ready to step up or comes back from loans/injuries.
Yeah needs upgrading on promotion imo. If no promotion then I think it’ll be a review on young and a decision from there. Cheers for the reminder of the potential rebuild mate lol, dreading that.
On Facebook there’s a post asking who you think will be promoted. Many replies including lots from the top 4. One recurring reply is that many don’t want promotion. They say the gap is too big. They say the 3 teams getting promoted usually come straight backdown after being humiliated most of the time and it’s just awful every week. They say they would rather stay in the championship where the games are much more enjoyable and more even. I know the plan is to get there and slowly build a team capable of staying there but the comments from those supporters of recently promoted teams seem to say this is extremely difficult. It really is about 80 - 90% who are not enthusiastic about being promoted. If we go up, without spending over £100 million you think we can stay up or is our plan to bounce between the divisions gradually improving the team. I think the latter but it means loads of times being pissed off after getting thumped each game.
Yeah does make sense to a degree to be worried about just getting murdered every game in the prem, but the sooner we go up the sooner we get into that bracket of teams in this league with a significant financial advantage (should we come back down). I think it would be a big ask to stay up as it seems to be for every team who goes up, but I trust our recruitment to do more than I've seen those recent promoted teams do. I would imagine the plan isn't to try and bounce between the divisions but to stay up - while managing to balance the financial side of it to not be ****ed over if we do go down. Won't be easy.
It is a nightmare like, it does seem like once you're getting promoted the strategy now is to almost accept relegation as inevitable but that the investment you'll receive can put you in line to come back up and make a real go of it second time around. It's depressing to think we'll lose most weeks and that's just how it's going to be, most of us have been there and done that before and it wasn't fun.
Its a land grab at present , the dilemma is that by the time we do get promoted its just our luck that the parachute payments will be scrapped or reduced to a pittance.
The best way of looking at this is looking at our model, sell to buy. Selling him and funding other areas of the team would be a net positive, if we were in a position to need capital to fund transfers. Weight and social stuff aside we rely on him clipping balls out wide and hes incapable. We either adapt to shortcomings and play to strengths or move on.
Considering you won’t have a bad word said about anyone in the team even when they’ve been shyte for months what would you change? Clearly we aren’t the best team in the league as we aren’t top, nor are we in top 2 so we aren’t going up automatically as it stands so how would you improve us if you wouldn’t change anyone?
Patterson is a bang average championship keeper. Quiet as a church mouse, has no presence in the penalty area, can't distribute the ball or find a pass, never starts an attack with a quick release, invites pressure with the ball at his feet, and causes mayhem in the defence by never coming for the ball. The end.
I think we stay up for a few reasons. I was one of Jobes critics last season but this season he is different level, next season he will be even better, as will Rigg. Le Fee is premier league quality already and Dan Neil is not far off. Watson Mundle and Mayenda will just get better and better. We have shown we are a much better side if we play teams that attack us which is what will happen in the Premier League. A lot of our younger players are wanted by top half premier league sides for a reason. I think the top 3 at the moment are too good for the championship but not good enough for the premier. If they go up they will sign more of the same, premier league players that can't get a game and probably in the age range of 26-30. Or the likes of Jack Clarke going to Ipswich, I believe he is premier league quality but only playing in the position we played him. If we go up with KSs recruitment and RLBs connections we can bring in another 3 or 4 players in the LeFee mould, add that to all our younger players stepping up after another year's experience I think we'd stand a much better chance than the other 2 promoted teams and the 3 that finish just above the relegation zone
I’ll tell you now that we would take an absolute pasting off Wolves and they’re 17th. The gap is massive, there’s not a chance this squad or any championship squad for that matter will survive without sizeable investment upon promotion. We’d need a massive increase in quality in those 3 or 4 players that we bring in to have a chance. ELF is very good at this level but the reality is there’s probably not a PL team bar the bottom 3 who don’t have someone of similar quality warming their bench, that’s how big the gulf is.
Put Mayenda there, his movement and running at defenders will create space for other players, I'm sure he will contribute to our attacking play as much as Roberts, as well as goals and assists. I actually really like Roberts he's exceptional on the ball and I know he will contribute to goals by being involved in the build up, however a RW having a positive affect over a season should have more goals and assists than he is getting. I haven't looked but I wouldn't be surprised if Mundles goals and assists for this season are higher than Roberts for his entire Sunderland career that's why I think he needs replacing
The gap is huge. Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton were miles ahead of everyone last season (apart from Leeds) and despite heavy investment from all 3 they are going down with a whimper. We'd get battered without serious squad improvements. This isn't even a slight against our players, the gap is just ridiculously hard to bridge.
On transfers, it’s very quiet. Rusyn gone now, you’d expect forward news soon but there’s very little escaping to the media. No news on Ba or Aouchiche going either that I’ve heard and I’m guessing that’s part of the plan for getting more forwards.
If we played them now with the squad we have, however I do think KLD would invest heavily I think he's shown that already in the Le Fee deal, the 3 or 4 additions I mentioned would have to be a much better than what we have. I believe the young lads we have playing with genuine quality added we will have a great start block. I don't think Hume, O'Nien, Patterson, Roberts possibly Cirkin will cut it in the Premier league.
Brighton, Brentford & Notts Forest all doing canny. Have they spent massively? I would prefer to take my chance and find out. 4th off bottom would be a success. Totally accept winning most times in the championship is a good feeling but do we not want to be back with the elite? Surely most fans and players want that?
I'm under absolutely no illusion that if we go up we will probably come back down, I doubt any of our fans believe we have a decent chance. I don't want us to go on a ridiculous spending spree which could cost us dearly. Promotion for me would be not wasting a **** ton of money, the gap is insurmountable these days anyway. Rather use it as a chance to further improve our young squad and ensure financial stability for the club for years to come. We shouldn't change our model to try and ensure survival...it's too risky. I'll be there for the ride should we get promoted, whether we get tanked or not.
Forest signed about 20 players when they went up and only just escaped breaching PSR and a points deduction. We have to be playing in the PL league like why wouldn’t you want to play at the top level.. this nonsense about staying in the championship so we don’t lose as often needs to stop it’s one of the most ridiculous takes ever
The good thing is i do think we have quite a few that would step up to the PL and look at home there However, we've also got quite a few that would really struggle I would want to go for quality over quantity tho, sign a couple with PL experience to help us adapt
I love our model, I'm one of the biggest supporters of it I would just hate having to try to sign a No1 GK in January if we were to sell Patterson. Now obviously if we got a silly offer for him then I would understand accepting it I do think it's a big few months for him, he is still young for a GK tho - just need him to start making steady progress
