In defence of Ba he has contributed to the club and he has potential but he needs to be playing. The rest need to stop being lazy and get playing to make the most of their short careers
Some ****e in that list, also some that would have been superb. There’s no question of a doubt the closed deals are all players of some calibre. Interesting that the ones we signed, bar Xhaka, were done within days of being linked. Exactly how we seen it.
Agree with this. Another factor here may be that we generally have no insight into how 'failure' will affect these young lads. They will have differing levels of frustration, ability to cope with being in a foreign situation, self esteem and vulnerability. Who knows how some of these issues are maybe playing out amongst these lads right now?
Lack of respect from some towards players we have outgrown is poor. Fortunately club doesn't have that attitude. I mean they aren't doing a Rodwell so no need.
Only Joshua Kimmich completed more passes into the final 3rd than Granit Xhaka in 24/25. But it's one thing doing it for Leverkusen... another thing entirely doing it for a newly promoted side. And yet 3 games into the season... only Anderson, Caicedo and Murillo have completed more passes into the final 3rd than Xhaka in the Premier League. His composure on the ball has helped Sunderland going forward and kept the ball away from our own third... Only Newcastle have conceded fewer than our 8.7 shots p/game so far. Sunderland had to take advantage of favourable fixtures, and Xhaka's excellent start (alongside others) has helped us do just that!
It’s not their fault that they aren’t as good as some of the other players. I think it’s a good thing that the club are looking after them.
It’s a contract the club aren’t been good for goods sake. Proveda Matate Anderson and Pembele in particular are not doing anything wrong but for the good of their careers they should have been pushing for moves. Decent pros like Browne and Roberts have done the right thing and I wish them all the best. The player I mentioned above are not and I’m sure the club would have wanted them out the door. They will contribute nothing but pretend they are premier league players whilst fleecing the club.
