Look man, Gardner was probably pissed off cos Bruce wouldn't play him. Now that he's getting games maybe the lad will be a bit more settled. At the end of the day though, your home is where your heart is. Sure, money sweetens labour. Some folk can move around all over the world, others can't. Different people have different priorities. To me money has never been the be all & end all. I turned a job down in Clydebank for personal reasons & they were offering a lot more than I'm on here plus I had less machines to look after. At the end of the day, if they don't want to come here to play for us, live in the area, their wives want to be next door to Harrods then **** em I say. All cities are the same tbh, nice areas & **** holes within miles of each other. Is Liverpool, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Glasgow or anywhere else any better than what we have? No they are not. Glasgow & Liverpool are two of the roughest cities I've ever visited & some of the biggest ****s I've met have come from there, (nee offence Biffa & Froggy). However, I love going to both, especially Glesga, it will always have a place in my heart. So, to end, if they don't want to come, tell them to **** off. Simples.
This goes back a long way.. I remember an almighty stink in the Echo fifty years ago because Charlie Hurley's wife/girl friend didn't want him to move 'ap norf'. That dragged on for weeks. And Kevin Phillips refused to come back here because his wife wanted to stay in the Midlands. It must be even more difficult for Sess with a family used to living in France. Overall, I agree with syd that there have been different reasons for the players mentioned. On top of wages and style of play, Bent needed to play alongside Young and Downing to get into Capello's ear. Billy makes a good point - Gardner might be happier now he's getting games. We'll have to wait and see.
My lad was born in the same hospital at the same time as SKP's twins. I met the lad when we were both waiting for our respective lasses to drop. He had a cup of coffee with me & he seemed totally content & happy with life up here tbh, maybe his Julie wasn't?
What year was that, Billy? He was very happy up here when he played for us - it's all over his book about it. But when Drumaville came in, Niall asked him to come back (from Villa? West Brom?) and he wouldn't. I'm not sure that he's still with his first wife - wasn't she photographed coming out of a hotel with her toy-boy or something? We might not even be talking about the same wife. I don't know.
2002 mate, not sure what his Julie did but I think there was a bit of a kick off over her somewhere after the twins like. But I do know they were all born in the University Hospital of Durham at the same time. Cos I was there with him.
I'm only going on what he wrote in his book, but he and Julie were both loving it in the north-east at that time. By the time Niall became chairman in 2006/7 though, he seemed to be with a Midlands lass who didn't want to leave there. I don't know if it was Julie or a different woman.
Seems happy enough... http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/photos-and-videos/videos/stephane-sessegnon-firsts.html
I know that when SKP played for us I heard rumours of him turning up at stores in Durham with his wife and she had a black eye.
They could move to South Shields, most beautiful place in the country, we have culture & exclusive shops, just take a look around the Nook & Horsley Hill then you'll know what I'm talking about
I live in North Yorkshire and it is a fantastic county - well for scenery anyway and as for shops there's York and .....? OK b***er all else. It does have the benefit of the A19 running all the way to Sunderland as well as the Grand Central train route!!! Now if you were referring to the other Yorkshire counties, then I agree South, West and East Yorkshire are nothing to write home about
Nee offence taken Billy,the reason Iam moving back home when I retire isnt just a sentamental notion to return to my home town (though I must admit missing havin batter on me chips !) but also I reckon me little lad will stand a better chance in life living up there than down here.Now whilst I like Liverpool alot, it does have its problems, some of which havent hit Sunderland yet and Iam not prepared to subject me bairn possibly being exposed to them. So all in all, Billy yer right...the grass isnt always greener on the other side mate
It's very simple. We have been totally cak for 40 years and for the better footballers, we are not rated very highly, thus the desire to stay is easily affected. What we need is a manager that transforms our image and delivers some moderate success to put us on the map. Keegan did it for the mags in the early 90's and their profile went through the roof. Up until that time, both ne clubs suffered likewise. I think Mon could be that man but only time and results will determine that. If the club can become a regular top 7 or 8 one, good players will enjoy being here. Fighting relegation every year doesn't inspire long term ambitions for good players. Let's face it, being a fan takes some motivation some years, let alone a neutral players. Our region is beautiful, with some of the very best scenery and coastline and in Durham, there is the most magnificent cultural capital of the north as well. We have international air, train and road links to the world so that's a bogus point. We have some of the best places to live. It's simply the low profile the club has that is the problem imo. Over to you Martin.
As Cest says if we were in the Champions league it does not matter about weather or shops so much. In another thread a question was asked about who might be next to play 300 games. Unfortunately as we all know money talks an to keep good players you have to pay top whack otherwise a Chitty will take your players off you. Was born and bred in the NE, but lived and worked in London for nigh on 30 years, it was where the jobs Are. Now sort of retired I love living back up here, Northumbria is beautiful, yes as elsewhere the cities can be crap and we are not as warm a Spain. But as has been said, be a top club paying top wages playing in the Champions league and we will no trouble attracting top players. Be none of things for a long time and we have to hope MoN is going to change the profile.
