Iâve been interested to see many references in articles on here referring to us becoming a âselling clubâ in light of the recent transfer activity.
In my opinion there is nothing Bruce, Quinn, Short or anybody else can do about this for various reasons
1. Money Iâve no idea how much cash Ellis Short has or is willing to pump into the club. As shown by a recent Guardian article:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/19/premier-league-finances-black-hole
weâre not in a good place financially. We know weâve got money sloshing about from the sales of Bent and Henderson but whoever we might like to spend it on we canât afford to pay the salaries that bigger clubs can pay.
2. Geography Thereâs obviously nothing we can do about this. We all know that being stuck on the far north-eastern corner of the country is a significant negative influence when it comes to attracting big names, especially British players. Even foreign players who may be grateful to join us to get a chance in the Prem will be attracted by the bright lights of London (see the Gyan articles this morning)
3. History Weâve had some glory days in the past (not in my depressingly long lifetime, 1973 apart) but when players look at Sunderland they see a small provincial club (albeit with good attendances) belonging, at best, in mid table.
Thus, when teams come sniffing around our better players the players will usually be interested. If they want to move there is nothing the club can do about it other than haggle the best price they can get. From the players viewpoint they will be looking at one or more of a significant pay rise (probably at least £1m a year), a bigger club (in their eyes) and living in the bright lights (particularly attractive to the WAGS).
Even local lads like Jordan Henderson, if they are good enough, will be tempted by these factors.
There is nothing the club can do about any of this so lay off the âselling clubâ tag. Without European qualification to generate the revenues to pay premium wages to compensate for the other perceived downsides there is no way out.
In my opinion there is nothing Bruce, Quinn, Short or anybody else can do about this for various reasons
1. Money Iâve no idea how much cash Ellis Short has or is willing to pump into the club. As shown by a recent Guardian article:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/19/premier-league-finances-black-hole
weâre not in a good place financially. We know weâve got money sloshing about from the sales of Bent and Henderson but whoever we might like to spend it on we canât afford to pay the salaries that bigger clubs can pay.
2. Geography Thereâs obviously nothing we can do about this. We all know that being stuck on the far north-eastern corner of the country is a significant negative influence when it comes to attracting big names, especially British players. Even foreign players who may be grateful to join us to get a chance in the Prem will be attracted by the bright lights of London (see the Gyan articles this morning)
3. History Weâve had some glory days in the past (not in my depressingly long lifetime, 1973 apart) but when players look at Sunderland they see a small provincial club (albeit with good attendances) belonging, at best, in mid table.
Thus, when teams come sniffing around our better players the players will usually be interested. If they want to move there is nothing the club can do about it other than haggle the best price they can get. From the players viewpoint they will be looking at one or more of a significant pay rise (probably at least £1m a year), a bigger club (in their eyes) and living in the bright lights (particularly attractive to the WAGS).
Even local lads like Jordan Henderson, if they are good enough, will be tempted by these factors.
There is nothing the club can do about any of this so lay off the âselling clubâ tag. Without European qualification to generate the revenues to pay premium wages to compensate for the other perceived downsides there is no way out.
