Haway boys! I've been off the boards for a while now but have been checking in nonetheless to read up on everyone's thoughts for our 'current events'. We've had a lot of emotion on these boards the last couple of weeks, which i personally enjoy. I've kept my mouth shut for a good few months now for various reasons- mainly to get my own thoughts organised and to see what pans out. Now that Henderson has left, we are making concrete offers for players and such, I thought I'd come in and give it a shot. I've mentioned in the past but I doubt any of you would remember, that I work in the football industry mainly based out of the far east corner of the world and so I thought I'd start off with the Ji Dong-won Ji Dong-won is one of Asia's finest talents and getting him for the price we are is excellent business. Regardless of whether he makes and impact or not on the pitch, he's a clever signing in terms of sponsorships and awareness of the club internationally. I wouldn't be surprised if we have asian characters on a shirt in the next 2, 3 years. And trust me when I say Asian sponsors mean a lot more cash than the likes of 'Reg Vardy" or "tombola". As for his footballing abilities, I've watched him on a number of occasions at the U-18, U-19 Asian championships here in Japan and he is very impressive. Koreans are generally strong by asian standards which means he should be able to cope with the premier league, and they're mentally tough as nails as well. Allin all a great signing in terms of future potential both on and off the pitch. Gibson- I think this is also a great piece of business, he shouldn't be more than 3-5 million within the supposed 12 we offered for the three pieces. I think he's a great player that just needs a regular run of games and if anything a bit of expectations on his shoulders. I think he's the type of player that will thrive under the pressure of having to be a consistent performer and he will give it 120% ever week. He also provides a goal threat with a thunderous strike and also leads to second chances when goal keepers fumble the shots, something we do not see enough at the stadium of light. And most importantly he is happy to come! Henderson- Again, I know this is a very touchy subject for the majority of this board. But I think it was right to sell him. He wasn't a game-changer for me, a good player but not an irreplaceable type for me. Credit to the academy for bringing in A LOT of money and goodluck to him-I thought he really did give it everything he had here and he was rewarded with a chance at a big club, but also left us in good spirits with a tidy sum of cash. The Board and transfer dealings- This is probably where I should be most knowledgeable as I deal with GM's and transfers on a regular basis (on a much smaller scale but nonetheless) and contrary to what a lot of Sunderland supporters are saying, I think how Niall Quinn and Steve Bruce are going about business is very savvy and smart. They are filling the squad with the rotation players that we need first, something like filling in the cracks and waiting for the big clubs to get greedy and buy players they don't need, or simply buy just for the sake of buying. While we do have a lot of money, we don't have money like Chelsea and Man City etc. Let teams over-buy until the point where they have too many and then come into swoop. Because there is no major football tournament in Europe this year, nor a worldcup, everyone is in the market very quick and fans expectations are high from an early point simply because we want gossip to fill up the dull minutes at our dull jobs. I think the big profile signings that everyone want, the N'Zogbia's and the Falcao's or whoever your preferred choice is, will happen. But let it happen when the price become more reasonable come July(when the transfer window actually opens!), early august. Lots of great players at the big clubs will feel that they're surplus to requirement after their early summer spending sprees and that is when we poach. The board aren't so daft that they won't replace the big guns that we've sold without someone. Timing is 90% of the transfer game and the board is being smart, so boys please please be patient. As for the players that are coming in now, and will come in later. Regardless of whether you think their the best signing ever, or just crap, show them love nonetheless. It's funny, football players have the flashy cars, the pretty girls, and the big houses but ultimately they are simple lads that have serious self esteem issues. They have spent their whole lives trying to live up to the expectations of fans and teammates alike, as well as trying to win over the boss. They go out every week hoping that the boss chooses them over someone else so how we, the supporters treat them could make the difference!! My god this is becoming very long, and if you have managed to read till this point, I thank you for your time and hope you leave a comment. I'm really looking forward to next season and think that we are starting off rebuilding perfectly. Ultimately it's just my opinion but I do hope that some of the lads here calm down a bit. The signings will come, have a little patience. Let the other teams do the stupid shopping first, wait for the sales. Isn't that what we do in our normal lives? same in football!
Impressive read. Hope I'm not being suckered in. Puts a lot of my concerns on the back burner. Thank you.
Very good post,perhaps we are all being a bit impatient but I'd like to see something concrete re Gibson and maybe his indecisive mates.If Ji dong won comes good we'll feel as though we have shopped in Harrods rather than 99pLand
nicely written mate and very good incite into Ji Dong-won, a player we know absolutely nowt about to be honest. If he hits its off as Park has at Man Utd I'll be well pleased and of course we are all aware of the 'international' aspect of this deal. However, I cant agree on your last statement - "The signings will come, have a little patience. Let the other teams do the stupid shopping first, what for the sales. Isn't that what we do in our normal lives? same in football!". I'm afraid that if we wait to long, like going into shop in the Supermarket late at night, all that is left are the dregs that no one else wants. Its not like normal shopping at all and we have missed out previously with N'Zogbia and Johnson last year by dillying and dallying about. We have a large war chest of money with Bents £24m and Henderson's £20m PLUS any TV money, Season ticket sales and Shorts discretionary investments. I reckon if we said £50m it wouldn't be too far out. We need to get in quick and seal up the deals ASAP before someone else does again. The early bird catches the worm mate and that's something that is perfectly true for football transfers. Good post though!
You really should post more often mate, that was excellent, so take 5 stars and some rep! I particularly enjoyed your explanation of how best to use the transfer system. I would never have guessed that our chairman and manager could be just sitting tight, waiting for the other clubs to fill their squads before making a move for some quality players that are surplus to requirements. It's time for me to sit back, relax and enjoy the summer, safe in the knowledge that we will have an enriched squad of players going into next season. Well I hope so!
I think people are over-estimating the marketing potential of having a South Korean player. First of all people are labelling him as Asian, and assuming that because he is from Asia, all Asians will take an interest. This is likely not the case, only South Koreans will take notice I reckon. I think people are going on the slightly misguided view that Asia is a country, or that all Asians are united behind each Asian country. It would be like saying if an American team signed a Belgian player, and people saying "Oh they'll have massive European support now!". Second of all, look at other teams who had South Korean players, Tottenham with Lee Young Pyo (One of their longest serving veterans), Boro with Lee Dong Gook (Ok didnt turn out well but was a superstar in his homeland before his Boro move), and currently Bolton with Lee Chung Yong (Highly talented young winger linked with top clubs). These teams are hardly raking in mega bucks from "Asian" sponsorships are they? People bring up the success of Park with Man Utd, but this is because he has featured heavily in the Champions League (First South Korean to appear in the finals for example) and won piles more honours with Man Utd. The success of Park in terms of bringing in South Korean support is down to the success of Man Utd. They are already arguably the worlds biggest, and one of the most successful clubs. A lot of football fans in South Korea and Asia support Man Utd because they simply want a reliable, well known and renowned club that gives them success, that they can have a positive association with. Ask the same football fans who Sunderland are and they'd probably give you a blank stare. Im being realistic here, success breeds more success, and signing Dong likely wont make a dent in our international presence, which is why Im judging his success solely on footballing ability.
thank you boys for the comments, but now i'm starting to get worried about what if i'm wrong. will be murdered- i reckon i would come back with a separate alias, ala big chris. perhaps frankie fourfingers or something there abouts. but on a serious note, i was speaking recently to a friend of mine who deals with most of the top african players and after telling him i'm a sundlerand supporter he first chuckled and proceeded to telling me that niall quinn is arguably one of the best chairmans in england, if not europe. and i believe it, the board said that they want a top 10 finish at the beginning of the season last year, and we got it. Europe was a fickle idea that was created on these boards and it simply got out of hand. All though we all felt a little disappointed, think the boys in the big chairs were actually quite pleased. So let's listen closer next time they speak about future ambitions, after all they are the ones that control and prepare the team to reach those ambitions.
Well you certainly know how to piss on someone's fire Matty! A valuable alternative view of how it could all pan out with regards to the signing of Dong Won. A good post mate.
Supporting Sunderland has taught me to lower my expectations to the level where any positive is a welcome surprise. Taking off my cynic's hat, Id say there is potential in growing our support base in South Korea (Who knows even this vague entity called "Asia"!) As is seems Niall has the plan of growing our international presence at the core of his ideas. The appointment of Milliband suggests this, there was also talks of a friendly with some Ghanaian league teams but I confess I dont know too much about that, nor have I heard much so I think that one must have fallen through with the loss of Mensah and Muntari.
to mackemmatty- I'm born, raised and work in asia. Trust me when i say when a player from asia moves to a premier league team, or even a championship team he is all over the press. every time he plays or even makes the bench, there are game highlights, match reports etc. TV rights for the premier league will be in an even higher demand and if, god willing he play= sunderland matches will be sought after. You have to keep in mind that asians in the premier league is still a rare thing, even though our footballing population is massive. Even if he is simply a squad player, the most anticipated matches in korea next year will be the following- man utd vs bolton bolton vs sunderland sunderland vs. man utd. So to simply put it, it can't do anything but enhance our reputation in asia. ofcourse all of this is pending a signature......
I'm agreeing with some points, but some you are way off. With the growth of the prem, most clubs are recognised, plus whereas man u are immensly popular, liverpool are equally so. Asia is a huge continent, and with the coverage of the prem they get, an asian star in a foreign continent is a big draw...
I never claimed to be an expert on Asian football, and I respect your own expertise Jesus, whilst I agree in South Korea our presence will be felt, I still have my doubts that the rest of Asia will take notice. Like I said, all Asian countries are distinctly different and its somewhat patronising to put all Asians under one banner. It reminds me of the 2010 WC when countless pundits in this country kept talking about how "The whole of Africa was behind Ghana" when there were plenty of Africans from different African countries coming out and saying they were 100% against Ghana, as they were rivals. Kind of like how we would never support France just because they are European. Ive always thought (And I stated similar views in another thread on Dong) That if we really want a large presence in an untapped market, India is the way to go. Man Utd are nowhere near as established as the top club in India, as football is only recently catching on there (Why do you think Venkys were so adamant on buying Blackburn? To exploit the emerging market whilst it's untapped). Indias population is also higher than 1billion, whereas South Koreas is merely (I say merely) 50 Million.
you are right, Japan-where i am will take no notice of this transfer however korea is a start. I work closely with both players in India and the sports management groups and all the big boys have tried their stab at india. Unfortunately the level of play is too low to take one of their players and it's also a very hard country to break into. nonetheless, i think it's great the sunderland our taking their ambitions beyond england and europe. for me thats a true sign that the club is trying to develop, and although it's one step at a time, at least we are making initial those steps.
they will ,asia in nowt like europe in football terms, they love the football and will take an asian star where-ever he is from, agree on the india theme though, but s.e asia is light years ahead of india in football terms....
