This just ****s things up for AJ and us pretty much for the rest of the season. Realistically though, even if he came back now, his head would very likely be all over the bloody place and I doubt he'd be much use to us at all on the pitch.
The anonymous football winds me up. So much "a friend talked to a relative of AJ's mothers hairdresser and tells me he did it" BS. Followed by "I hope he didn't but now let me go on for three paragraphs about how he might have done". Baseless opinion which we could all write and yet he gets paid for it - despite having plenty of money anyway. I think everyone knew there was a drinking culture at Sunderland, just ask the Sunderland fans who live in the locality - they players aren't that subtle...
If it was me I'd welcome the chance to train & play just to prove people wrong ........ I reckon he'd play out of his skin.
Post #582 - I meant footballer* The entire column is vacuous opinion. As for the 'drinking culture' it's the sort of thing which has been mentioned or alluded to so much over the past couple of years its impossible for me to tell how much is true and how much is made up but for this person to go on about having 'revealed' it 18 months ago is a joke. It's been commented on before that but it doesn't make it endemic.
To be fair, the chap who writes the secret footballer seems fair plausible in everything he writes, and one of my colleagues has seen a load of the Sunderland team out on the drink a couple of times. It's common knowledge some of them do, especially the likes of AJ. Certainly would lend credence to the belief that there's some inherently talented footballers in the squad, just unfortunately married with some braindead personalities. However, it's unnecessary and pointless conjecture considering f*** all evidence has been presented.
“At the time of the man’s arrest, media reports suggested a weapon had been recovered from the house. This has now been fully examined and confirmed to be an item which does not require a firearms certificate, therefore no further police action will follow.” Adam Johnson has been suspended by Sunderland AFC pending the outcome of the investigation. A statement issued by the club today said: ““Following the decision by the police today, the club will be reviewing its position and will not make any further comment at the present time.” Black Cats fans showed their support for the former Manchester City and Middlesbrough winger by singing “there’s only one Adam Johnson” during the opening minutes of Sunderland’s away game against Hull on March 3.
You reckon? He claims to have inside knowledge on everybody. Nobody has that much inside knowledge. I think he mixes elements of truth with complete bollocks to add effect. Everybody knows there's a drinking culture at Sunderland. It's no revelation.
I have read his books, and some of his column, and I genuinely have no clue who it is. You'd think after a certain amount of literature and revelations even a simpleton like myself would have solved it, so I suspect you're right. However, it would not surprise me, at all, for an ex-footballer to have contacts, links and friends throughout the game who had heard something about anything that occurs within that world. There's a certain amount of cheap titillation, of course, but I think of all the footballing biographies, "autobiographies" and general football related books I've read, his provides the most interesting insight on the game.
Not read his books but read his articles. His 'knowledge' is just too vast to believe what he's saying. We could do it. Like you mentioned Biographies and places like message boards is all that's needed to access the information to form a believable foundation form a story, from then it's jackanory time where we add a fake glossy edge. Peice of piss and easy with anonymity to protect him. Contacts are common yeah, but just why is everybody breaking his their neck to give him this information knowing he'd publish it? Doesn't add up to me fella.
I love the secret footballer. Great fantasist journalism. He repackages what is said in various media outlets and says his pal told him the same thing a few weeks ago.
I'm not aware of any footballing books written by a 'secret footballer'. The first I was aware of him was in this thread. And as mentioned earlier, the problem with anonymous writers is that they invariably fail to produce any corroborative evidence, usually in case it reveals their identity, as a result of which their 'evidence' is unsubstantiated and suspect, and not worth a pinch of salt. I've always thought, maybe quite harshly, that to some degree, unless their position would be life or career threatening, that anyone making anonymous, salacious and personal attacks for personal gain are cowardly by nature.
Breaking Safc to review aj's suspension and possibly make him available to play @Gustavo's Gonads @Smug in Boots @Funky
I said earlier the club should use the complete lack of charges to suspend the suspension. If he's subsequently charged with anything we can always reconsider.
