Good read in the Times if anyone can cut and paste. He states that “ Sunderland have a great theatre but no good actors “ Apparently he was banned by Short and watched from a mates box! Unbelievable.
Sir Bob Murray: ‘Sunderland have had a great theatre – but no good actors’ The man who built the Stadium of Light says that ‘tremendous results’ are possible in the North East George Caulkin, Northern Sports Correspondent August 3rd, 2018, 12:01am, The Times please log in to view this image Murray claims that he was not made welcome at Sunderland last season Sir Bob Murray was back on Wearside this week to meet the new owners of the club that he once owned . . . . the club that he reconstructed. Bob the Builder, they call him, and even as Sunderland have crumbled during these past few years, this miner’s son, this steelworker’s son, who was taken to Roker Park by Sydney, his dad, for the first time in 1955 and would later knock it down, was erecting concrete and glass in the shadow of the Stadium of Light. Next month, the Beacon of Light, the new home of Sunderland’s foundation, will officially open its doors. Getting to this point has been a strain, emotionally and financially, but at a club who, in sporting terms, are at their lowest ebb, excellence thrives. Hope blossoms. Within these walls, up 73 steps — a nod to the club’s FA Cup win in 1973 — lives will improve. Sunderland are at home to Charlton Athletic tomorrow in Sky Bet League One, consumed by change, surrounded by the unknown. It is only the second season in their history that they have played in the third tier, and Murray oversaw the first, in 1987-88. “I’d bought a busted flush,” he says. “I bought a club three times over its overdraft limit, I inherited a failed manager in Lawrie McMenemy and a team travelling south so quickly it was untrue.” Back then Sunderland’s facilities were remedial. Roker was “broken down, condemned,” Murray says. In one of their final matches before relegation, they attracted a crowd of 8,544 and “our supporters actually cheered Sheffield United, which I fully understood. That was McMenemy’s last game. That was what we had." “We had no training ground, the players would come in to Roker to get changed, they would drive themselves up to Cleadon, one field, two goalposts, no trees, no running water. Mud. Then back in their cars to Roker to sit in the same bath to get washed.” By the time that Murray sold out in 2006, for an almost nominal £5.7 million, Sunderland were transformed. The Stadium of Light had a capacity of about 49,000 and “the legacy is that it can go to 66,000,” Murray says. “It’ll happen one day.” Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford, future England players, were in the youth system. The Academy of Light remains a plush, bespoke training ground. “We took a very old, very male club and we changed it,” Murray says. “We had more women season ticket-holders as a percentage than any other club in Britain, the youngest average age crowd.” please log in to view this image Sunderland now have a hungry, young manager in Ross, and positivity is building. The buildings still stand, the supporters still come — remarkably, more than 22,000 season tickets have been sold this summer — yet look at Sunderland now. “It’s unthinkable that we can be in this position,” Murray says. “We’ve got a wonderful fanbase — proper, passionate, loud people, and a fantastic stadium. What a theatre that is. It’s just that the actors haven’t been very good.” If Murray was Sunderland’s great builder, Ellis Short is the architect of their decline. All that churn in the dugout, the veering between systems, the tired escapes in the Premier League, learning nothing. With Short gone, positivity is budding. Stewart Donald, Murray’s latest successor, has re-engaged with the fans, 11 new players have arrived and they have a hungry, young manager in Jack Ross. What happens next, nobody can predict, but a weight has been lifted. Ross calls it a “a new beginning”. Has Murray been going to matches? There is a pained silence. “I saw three games last season,” Sunderland’s life president says finally. “They coincided with trustee meetings for the Beacon and I saw them in a friend’s box because Ellis Short made it absolutely clear that he didn’t want me at the club.” What? Why? “I’ve got no idea.” Does he have suspicions? “Somebody suggested that it was jealousy, but I don’t know. Some people just don’t get it in life. They might have a lot of money, but they don’t get it.” That must have been upsetting? “I’ve been a supporter for 63 years and I spent 20 at the club, not for any gain personally but to put something back,” Murray says. “I care deeply about it. “To be told that you’re not welcome did hit the spot for me and Sue, my wife. Whatever I’d done, she’s been party to. We’ve both put a lot into the city, and sometimes it’s taken me away from her. When things have been bad, I’ve brought them home. There have been a few tears. It was like a bereavement.” Unlike the team, the Foundation of Light, which Murray established in 2001, has a stellar reputation. The relationship between the club and their registered charity should be umbilical. “We’re desperate for one,” Murray insists, but the football club, at a time when it’s been owned by a billionaire, has not given one penny towards the Beacon.” Financing a £20 million project was an issue, too. “It’s been really difficult,” Murray says. “In October 2016, we’d got to £14 million and had a big decision to make about whether or not we’d actually do it. The Adam Johnson affair was a big blow. People were starting to ask for their money back. We pushed forward knowing that we didn’t have the cash.” please log in to view this image As Murray says, “it’s history now”. Donald wants to be involved and the Beacon is a gleaming testament to getting things done. About 250,000 people will visit the building each year, a hub for sport, health and employment. There are six classrooms, children excluded from mainstream eduction will be taught, Nissan has a presence, there is a Jamie Oliver kitchen, outdoor five-a-side pitches, and a 4G pitch on the roof. It is a beautiful, inspiring space that is open to the public. “I’ve seen the power of education, how it changes and enhances lives,” Murray says. “My dad was a Sunderland coal miner who moved to Consett Steel Works. That’s where I was born in 1946. Nobody thought about moving away back then, but I was one of the ones who didn’t get into the works. I was unemployed for a year and that was horrendous. I felt like I’d let my parents down. “At the age of 15, I had a 46-inch waist. I didn’t know that eating certain things was bad. I didn’t know that smoking was bad. I was no good with my hands, I’d left school with one qualification. I threw myself into education, became an office boy, qualified as an accountant. I became a three-hour marathon runner in my late thirties. It just shows what you’re capable of when you put your mind to it, when you put the work in. I’m not a very clever lad, but I’m diligent.” Beside the Beacon, there is an Olympic-standard swimming pool, a Hilton hotel, both enticed there by Murray, who was also the project director for St George’s Park. “People up here, they just need a chance, a bit of help,” he says. “Help them on the way and you can have tremendous results.” In some respects, Sunderland have everything, in others they have nothing, but Murray has done his bit, in bricks and mortar. Time now for the team to start winning. Edited courtesy of Shack's post below
Didn’t he speak out against Ellis? Said he wasn’t backing the club and should hand over the reigns? Probably to do with that.
I hope he's treated better by our new owners. We owe that guy a lot. Had the vision, just not the bank balance. Just think where we could've been if he had.
Not many like him in football these days. Backs the region as well as the football club. I hope he sees many good actors in the coming seasons. Let’s kick on tomorrow.
Smashing read. He really did do all he could for the club, would we be anywhere at all without the development? Likely where we are now, but accepting that as our level.
Just a bit, money invested was great but everything else was disastrous to the extent that it completely obliterated any benefit from it.
You can see why we'd become a bit of a hate figure in our demise. We lost the common touch under Short. I've already noticed attitudes have changed towards us in a positive manner in SD's aproach.
Love Bob, without him we'd not have our academy and quite possibly the SOL. The academy is really paying dividends now with all the quality coming through. The sale of players such as Henderson and Pickford have also helped us out massively.
At the time I was all against flattening MY Roker Park. It was bloody sacrilege and unnecessary as the old lady could have had a facelift. I changed my mind reasonably quickly. I was determined to dislike The SSoL but after a few games, it grew on me and now it seems just as much a home as Roker used to. That we have the cheapest Stadium of it's size in The UK, in terms of building costs, is ALL down to Bob. He used every trick you could think of to keep the costs down and it worked a treat. If you recall around the same time Sir John, up the road, was re-inventing the Scrapyard that they RENT from the local council. Sir John is a builder. It cost them something around £80mil I believe. The SSoL cost a net £16mil in it's original form. Sir Bob is a accountant. The man is a genius and he is one of us. I can not thank or praise him enough.
£16m is incredible, when you think that Wembley was about £800m. Ok it's bigger , but not 50x as big. You can't help but think that the contractors were allowed to bill what they wanted in return for ''an envelope''. Same for the Olympic stadium and subsequent conversion.
