The Times they are a changing ...

... and it feels good.

From the Times

"About twenty seconds passed between Grant Leadbitter’s winning penalty for Sunderland against Lincoln City in the semi-final of the Papa John’s Trophy last week and the arrival of a text from a friend.

After brief pleasantries came the point. “Any chance of a press pass entry into Wembley for the daft pizza cup final? Sunderland v Tranmere. My mate and I — having been to every loss, can’t bear the thought that we could win and us not be there. A long, long shot I know. But if there’s any chance.”


For the record, there isn’t. And for the record, there have been seven successive losses at Wembley for Sunderland since the day that Bob Stokoe, then the manager, ran onto the pitch after the 1973 FA Cup final against Leeds to hug his goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery in celebration.
The fan in question’s late father once got stuck in the snow with a mini-bus of fellow Sunderland supporters coming back from an away game at Burnley in 1957. The group agreed with a farmer to work the land in payment for accommodation (in a barn) and meals until the weather improved. They would say years later it was the best they had ever eaten.
The lights of a football club never go out, no matter the depth of its downfall. Sunderland fans still cared when the owners appointed a fascist supporting manager in Paolo di Canio — when the Durham Miners’ Association demanded the return of their banners from the Stadium of Light — and they cared despite the unforgivable decision to overlook Adam Johnson’s impending trial for alleged sexual involvement with a 15-year-old girl and continue to play him.

Then there were the relegations; and with each came more resignation, but the depth of feeling from supporters is never truly extinguished.
On Tuesday night, at half-time in their League One game with Fleetwood and with supporters watching at home, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the club’s new owner, addressed those supporters for the first time.
He didn’t wear a club tie or blazer, a woollen jumper half zipped up instead and the hairstyle of an indie band member. He didn’t shout about ending **** shows, as had been the case with those who preceded him.

Louis-Dreyfuss, right, addressed the wrongs of previous owners in his first Sunderland statement
ALAMY
Ironically, given that he is 23-years-old, Louis-Dreyfus presented a far more mature first day in office than Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven, the unwitting stars of the second Netflix series Sunderland ’Til I Die. It felt sober, and that was a good thing. The third tier of English football is no place for tub-thumping, and finally, came recognition of mistakes and questionable motives of previous owners to leave Sunderland in their current predicament.
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“It’s a fresh start for the club,” he said. “It’s been many years now where the club had no real long-term vision and also cost cutting at its forefront which basically led to asset stripping in all departments. It needs rebuilding.
“It’s going to be a long-term plan but I’m happy the fans and club can take this journey together which hopefully will bring better times. I’ve obviously had a lot of thoughts going forward in these last five months — what we want to achieve and how we are going to get sustainability and success — and I think it all comes down to having a long-term vision, which we have now.
“I’m very proud and fully aware of the huge responsibility I have. I’ve grown up as the son of a football club owner so I’ve always been close to the sport. I’ve a lot of great memories and it’s my passion that I truly have.”
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who lives in Switzerland, is the son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus — the late owner of Marseilles — who passed away in 2009. Kyril, a twin, took to football and the club his father bought in 1996 in his youth. He did work experience at Marseille’s training ground and in 2017 began a degree in football at the Leeds Beckett Headingley Campus, through RIASA (the Richmond International Academic & Soccer Academy). When his mother sold Marseilles to Frank McCourt in 2016, a five per cent holding was retained for Kyril. The club’s training ground, recently attacked by irate Marseille supporters, is named after his father and it is said he is the heir to trust funds worth more than £2 billion.
It also felt significant that no one from Madrox, the company set up by Donald to purchase Sunderland in 2018, would be represented on the new board of directors. Donald and Juan Sartori, the Uruguayan businessman, have retained a minority shareholding.
Louis-Dreyfus will be chairman and with him will be Igor Levin, a legal representative of the Louis-Dreyfus family, and Patrick Julien Treuer, the chief financial officer of Louis-Dreyfus company) It is easy to be swept along with the optimism of a new owner, but it at least feels like a plan. He name-checked the manager Lee Johnson and Kristjaan Speakman, who moved from Birmingham’s academy to become sporting director. Ending the talent drain that has seen players like Joe Hugill, the 17-year-old who left Sunderland’s academy for £250,000, will be a start. Hugill scored four times for Manchester United’s Under-23 side against Liverpool last month.
On January 2, Sunderland drew 0-0 at Northampton and fell to eleventh in the League One table, but since then have come nine victories and two defeats in 14 league and cup games. Charlie Wyke, who managed nine league goals in the previous two seasons, has scored 18 already this time around. Aiden McGeady has been rejuvenated in his 35th year. The club are fifth and have a Wembley date to look forward to, even if the club’s supporters, no matter their best efforts, will be absent."

 

Excellent stuff. Can't wait for this ride, I have a very good feeling about it!

 

love it

 

I'm not sure of the need for the below. Its like they cant give credit without having a dig or maybe I'm just looking at the negatives. But I definitely cared when Johnson put the ball in the mags net in the dying seconds

Sunderland fans still cared when the owners appointed a fascist supporting manager in Paolo di Canio — when the Durham Miners’ Association demanded the return of their banners from the Stadium of Light — and they cared despite the unforgivable decision to overlook Adam Johnson’s impending trial for alleged sexual involvement with a 15-year-old girl and continue to play him.

 

The Johnson thing is an odd one. If he said he was innocent then I'm not surprised that we continued to play him. You're meant to be innocent until proven guilty in this country. It does sometimes feel like the press just want to get a dig in.

 

It’s written by Martin Hardy who has written books about Newcastle. Think he’s a Newcastle fan. His most recent book was called “Rafa’s Way”. This is the issue we have when establishments “North East journalists” are just Newcastle reporters that have to report on the other clubs occasionally.

 

Johnson was an idiot, not a predator, who was chased by a girl who knew what was happening.

The supporters didn't have any idea what had happened and aren't likely to automatically believe each and every allegation.

I cheered him until he was found guilty then stopped, as I'd imagine most people did.

 

Yep. I had no issue with Di Canio either. He's perfectly entitled to his political beliefs. If he'd been shown to be racist or whatever I would have been against him coming, but to the best of my knowledge he hasn't been. Thought the Durham miners lot were out of order trying to politicise it tbh. Johnson was stupid, and once guilty couldn't possibly stay, but clubs shouldn't be under any obligation not to play their best players whenever there's an allegation.

 

Sends a tingle down your spine, but nice trying to get used to it, long road ahead but can't be any worse than that we've endured for these past many seasons.

 

Di Canio was never 'outed' as a fascist at any other club whether as a manager or a player ...

... he comes to Sunderland and it's literally front page news.

 

The thing with Johnson was that he was suspended then reinstated into the team. But what were we supposed to do? He said he was innocent and supposedly initially it looked like he would be cleared, so keeping him on suspension until the trial could have been seen as unfair treatment. It was only after being reinstated that things came out showing how murky it was (and I guess we all know the rumours of how certain people behaved regarding it), but we couldn't re suspend him because it might have prejudiced the case against him. The person really to blame for it was a certain M Byrne.

 

Agreed. He made a straight-armed salute to right wing ultras BUT that was a Roman salute long before it was appropriated by Hitler and his Nazis.

There was also a big difference between National Socialism and Fascism - best summed up by the phrase 'All Nazis are Fascists but not all Fascists are Nazis'.

Fascism was an authoritarian triumphalism based on Nation wheras Nazism was authoritarian triumphalism based on Nation PLUS hatred of race.

 

For sure I absolutely backed Johnson until he coughed, he was a key player and we didn’t know.

Good read apart from the thinly veiled jabs.

**** them all boys it starts from now.

 

I didn't see any criticism when a London club bought this fascist supporting footballer. As long as they haven't committed a crime and don't bring their political beliefs to football, I don't have a problem with it. It would equally be the same if some were staunch communists.

 

Football players in volatile atmospheres, especially derby matches, are capable of all kinds of crazy gestures, robot dances, badge kissing, shirt ripping ...

... it's daft but doesn't mean people should be vilified and found 'guilty' in the court of the media.

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David Milliband stoked it right up, I will never forgive him for chucking that hand grenade into our lap as he walked out the door.

Our very good friend Kevin Maguire also stoked it up on his various TV slots being very vocal against Di Canio and the football club - cheers Kevin, I've never forgotten that either.

There was literally nothing else going on in the news and it was exaggerated into being a major story, christ Sky News had live broadcasts from outside the ticket office - absolutely mental.

 

The fume from the mags in the press is just going to be ****ing fantastic if we crack it and do well.


Brilliant

 

I'll never forgive Milliband, the slimy twat, for the part he played in that. Was in a paid position with the club, got a new job abroad, and tried to score brownie points by citing the appointment of Di Canio as his reason for leaving. ****er!

 

surely Kyril will allowed into wembley with a few friends. Wait till August and parade the play off final and Papa john trophies in front of 48,000 first home game in the championship !

 

Why the hell we ever paid the smarmy git £50k pa is beyond me. He'd already resigned as MP for South Shields a few days earlier as he was moving to New York to take up a position with International Rescue, so we knew he would be resigning from SAFC. I bet he creamed his pants at the opportunity to say he was resigning for moral reasons!