...Sir Niall Quinn.
Everyone knows our form hasn't been what we all hoped it would be this season. Even the strongest BoB member (even Cest!) would have said in pre-season that although they didn't think Bruce was the right man for the job, they would have loved him to come out and prove them wrong, and drive us forward this season. It hasn't happened, and even strong Bruce supporters like myself are starting to lose faith and wonder if he's the right manager after abject results against such footballing luminaries as Swansea, Norwich and WBA.
As it stands, almost every Sunderland fan is questioning Bruce. I'd still like to cling to the fact that he's lost Gyan like he lost Bent- against his will or control- and he's lost Bramble in bizarre circumstances. The team, as he said yesterday, don't know each other, and if he stays we need improvement after they gel.
So in short- everyone, by and large, is questioning (however slightly) if Steve is the right man for the job.
What has shocked me recently is that there have been grumblings- and some have come right out and said it- that our chairman, Niall Quinn, should move on as well.
I'm positive he will continue to move the club forward.
It's just a personal viewpoint, but I would rather our club maintained the feeling of being 'our club', of being Sunderland, from Sunderland, for Sunderland.
I would rather we had a club legend at the helm, than some ex-politician, an economist, a wealthy foreigner who knows nothing about football, a fat sports shop owner, or anyone else.
It may well be that the reason Bruce is still in a job is because of Quinn. But not because he's soft. The man sacked himself, remember? It might be because Quinn understands football- the need for consistency, for time for the 11 new signings to gel. He might recognise that just because we don't continue our '3 places a season' rise to finish 7th, it doesn't mean its a bad year. It doesn't mean our club is rotting at the core. It just means we've had a mediocre season.
The PL is so tight, and the teams (below the big 6) are so close, that anyone could finish 16th and then go on to finish 7th. Look at Everton a few years back- under Moyes, they finished 17th, then 4th the next year.
Quinn saved our club from long term lower league football when he collected a group of friends to come and buy, and stabilise, the club he loved, making it an attractive proposition for a billionaire American to come along and invest.
Quinn rallied round from pub to pub, begging people to get into the ground and support the team, asking people to understand that bigger gates will spur the players on, will boost our income so we can afford better players on bigger wages.
Quinn paid thousands and thousands of pounds to get our supporters back from Bristol late on a Saturday night.
Quinn has done huge amounts for the club behind the scenes through the work of the Academy and the Foundation, and has actively pushed to try and make sure the club is serving the interests of the city of Sunderland, and not the other way round.
Sir Niall Quinn has saved, stabilised, and transformed this club within 5 years. We've gone from bottom of the Championship to 10th in the Premier League. We've cast off our 'yo-yo' tag for the first time in my memory- this is the first season we've had 5 years in the top flight since 1980-85. We went down the year before a young Alex Ferguson joined Man Utd, and we've gone up and down ever since. If Bruce keeps us up this year- which I have no doubts about whatsoever- we've had our longest top flight spell since the 1960s.
Quinn loves the club and everything about it. He's a football man, and he's our football man. He's not in it for the money- he's in it to do us right and proud.
Anyone questioning the man should question your own expectations of where we 'deserve' to be as a club. Quinn has made us what we are, and for that, we should be ever grateful. If he wants to give Bruce another season, and we 'only' finish 14th, then I think Quinn has earnt the right to make that decision.
SNQ - Sunderland through and through
Everyone knows our form hasn't been what we all hoped it would be this season. Even the strongest BoB member (even Cest!) would have said in pre-season that although they didn't think Bruce was the right man for the job, they would have loved him to come out and prove them wrong, and drive us forward this season. It hasn't happened, and even strong Bruce supporters like myself are starting to lose faith and wonder if he's the right manager after abject results against such footballing luminaries as Swansea, Norwich and WBA.
As it stands, almost every Sunderland fan is questioning Bruce. I'd still like to cling to the fact that he's lost Gyan like he lost Bent- against his will or control- and he's lost Bramble in bizarre circumstances. The team, as he said yesterday, don't know each other, and if he stays we need improvement after they gel.
So in short- everyone, by and large, is questioning (however slightly) if Steve is the right man for the job.
What has shocked me recently is that there have been grumblings- and some have come right out and said it- that our chairman, Niall Quinn, should move on as well.
I'm positive he will continue to move the club forward.
It's just a personal viewpoint, but I would rather our club maintained the feeling of being 'our club', of being Sunderland, from Sunderland, for Sunderland.
I would rather we had a club legend at the helm, than some ex-politician, an economist, a wealthy foreigner who knows nothing about football, a fat sports shop owner, or anyone else.
It may well be that the reason Bruce is still in a job is because of Quinn. But not because he's soft. The man sacked himself, remember? It might be because Quinn understands football- the need for consistency, for time for the 11 new signings to gel. He might recognise that just because we don't continue our '3 places a season' rise to finish 7th, it doesn't mean its a bad year. It doesn't mean our club is rotting at the core. It just means we've had a mediocre season.
The PL is so tight, and the teams (below the big 6) are so close, that anyone could finish 16th and then go on to finish 7th. Look at Everton a few years back- under Moyes, they finished 17th, then 4th the next year.
Quinn saved our club from long term lower league football when he collected a group of friends to come and buy, and stabilise, the club he loved, making it an attractive proposition for a billionaire American to come along and invest.
Quinn rallied round from pub to pub, begging people to get into the ground and support the team, asking people to understand that bigger gates will spur the players on, will boost our income so we can afford better players on bigger wages.
Quinn paid thousands and thousands of pounds to get our supporters back from Bristol late on a Saturday night.
Quinn has done huge amounts for the club behind the scenes through the work of the Academy and the Foundation, and has actively pushed to try and make sure the club is serving the interests of the city of Sunderland, and not the other way round.
Sir Niall Quinn has saved, stabilised, and transformed this club within 5 years. We've gone from bottom of the Championship to 10th in the Premier League. We've cast off our 'yo-yo' tag for the first time in my memory- this is the first season we've had 5 years in the top flight since 1980-85. We went down the year before a young Alex Ferguson joined Man Utd, and we've gone up and down ever since. If Bruce keeps us up this year- which I have no doubts about whatsoever- we've had our longest top flight spell since the 1960s.
Quinn loves the club and everything about it. He's a football man, and he's our football man. He's not in it for the money- he's in it to do us right and proud.
Anyone questioning the man should question your own expectations of where we 'deserve' to be as a club. Quinn has made us what we are, and for that, we should be ever grateful. If he wants to give Bruce another season, and we 'only' finish 14th, then I think Quinn has earnt the right to make that decision.
SNQ - Sunderland through and through
