My honest opinion. I'm disappointed this has been allowed to happen and questions rightly need asking. However. This all needs parking up until after tomorrow. We can all argue, cry, shout what ever we feel like after tomorrow has finished. No doubt the scum will be using the feedback on social media as ammo "keep them quiet the crowd will turn" etc. We all have a job tomorrow to do the exact opposite and back the lads more than ever. Something I am confident will happen. Pitchforks, apologies etc can wait imo
I think nipping it in the bud immediately i.e. today will have a far more positive effect on the crowd than letting it fester. You can see what might happen - if we get a positive result it'll be 'forget about it man, we won'. And then it'll happen again. It's a colossal **** up by someone in the build-up to a big game and if there's not immediate accountability for it we're only reinforcing the perception of us as not being a professional organisation. Keeping quiet as supporters has never, ever worked.
It can be sorted today if the will is there to do it. This idea of stalling until the problem gets forgotten about is becoming really prevalent everywhere these days.
I got up this morning expecting loads of photographs of the mass demonstrations outside the SOL, it must be to early yet.
I must admit I think what happened is embarrassing towards the club but nowhere near as embarrassing as the reaction of some of our fans. I believe that it should have been left the way it was and staff should have been dressed the way they always are. But someone at the club probably though they were making the right decision having stuff covered up to save damage or vandalism. I know it been mentioned that people paying £600 a ticket won't be causing trouble, however a rich mag full of drink will be just as big of a knob as an average drink mag. If that's what was happening we should have covered it and charged them rather than letting them in to do it and expect them to do it neutral as they have been asked. As I've said nothing should have changed, but not everyone working for the club will be a Sunderland fan, there will be plenty high up at the club that have no idea about football and whoever made the decision probably thought they were doing the right thing. I mentioned on a different thread how under so strange circumstances I'd been given some information about Ross Stewarts contract situation. This originally came from someone who is connected to some of the top people at the club, they have no interest in football and they didn't even no who Ross Stewart is. Yes I think it's embarrassing what has happened but calling for KLD to leave the club ****ing idiots
I've slept on this and considering Keith Downey's tweet below, this is where my head is at: If its true we simply gave them permission to come in and cover up signage, without supervision, this is nowhere near as bad as what I thought had happened, which was that we had done this ourselves. However, its still completely incompetent and inappropriate to give our rivals free reign to essentially do what they want, without supervision. Lessons need to be learned to make sure there is better oversight of decisions like this, and better sensitivity of how decisions, no matter how seemingly inoccuous, would be interpreted by supporters. I think they need to instil a culture, where every decision made has to ask "how would supporters react if this news got out". If the answer is badly, it shouldn't happen unless KLD signs it off. And if KLD then signs it off, he can take personal responsibility. https://x.com/SkySports_Keith/status/1743194448022966595?s=20
Depends what they "knew all along". If they "knew all along" that Newcastle would come in and just cover up signs etc, then my view stands. If they knew Newcastle were going to come in and put Newcastle branding up, then its different and its even more incompetent and careless. But I also come back to who "they" is. If KLD had seen and signed off on the branding, thats infuriating. But if he had just thought they were covering it up blankly, and it had "just" been some bloke on £35k per year who wrongly assumed it would be okay for them to put Newcastle branding up, my fury drops a little.
Well then Mail reckons they indeed have seen proof of approval and it was all signed of pre Xmas. Someone is fibbing. If it's the mail I expect a libel case to be brought forward.
Hadn't read that mate, will look now. Only seen Keith's tweet saying it was Newcastle who came in to do it.
Just read the Mail story. Now I'm in agreement that whoever the "senior figures" are, should be punished. I won't go as far as saying should lose their jobs as its not clear how senior these senior figures are. If it was the Catering Director for example, somebody earning like £40k per year, I wouldn't want to see them lose their job over it. But if the senior figure is Davison or Bruce, they should be sacked. Absolutely. Keith is saying that "Sunderland expected it to be neutral" but Hope is saying somebody internal and senior signed off on it. I doubt either are lying. So I reckon we have some problems internally with people not being aligned on whats appropriate.
This is the whole problem with the scenario. We don't have all the details of everything that's gone on and been approved. Different things come out and I think fick me what the hell were they thinking, then another comes out and I think it looks like one person's made a mistake, then something else comes out. It's one of those situations where it depends on how you feel as to what you pick up on. Some people were livid with the club gave giving the mags the North stand, some weren't. Problem is I know for a fact non of us will ever know all the facts unfortunately However anyone feels after tonight let's put it on the back burner for 1 day and do what we do best. LIFT THE ****ING ROOF OFF
I can't see why it was being re-branded, stop damage? They going to damage it either way! Should have put a huge picture of Defoes goal and PDC knee slide up instead.
It helps that the signs look like they were knocked up by a six year old in art class “Keep the B&W flying high” barely makes sense
