Trying to tire myself out, have a fourteen hour shift starting in fourteen hours time, but cant sleep so trawling the sites, came across this one from the excellent ROKER REPORT. http://www.rokerreport.com/2011/9/8/2410413/cult-heroes-emerson-the-wall-thome Dont know your oppinions on thome, but I was badly let down by the board when they moved him on.
We met him and julio in trapdous (spelling) or flying boat down by the docks for my mothers 60 birthday. She was a massive sunderland support had a seasson ticket for years. They came over (during their meal) for photos and ask how her birthday was! The picture of the three of them never left the table that was next to her chair in the sitting room. Both brilliant players and gentlemen!!!
Thome was a good player in my eyes too. Also had that something special that not all foreign players possess. He WANTED to be here and settled immediately. Dont know the why's and wherefores of why he was moved on but I was another, it would seem , very disappointed fan when he did. Does anyone remember where he went and where he is now? I should add that Julio is a true red & white legend as far as I am concerned, up there alongside the Benno, Marco, Bally, SKP, Lord Rowell and Quinny (amongst others) in recent years. Top quality player and top quality lad.
From Wicki. During his time at the Stadium of Light, Thome struggled with injuries and Sunderland were reluctant to extend his contract. A clause in his contract with Sunderland meant that a considerable sum had to be paid to Chelsea after he played 50 matches. Sunderland were not willing to pay the extra appearance based fee, hence their reasons for not playing Thome towards the end of the 2002-2003 season, a campaign which ended in relegation heartbreak. Thome scored twice for Sunderland, netting in league games against Coventry City[3] and Aston Villa.[4] In August 2003 he joined ambitious Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer
Thome was a great player, the point made earlier about him settling in no problems and wanting to be here is extremely true. I had heard the rumours at the time regarding a lump sum payment which was due on a certain number of appearances. Im assuming it must be true as there is no other reason why he wouldnt have walked into our team.
Cest think you may have missed the last part of the article. Emerson's Sunderland career however was devastated by injury , undergoing two seperate operations on his knee as well as a number of problems with his thigh along the way just for good measure. Overall the defender was to miss well over a year's worth of football. This couldn't have come at a worse time for Thome as he was approaching fifty appearances for the Black Cats, a landmark that would reportedly see Chelsea owed a further substantial sum of cash as part of his transfer. Of course this is something that the club denied at the time but have since come clean over. So despite working towards a full recovery and being available for selection Thome was not to figure again for Sunderland even during the run in to the season that would see Sunderland relegated from the Premier League. Whether or not the board were reluctant to spend the extra cash because they feared the Brazilian would never totally recover from his injuries or if, which many at the time seemed to agree, we were just so skint it wasn't feasible. Whatever your belief as the Black Cats fell through the Premier League trapdoor Emerson made a move to an ambitious Bolton Wanderers. Thome was a first team regular for Bolton, reaching the Carling Cup Final in his first season with the club. Bolton were keen to keep hold of Emerson but he chose to drop down to the Championship as injuries began to catch up with him. It proved not to be a bad move as his team of choice, Wigan Athletic, were promoted to the Premiership for the first time. The Brazilian had a brief loan spell with Derby County before Wigan decided to let him leave on a free, following which the defender ended his career with J-League 1 Vissel Kobe. As for his whereabouts now, realy dont know, but It would be interesting to find out.
