From safc.com today . . . . Sunderland AFC can confirm that Juan Sartori has joined the club’s board of directors. Mr Sartori’s appointment has been approved by the EFL and he will attend Sunderland AFC’s opening game of the season tomorrow, when the Black Cats take on Charlton Athletic at the Stadium of Light. Speaking about his appointment, Juan said: “Football is one of my passions and I always wanted to do something in the sport. “We see a lot of potential and all of the infrastructure is already here, but something has been missing, otherwise the club wouldn’t be in this situation. “We think that we have the skills, and especially the willingness, to really put the effort and dedication into making this right, and to taking the club back to where we believe it deserves to be.”
Good to hear. Everybody is talking the talk, let's hope it is replicated when Charlton show up tomorrow. Is this the start of the long road back or is our club embarking on another false dawn. Please please please lads make sure it's not the latter.
This feels good. I was happy enough with doing things low-key with Donald's modest spends but now there's someone on the board with deep pockets, as long as the club is managed properly then our future looks rosy.
We need to think about when we get back to the Championship, there’ll need to be huge investment so this fella, and his money, were essential. The fact that he’s been looking to get into English football for a while is hopefully a good sign that he’s in for the long haul.
31,000 we should get some great players in with our support, we could get another Marco or super kev |! come on lads come to the best supported team outside the premier league.
No we did not, but I am still very wary of cheque book football, the new wave of relatively successful clubs in the Premiership, have shown it can be done by other means, I'm not talking here about the top six or seven which are a league of their own, but the mid table group which is all we can hope for at present tbh. Even in that top group, cracks are starting to appear and the bubble could soon burst even for them. I would much rather see us strengthen further our academy system and really show faith in home grown products, than just looking for a quick fix and jumping back on the roller coaster of buying transient success.
But strengthening the academy for another wave of youth requires investment. We kept our academy status by the skin of our teeth and it costs a fortune just to keep it open, to improve it and produce better players it will need £££. We need to invest across the club. Not just on cheque book signings, we need to invest further in the academy, we also need to invest in areas which can grow our revenue away from the pitch. all takes money mate. Without it all three stagnate and become a hindrance. We will need across the board significant investment if/when it come to the time we make a PL push and to stay there.
I know very little about the sums involved tbh., its just gut feeling, and keeping an eye on current events, that I base my ramblings, I go along with what you are saying, but personally I would much prefer the club to build slowly than risk another nightmare situation like the one just experienced. I don't think the new lads would make such a mess of it, but football is a very risky business all the same.
I get what you're saying, nobody is saying spend it all on players, what we're saying is significant investment is needed. Slow build is out of the question. We have world class facilities and a world class stadium, they both demand world class levels of investment. We had millions miss spent and than nothing at all. The playing squad is behind, the academy is behind, the stadium was behind, land has been sold with the money swallowed up by Short. We've stagnated, if we don't invest we'll remain a lower league club forever and with a stadium and academy which demands a PL budget, forever may only be as long as few years then going bust. Why do you think we've got this fella in? Because without the investment administration would have been guaranteed as SD doesn't have the money to keep us a float. We've got two seasons mate and if we're not in the prem bringing home that prize money, we start haemorrhaging money hand over fist. There's no time for a slow build hanging around in the lower leagues, that's just signing our own death warrent. Charlie Methven got it in one, become sustainable as quick as posible. With our infrastructure it can only be done in the Prem. Longer it takes to become sustainable, the more likely we end in the same position all over again. More than one way to skint a club and wasting time in limbo as our costs stay the same and our revenue goes down is just another way to screw ourselves imo.
This is a gloomy picture you paint Bri, whilst I can not contradict a word you say and I am a pessimist at heart, I think we can carry the Armageddon scenario a bit too far , looking in my positive glass, we are making very good progress with the new brooms, they have worked wonders so far, both are football men and the new manager is top draw imo, a safe pair of hands at last. My only point was that just throwing money at a problem is rarely the answer, and Charlie Methven is spot on about sustainability, its vital , and we are getting there, onwards and upwards.
The Academy is the key to everything. Like Southampton (I know they had backing as well..), the ability to develop players both for the first 11 and sales is going to make or break us. We aren’t gonna do a Man City, we could absolutely do a Burnley. They are in Europe and I for one would settle for that every day if the week.
We're already doing what you don't want us to do though, throwing money at it. SAFC hasn't earned a penny for these new transfers and new seats. It's unsustainable, it's coming out of people's personal finance. That's plain fact mate. We've brought in Sartori so we can do the same in the Championship. Whether you like it or not we're running how you don't want us to and we'll be forced to do it until we have PL Prize money to balance the books. In the meantime we're cutting wages ect for when that time comes so we don't need as much cash to balance the books, but ultimately we're spending money we don't have until we get that prize money. Taking our time will put pressure on our owners personal finances. Very dodgy thing to take liberties with these owners, two of them especially aren't very rich men. While we're unsustainable, we're throwing money at it, we remain unsustainable until we get PL prize money. It's everything you don't want and it's here now. We have no choice.
What else can they do at present though ? I am quite happy to accept CM's take on things and his vision of the way forward. Lets enjoy this season and see where we are at the end of it. hopefully .
