With the talk of us signing d graham I ask does it matter if he is a toon fan or not as long as he gives 100% if he does get to were the red and white,there as been a lot of talk on this matter on the radio and forums and a lot of heated comments . My own opinion is we have had other players at the club who support the scum yet have played well for us so I'm not to fused
It will only matter if he fails to perform, or and he looks half arsed in the derby game coming up. Like it or not these things DO matter and he will have to work a lot harder than any other incoming player to show his value. Just coming and coasting will not do. He will be given dogs abuse if he doesn't hit the ground running and if he has a poor derby game he will be dead in the water (legit reason or not) so he is up against it big time imo. Will he come? If its between us and Norwich yes. If the craas enter the race and match terms then no.
No player should come to the club a coast, if the toon come in for him good luck to him to tbh he would be better suited to go there anyway we play 1 upfront there just saying on talksport now that he would not be quick enough to lead the line for us anyway , but if he did come I would give him my support as if we jump on his back I don't see how that would help him or us as a club but I take what your saying on board and if he did miss a sitter like a certain copra did at st James park then you know what the outcome will be
I think he would compliment our style personally but he is up against it if he does come and from day one he will be split the camp. Not what you'd want really as a new player and especially a striker. He would have to do what Fletcher did and score in his first 4 or 5 games to settle the thing AND more importantly, have a derby blinder later this season.
Football is littered with similar situations: Brian Kidd and Dennis Law for the Manchester clubs. McManaman and Fowler were brought up as Everton supporters. This kid won't let us down as demonstrated how he played for Swansea at NUFC. Pat Jennings for Spurs and Arsenal etc. All blown out of proportion.
I agree - Carra with Everton another big one on Merseyside. My personal view is similar. As long as he puts the effort in for us, I couldn't care who he supports. He's a professional and he'll give his all for whoever pays him - it's a short career and he'd be well aware of what would happen if he didn't. However, Cest is spot on when he says that, if Graham does mess up/doesn't hit the ground running/bottles it a la Chops, then there are some of our fans who will definitely (and vocally) use it as a stick to beat him with. It happened with Bruce to an extent when people accused him of not wanting to win the derbies (which was total bollocks). That's a risk that both Graham and MON are taking. Is he a good player? - Yes Is he worth £5m? - Yes Would I rather we signed someone who hadn't said those things about our club? - Yes Would I not sign him because he said those things? - No Would I rather sign Hooper from Celtic for the same fee? - Yes - but that's a different story altogether....
The likes of Jennings and Law are totally different mate. Neither of them were born and bred and boyhood fans. Graham is a gateshead lad and a die hard mag supporter that has put pen to paper to register his dislike for SAFC. It's totally different. I think he is a canny player personally but has far too much baggage to circumnavigate to be a success here and we can't afford the chance. Unless he hits the ground running with goals AND plays a blinder in the derby game pending, he is running uphill from day one imo.
Its a question of professionalism. Suppose Graham epitomises professionalism and frankly works his socks off and bleeds for the team etc, but things don't fall for him, will people use his background as a stick to beat him with? Absolutely. Anything short of scoring a hattrick at the Gallowgate end to send them down, and the lad simply can't win. Its perhaps not because of HIS hatred but some of our own supporters that wee should steer clear. That and there has to be better out there, he is an alright player, nothing fancy .
Yes and he rightly suffered for that. But he was good for us on the pitch. This sounds like you're making the assumption DG will do the same and therefore aren't even giving him chance.
Yes and to my knowledge never once felt compelled to put pen to paper to say Sunderland was the last club in the world he would want to either play for OR manage. The same can be said of Ron Guthrie and Dennis Tueart tbh. Thats why they are absolute legends and all Graham ever will amount to here is a whipping boy amongst a lot of fans.
If any of you want the guy to forget his allegiances with Newcastle off the pitch, you should forget him. You pay him to work, to play football and to train when told to. Bidding for a player and buying him doesn't give you ownership of the guy's life. If Danny Graham goes to Sunderland the guy is still entitled to an identity, especially if he's making no secrets about who he supports before you pay for him, unlike Johnson who turns into the ****ing roadrunner every time the question is asked, despite the guy being a die hard Newcastle supporter! Make no mistake about it, if Rooney decided to run down his contract here and go back to Everton, the very minute he steps back inside Old Trafford he's a fat scouse bastard but whilst he's here playing for us giving 100% we forgive him of his terrible flaws.
Just a quick question then. If Rooney was pictured wearing an anti Man Utd t shirt, depicting an obscenity against Utd fans, whilst at Wembley watching everton, would your support of him stay firm? Or if he had written the last team in the world he would want play for was Utd, would if still be a crowd favorite after signing? I don't think so. Nobody is saying we own the man's life, but as his employers, and as fans, we do expect a level of dignity to be shown for the clubs fans and history that pays him the money.
Cest Danny Graham has never said Sunderland would be the last club he'd play for - he said he wouldn' support us - does Fletcher support Sunderland? Or Mignolet (who has recently interviewed saying he doubts he'll end his career here)? We don't need people to support us - that is our job, if he plays then he will not be supporting us, he will just be playing for us
