The point is that Sunderland Association Football Club should never have been in the position they are in. That they have been kept in this godawful division for three years is an insult to the fans. I’ve said it time and time again, we have been let down by successive owners, chairmen, managers and players. I hate saying it but at least John Hall had the vision to get Newcastle into the Premier League and for a while actually compete. They’ve spent two seasons in the Championship over that time and won it both times. Sunderland have just been left to fester away to the point that one of the great clubs of English football can’t even get out of a ****ty awful league that decades of inept leadership has led us to.
Hear hear. Bang on. If we get some success, I hope we remember these dark days and don't take anything for granted. Drop down a gear, pedal to the floor. The sky is the limit. Haway lads and lasses!
Yep,you're right.We shouldn't have ever been in this position. Time for people to step up,realise their chance and change things around.
I agree that we should remember these days. I was making the point that there are clubs in the Prem who would never allow themselves to sink as low as we have. Like I say, it’s embarrassing that a team with our history has let it get to this. And it’s not entirely SD fault. But he has to shoulder the blame for keeping us in this league.
It's not SD's fault we're in the third division.....that's down to gross,incompetent mismanagement by Ellis,of which,for a successful businessman,he must be completely ashamed. I'm not sure I would blame SD entirely for keeping us in this league.We were there or there abouts,we needed a bit more firepower and he spent the kitchen sink for a proven third division goalscorer. He didn't settle,the manager couldn't integrate him into the team,but.... we made the play-offs. Not SD's fault we dominated the first half hour,should have been 3 up,but blew it at the finish. So,go again,didn't start well,get rid of Ross,in comes Parky,takes a while to sort it out,then into Jan and Feb,improvement and into the promotion picture. Drop off in form sees us outside the top six,but still only 3 points off second........Covid!! I don't agree with those who say this is all his fault. I do agree with those who say,having failed he should seek the best deal for the club,walk away and accept his gamble came up short. It happens,be man enough to accept it and move on.
If you read my previous post I said that SD is keeping us in this league. He has a small team mentality. We could never influence who Ellis sold us to, but SD is up there as a comparison to Simon Grayson who should never have been let loose in a Sunderland dressing room. There has been mismanagement at so many different levels of SAFC for so long that we have come to accept failure and accept being rubbish. It’s that sort of attitude that has kept us down for so long that nobody sees us as a big club anymore. When was the last time Manchester United were in the old third division? Or Newcastle for that matter? Or Spurs, or Chelsea or Aston Villa. If I’m honest I couldn’t tell you, but if they ever were they’ve all made damn sure that they don’t end up there again. We are coming very close to accepting it as being normal and that’s not right.
Absolutely spot on mate. For our current owners, what they define as "success" is lower than every supporter of this club. That's because league 1 is the depth of their experience and they have come into the club thinking they know better than anyone else, ignored the history and culture of this club and turned us into a just another top half third division side. And what's worse, they don't think they've been unsuccessful and I doubt they ever will.
The only reason SD got his clammy mitts on the club is that Ellis Short brought us so low with quite possibly the worst boardroom in footballing history. Gary The Hair and Mags Byrne had no interest in football until they hopped aboard the gravy train and somehow ended up running the whole thing!
In real life? If so then that's good (as long as they are telling the truth). Was just pointing out that on here (and RTG) someone just said they hoped it was and others started to run with that.
I agree SD is keeping us in this league,but only by his refusal to sell. I don't think anyone is close to accepting where we are as normal,indeed the frustration with our situation is what's driving the horrible aggression towards each other and outside by many who love the club. You can see it over the road almost every thread and,to a much lesser extent,on here.We are a big club,we shouldn't be here,but we are because of a decade of mismanagement by Ellis,not because of SD. If we accept that SD took the chance he was offered by Ellis to acquire,promote and spin off for a useful payday, I think it wasn't down to him that it didn't happen. What is down to him is his apparent refusal....up to now....to accept defeat,that the gamble hasn't worked and it's well past time to give it up,cut losses,sell it on to someone who can fund the necessary progress and then to move on to something else. If what we are led to believe is anywhere near correct, it's his reluctance to accept this which makes him the villain,rather than his vision when he acquired the club from Ellis.
No somebody off here. Its looking more likely its not true but the lad passed on what he had been told in good faith
Sunderland aren’t a big club anymore. Yes we have history but that’s no so far in the past there’s very few alive who remember it. The fans are about the only thing that are top class. The rest has been ****ing ****e for over 40 years. unfortunately the fans don’t win trophies or leagues. In that respect we’ve had failure after failure and that’s down to a succession of poor owners and poor management. it’s **** but that’s currently the way it is. we do however have potential to get back up there and fingers crossed we can get nee owners or investment to start realising some of that potential and show the rest of the league how big we used to be.
I think you are putting a larger portion of the blame on SD for not getting promotion. You are not alone but I put it down to the playing staff. We easily had the squad to go up, so to be fair SD did ok in that respect, considering what he inherited. Still needs to get gone mind.
