S.A.F.C. - the future

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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.


Leeds and Wolves are two big clubs that have been through the same shìt we're in.
Man city were down here and lucky to get out quickly.
We will get back, hopefully sooner rather than later but it is fookin depressing atm.
 
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.
We are still a big club. 40k plus crowds in league 1 prove that. We’re just not a very successful club thats all.
 
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.
Your right.100%, we have all accepted failure for far too long as a club.
 
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!
Very true, unfortunately Man City seem to have forgot that not that long ago they were also stuck in League One.
 
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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.
What about the savaging of our youngsters ? U23’s down. Short sighted quick buck opportunistic tosser. He only bought Grigg to try and get his sale through on promotion.
 
What about the savaging of our youngsters ? U23’s down. Short sighted quick buck opportunistic tosser. He only bought Grigg to try and get his sale through on promotion.
Not that straightforward. You're being a bit unfair. The academy has been mismanaged but we also lost talent due to being in L1.
Also indication was SD wanted to stay involved, not just cash in and leave. We got under his skin I believe.
 
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I've always thought that he didn't plan to sell the club for a quick profit, but wanted to bring in other backers by selling stakes in the club and stay on as chairman with a minority stake, similar to Levy at Spurs. Other richer people put the money in while does the day to day chairman role. The fact he's messed it up means he has no chance to do it now, but I can still see him thinking that he'd have a chance of staying on if it worked out for him.
 
I've always thought that he didn't plan to sell the club for a quick profit, but wanted to bring in other backers by selling stakes in the club and stay on as chairman with a minority stake, similar to Levy at Spurs. Other richer people put the money in while does the day to day chairman role. The fact he's messed it up means he has no chance to do it now, but I can still see him thinking that he'd have a chance of staying on if it worked out for him.
The thing is, he had that with the Spanish buyers, he shafted them so they left madrox. He literally had others involved and they couldn't work with him in the end, methven can't work with him either.

Maybe Donald needs to realise he's not a victim all the time and see who's to blame for the current situation.
 
The thing is, he had that with the Spanish buyers, he shafted them so they left madrox. He literally had others involved and they couldn't work with him in the end, methven can't work with him either.

Maybe Donald needs to realise he's not a victim all the time and see who's to blame for the current situation.

Quite. It is not unusual for a rich man's son to lack self awareness.
 
I've always thought that he didn't plan to sell the club for a quick profit, but wanted to bring in other backers by selling stakes in the club and stay on as chairman with a minority stake, similar to Levy at Spurs. Other richer people put the money in while does the day to day chairman role. The fact he's messed it up means he has no chance to do it now, but I can still see him thinking that he'd have a chance of staying on if it worked out for him.
He tried to sell to Campbell inside the first season marra
 
The thing is, he had that with the Spanish buyers, he shafted them so they left madrox. He literally had others involved and they couldn't work with him in the end, methven can't work with him either.

Maybe Donald needs to realise he's not a victim all the time and see who's to blame for the current situation.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but this should have set alarm bells ringing.
I don't think it was a case of the Spanish not being able to work with him
I think he looked at it and saw the £ signs spinning at the thought of how much profit he could make doing it himself
By all accounts the Spanish consortium had substantial funds but SD binned them in search of a quick profit
He didn't have the cash or backing to take the club forward and had no investment lined up
His intention from day one was to flip the club for as big a profit as possible
 
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The thing is, he had that with the Spanish buyers, he shafted them so they left madrox. He literally had others involved and they couldn't work with him in the end, methven can't work with him either.

Maybe Donald needs to realise he's not a victim all the time and see who's to blame for the current situation.

Agreed mate. In the end he's messed it up with too many people and he should have enough self awareness to see it, but sadly I don't think he has, or that he still thinks that he'll eventually be proved right. And all the while his reputation takes hit after hit with us.
 
He tried to sell to Campbell inside the first season marra

Yeah, but he was still going to have a minority share holding if he'd sold to Campbell. From how he's gone about things, if he had sold to Campbell, within months we'd have been hearing about fall outs and disputes. It's why FPP wanted him out of the way altogether until he screwed that up. If rumours are right about him and Satori falling out before the playoffs it fills in a few gaps about why Sartori hasn't been involved if he can't work with him either
 
Not that straightforward. You're being a bit unfair. The academy has been mismanaged but we also lost talent due to being in L1.
Also indication was SD wanted to stay involved, not just cash in and leave. We got under his skin I believe.
Bollocks he wanted to stay. Get the books right and profit. No thought for the future. As clear as day.
 
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.

All valid points.

His handling of the academy however is the biggest crime for mine.

A generation of players when we needed them most sold off.