In one paragraph it is exactly what's wrong with football! The players run the game - not the owners or the managers. PLayers and their agents. It's impossible to "sack" an incompetent player who has only played terrible constantly - you have to pay up their remaining contract (As Dick said previously about still paying players who have left). If I'm rubbish at my job I'm out - if a footballer is rubbish they may get dropped but they also get their £20k+ a week. Unless a player is guilty of some sort of major offence (drug taking/guilty for anything against the law etc.) then they have to be paid! Short is worth £2.4bn - but he doesn't seem willing to part quickly with it - he has in the past (Bruce/MON/DiCanio) all backed well but failed - so he's more frugal - that is his prerogative. But without more investment I can only see this season ending one way!
Signed middle of last season mate got 11 goals in 17 games. And has 3 in 2 this season. Edit: he was on loan there last season my bad. Still they must be something in it if dick was over there watching him.
I was saying to Indy mate, would you chuck your money into it, even if you were worth £2.4bn? It could cost him £30-40m per year keeping you in the PL, with no guarantees of any sort of success. Is a £40m investment that helps you finish 13th any better than a £15m investment that puts you in a scrap but ultimately you finish in 17th? I would say "Why bother?" I kind of look at your club as a ****ed car, you keep changing the wheels, seats, and mirrors, expecting the car to go faster, trouble is, you need a new chassis, a new engine. Taking it to a different, mechanic (changing your manager) won't fix the engine will it? If I was worth £20bn I wouldn't invest heavily in your club (If I owned it) because there's something far more alarming going on there than lack of players. I reckon you'd have been relegated, stripped your dead wood and back up now under Di Canio.
Ellis - 'There's nee ****ing money you wooden shoed bastard.' Dick - 'Well **** you cowboy Joe, I'm off. Enjoy your relegation.' Ellis - 'So am I as soon as I can get some stupid bastard to buy this pile of ****.'
The fact he has $2.4bn in his account is immaterial, he's a shrewd business man and an American to boot, typically they are very careful with their money and don't chuck it about like the Arab's do. To them it's a status symbol as if in competition with each other. The yanks are different, look at Lerner at Villa, similar situation to Short. They see it more like a business or dare i say even a challenge to get the club running on an even keel if you like. He will follow this model regardless of what position or league we are in without doubt, that's just the way they are and rarely change. Of course he would love to see us competing for trophies and challenging for league places but not at the cost of putting the club into massive debt problems. He said that a few seasons back under SNQ's regime. First and foremost, he would get the club running the way it should be and that meant debt free, then we would push on and try to emulate the bigger clubs. As i said before, i reckon there are at least two more signings to come and negotiations are probably under way right now, DA said this last week. Who? haven't a clue but i reckon we'll see incoming soon. If, as i suspect as does everyone else, that there is a rotten core at the club then it needs to be addressed and quick They're dragging us down and always will unless we stop the rot.
That's a great analogy Juan. I liken our club to a Reliant Robin that desperately needs upgrading. I'm not asking that Ellis trades it in for a Rolls Royce; however, an Audi or a Jaguar is not too much to ask is it? I also agree with what you say about Di Canio. The chairmen and the board needed to stand firm and support him, not undermine him. Consequently, we have players still at the club who think they have more power than the manager and that is what Dick is alluding to when he says he thinks he knows what is wrong. Add the comment that Catts made on MOTD at the weekend about the players needing to have respect for each other and it certainly sounds like there are trouble makers in the squad who need bringing down a peg or two and if necessary, get rid of them to restore harmony in the ranks.
It's hard to put your finger on it isn't it? Who's rocking the apple cart? I'm inclined to think it's just a case of them not dealing with criticism as a group very well. There's enough rumours of a drinking culture to add some sort of weight to that argument, plus nobody is really privy to what sort of fines are being dished out to players for ill-discipline after the summer break etc. When managers come back after summer, they're much more determined than the players are, naturally, as the managers don't have to put the graft in physically to get into peak physical condition. All sorts of underlying factors could determine, why you club goes through ****ing groundhog day every time a season starts!
I'm a great believer in the odd sacrificial sacking, it works wonders most of the time and sends out a very clear message about who's running the show. If it is, and i'm not saying it is, Cattermole then sack the twat, it may cost the club £5m (guessing) maybe even £10m. How much do we stand to lose if we go down? and sacking a player of Catts stature within the club would let the others know that DA/Short mean business. The same would apply to whoever the ringleader is.
I reckon he's one of them but for me O'****e is the ring leader. ****ing cry baby going whinging to paddy big tits about PDC. ****ing Irish bastards always stick together.
hope Dick told them how it is and that if they don't pull their finger out hes off. you were on about shagging her the other day mate, from my point of view the whole team need ****in shagging!
Oh I'd give one ower the chebble marra, doesn't mean I have to like her. What does she actually do in the day to day running of the club? I reckon Ellis is getting his axle greased off her like.
I really don't know what the executives at Sunderland do all day, I know in my job and like everyone else we have to meet targets and deadlines, if we don't then we are ****ed, mmmmmm ah yes, like Sunderland!
