The thing is, it is no longer a case of selling the club to players. It is waving wads of cash in front of their eyes. Even mediocre players have more than one agent, one for football one for image, etc.etc. etc. This isn't going to change for the foreseeable future, even though your average fan would like it too. Whilst it stays this way we have to do a Harry Enfield and shout out "Loadsa money!"
We will just have to hope average teams get promoted, that we can compete with in terms of size and image. For example as much as they've grown on me since I've lived here, I wouldn't want Leeds to get promoted as in terms of size and history, they far outclass us and would always be a lure for top players. Heres to the "smaller" clubs. Helping prop us up since 07.
Can't agree with that mind, they had a few years in recent history, but they had a black period between the great teams of the 70's and then, and another one now. Leeds are a massive club, but it'd take more than mere promotion to rebuild them, my best pals a Leeds season ticket holder, and he still feels they are 10 years away from being stable.
However if for example Wigan go down this season, and Leeds come up, they will undoubtedly pose a bigger threat in terms of attracting players. Leeds is also a major city, which is always a pull for top players.
I'd agree withthat to an extent, but Leeds wouldn't put up the money for the players, as Bates is about as generous as a nun lashing out the blozzers to footballers.
Spot on Cest. As always, artliculate and quick to the jugular of the situation. Words now from Niall mean nothing, because we've seen no-one come in except for a totally unproven South Korean, compared to whats gone out - two establslihed premier league/internationals in Bent and Hendo. That is not exciting and neither are half the names we are linked with. Brown, Vaughan, Ngog, Won are not names to have any Sunderland fan creaming in his prevervial premier league underpants. Get in some quality players, proven premier league players and one or two marquee players and then you can come out and say we are looking at exciting times. And before anyone gets stuck into me about the use of the phrase 'marquee players,' I only mean marquee for us, not some world class superstars who won't have even heard of Sunderland. Just good players that are blatantly a step up for us in terms of quality and class. Then and only then will I be excited, no matter how much Quinn begs me too.
And it is on this point I have been banging on about since ewe sold Henderson. While we are happy to shout from the roof tops that we are selling our best young players to the likes of Liverpool, for whatever money, we will NEVER amount to anything other than a part time feeder club to the big boys. The selling of Jordan marked a very sorry and depressing point in the current regimes management IMO. Unless we are total ****ed financially, there was no need to flog the lad so easily and we should have been adding to him, not replacing him. Personally, neither Gibson, N'Gog or this lad Won are anywhere near as good as the lad we have just sold. Unless we have people at the club that are prepared to throw away the rule book that says Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are to win everything and the rest of us are there just to make up the numbers and sell them our best players, we will always be a very disappointed set of fans up here in the NE. Don't tell me that Manchester or Liverpool is a fabulous area to live its a **** hole and comes nowhere near to Durham & Northumberland for natural beauty. The players go there because they see a winning mentality and at SAFC they see a selling club that lacks ambition. Its not areas that's the sticking point, its the potential of the club
