people are romanticising development and forgetting we’re trying to get promoted and an arguable consequence of not getting promoted is that said players won’t get that development chance anyway as they’ll be leaving
additionally the championship has proven to be a slog, players have fallen like flies.
our two left wingers have unknown return dates, have to get up to speed and avoid injury.
I think mundle is good to go but Watson is quite clearly a ways back in development despite his potential
we need options and it’s a fact, look at the state of the substitutions and game management at the weekend, slight exaggeration but it’s true.
Clarke left, enzo in the pocket looks markedly improved
fwiw I think Aouchiche is capable of doing the business on the left until the return of kindle but we’ve seen the gaffer ostracise him again after not doing anything wrong, shoe horning a midfielder in out wide in stead.
the gaffer needs the tools he wants OR to stop putting square pegs in round holes and play people in correct positions. People will miss out but that’s football.
I have to say I'm not in the 'promotion at all costs' faction tbh, and I don't just mean monetarily.
I much prefer what we're doing because it's different and exciting imo.
I wouldn't want to either buy our way up, with a bunch of random signings, or change our football and 'do a Luton'.
Both of those options are very short term and exactly what we've done before ... it can work, at first, but it's built on sand.
Even the Peter Reid time, fun though it was, never gave me the feeling it could last.
Short threw money at the club but players came who had clearly been 'bribed' and had no love for the club.
I used to stand there singing 'We love you Sunderland' while actually hating most of the players on the pitch and often the manager.
I love the transformation of the club, over the last few years, and don't want all that work thrown up in the air. You can actually feel the bond with the players and supporters now, especially at away games, even if we lose. That's worth more than 'showing ambition' with endless mercenaries in my view.
Yes some players will leave, as Stewart and Clarke did, but we keep progressing despite the odd setback through injuries etc.
I know this post won't be popular but I'm loving what's happening and trust the club 100% to keep it all going.