In theory Sunderland have all the makings of being a top side: we have the stadium, the fans, the history, and even a wealthy American owner. Surely this would be the perfect recipe for success…well it should be, but this is Sunderland after all. 40 years without a trophy, the worst start in Premier League history, and over half a year since our last league victory. It’s not going well.
This beggars the question as to how this great football club has managed to loiter in the lower echelons of the league in recent seasons, persistently fighting relegation, despite high investment in a team boasting a host of international stars. Clearly something is amiss. So who exactly is to blame for this debacle? The owner? The managers? The players?
Well let’s start off with the owner, Ellis Short. The wealthy American businessman attained 100% control of the club in May 2009 after initially buying a 30% stake in September 2008. There’s no questioning his loyalty to the club with over £120 million spent on players since the 2009 summer transfer window. Granted, we have recouped a lot of that money back in the sales of Darren Bent, Jordan Henderson and Simon Mignolet to name but a few. However, Short clearly cares for the club.
It’s also pretty tough to criticise his decisions regarding the sacking of managers in recent years. His decisions to axe Bruce and O’Neill at the time he did were backed by the majority of supporters, as it was universally accepted that under the pair of them we simply weren’t playing well enough.
Then there was the appointment of Paolo Di Canio.
At the time it was a superb decision, exactly the man we needed to rejuvenate and reignite the dressing room following the dismal last few months of O’Neill’s reign. There is little doubt that he saved us from the drop, with the 1-0 defeat of Everton and the 3-0 demolition of Newcastle at St James’ Park followed by home draws against Stoke and Southampton just proving to be enough for us to edge over the finish line.
However, during the summer the Short and the Board’s policies have left question marks over the fan’s heads. The selling of star players Simon Mignolet and Stéphane Sessègnon for a rather poultry combined fee of £15 million hardly showed a great deal ambition as myself, and many other Sunderland fans were wondering what had happened to all this TV money generated from the new television broadcasting rights deal.
Then came the sacking of Di Canio. Personally I felt this was too early. At the very least Di Canio should have stayed for the Liverpool and Manchester United games as no new manager was even planned to have been appointed by then. Any sacking 5 games into a season is absurd, especially after a radical squad overhaul in the summer but whether you like it or not, Short had his reasons and whilst I didn’t agree with them, many Sunderland fans did.
Now onto the managers, and there’s been a fair few of them. I always feel a degree of sympathy for managers when they get the sack, as it’s not them on the field scoring the goals, although Bruce, O’Neill and Di Canio all made fatal mistakes.
Bruce’s transfer policy was a bit of a mystery, with vast swathes of money seemingly wasted on English ‘talent’. Signing Connor Wickham for around £10 million was always going to be a gamble whilst the acquisitions of experienced, yet injury prone players like Wes Brown was also rather dubious.
Bruce also baffled supporters with his selections, including his infamous 4-6-0 formation away to Brighton in the League Cup. Such tactics may work for Spain but I suppose it helps to have Xavi and Iniesta marshalling the midfield rather than Colback and Gardner. The night ended in defeat in probably the second worst Sunderland performance I’d ever seen, just behind the 3-1 away defeat to Southend under Niall Quinn with an honourable mention to the 0-3 loss to Wigan in the FA Cup in 2008.
Performances against Newcastle were also subpar to say the least, notably the 5-1 trouncing at St James’ Park, a freak result with supporters questioning the manager and the player’s character. The 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge a fortnight later proved the team had the talent, but for some reason this was seldom seen, with prolonged winless runs appearing to become an annual frustration.
Then came Martin O’Neill. He had seemingly been linked to the Sunderland job every time it became available for the last 10 years and was enormously popular on his arrival, with his status only increasing following an impressive start including the memorable last minute victories over Blackburn, QPR and Manchester City.
However, that Ji Dong-Won goal with just 4 seconds left was the highlight of his tenure, as form and confidence dropped dramatically following the abysmal 2-0 home defeat to Everton in the Quarter Final replay of the FA Cup.
Big money signing Adam Johnson never truly played to his potential and a torrid 2012/3 campaign ensued, with woeful performances away to QPR and Reading coupled with the inability to beat Fulham and Norwich at home proving to be the final nails in the coffin. For some the reason the great man motivator couldn’t fire up the players, who seemed rather lackadaisical and lost in the overly negative system employed by the Northern Irishman.
Shots on target were at a premium throughout the season, with mind numbingly boring football perpetually depressing the Sunderland fans until Paolo arrived.
He fundamentally kept us in the Premier League. For this reason alone I am grateful to him. He had passion for the job, and gave the players a metaphorical kick up the backside and there was some desire in the performances. His main criticism was his treatment of the players, but while his approach was hard-line, I can’t help but wonder how much the media coverage resulted in his eventual departure.
Every minor thing he did to upset the applecart was splashed around the papers. He was clearly unfairly treated by Fleet Street’s finest; something I suspect wouldn’t have happened if he was at West Ham. The double standards were ridiculous, if he criticised a player because they played badly he was referred to as a terrible man manager, and whilst these skills may have needed work on, I don’t remember Harry Redknapp suffering the same criticism after suggesting his wife Sandra could have scored a Darren Bent missed chance. But that was good old ‘Arry having a joke, we must not forget that Di Canio is an evil, Mussolini following Fascist…well that’s what the media had people believe.
Despite having his flaws, I can’t truly blame Di Canio, his hands were tied regarding transfers by the board, he was attacked by the media at every opportunity, and simply the players didn’t perform for him or want him at the club. The players forced him out.
And this brings me onto the real problem with Sunderland AFC: The players.
In recent years the mercenaries Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan have forced their way out of the club, both at the back end of transfer windows in chase of higher wages elsewhere, in acts of greed and betrayal. Both of these incidents occurred when Steve Bruce was at the helm which is why I have sympathy with him. During the first half of the 2010/11 season Bent, Gyan and Welbeck we were fantastic, tearing teams apart, yet by the start of the next season they were all gone.
The attitude of the players has been poor in recent years, highlighted by Phil Bardsley’s casino shenanigans as well as stating on Instagram his pleasure in Sunderland losing 1-0 at home to Fulham. They despised Di Canio because of the hard work required, and because he spoke his mind instead of pandering to the overpaid, talentless ‘professional footballers’ who play for us.
Over the last few years the players simply haven’t delivered on the pitch. There’s no doubting that this season’s squad is not the worst in the league. On paper I would have it finishing comfortably in mid-table, but unfortunately for Sunderland fans the game isn’t played on paper.
The games are played on the pitch, meaning the all the hard work of the owner, manager, backroom staff, not to mention the hopes and dreams of the supporters rest on the player’s shoulders. It’s up to them to score the goals, make the tackles and win the matches. Once they cross that white line it’s all down to them.
The players simply haven’t delivered.
The Sunderland Supporter 