Sunderland since Drumaville

Chip · 1st October 2011, 08:11 AM

What are your thoughts on our progress since Quinny took the helm and the subsequent Short/Quinn partnership.

From a personal point of view I used to be a season ticket holder, spent a lot of time and effort travelling up to the SOL every other weekend got to as many preseason games as I could, mainly those local to me (York, Grimsby, Barnsley, Bradford to name a few) I have never been an away traveller as all the home games were away for me.

Since the handover a few things have happened. I no longer have a season ticket - not so much to do with the new owners but a culmination of a number of years of underachievment and utter disappointment under Murray and the realisation that I could not see things changing for the better. This has been twinned with having more important things to do with my time and money (family).

I now no longer can be bothered to make the journey to preseason games no matter how local they are because my apathy has reached such a level that theres always something filling up my time thats more important. I didnt even attend the York game even though I was in York at the time!

I still get to a number of games during the year but cannot remember the last one where the highlight of the day wasnt the fish and chips at Croziers. I no longer make as much effort to make the trip either and over the last 18 months cannot say I have missed the experience too much. (I can always go to the Wetherby Whaler for fish and chips)

I still trawl websites and watch as many games as I can from home I would not miss a televised game for anything but cannot dedicate my time to getting up to Sunderland to see it in the flesh. I cant remember the last time I actually enjoyed a game at the SOL :(

Thinking about it 99% of the time its the same watching on the TV you can never relax they always have you stressed out.

I can put my feelings down to a number of things

Football has moved on from the days of Murray and although we seem to be awash with money and players are moving in and out by the dozen its all still relative and our overall position in the game is still the same. Overall we are just paying more for the same types of player the only difference being the fact they are now coming from far flung places rather than from Places like West Brom, Luton, York etc.

We have had so many false dawns over the years that no matter what we feel going into the season it is always shot down by Christmas. This year it doesnt seem to have got off the ground at all.

I cant be the only one feeling like this, attendances are consistently down even though we are no longer yo-yoing. Is the attaction of football falling because they have lost touch with the fans? Is this a wider problem and not just to do with Sunderland?

I fear the billionaires playing with our national sport are slowly pulling it apart to satisfy there own egos. When a footballer will willingly go to play his sport in the desert in front of 400 people over 35K in the "greatest" league in the world something is wrong. Is it about time we got back to basics and is a salary cap and indeed a transfer cap the way to bring about a more level playing field where players can choose their path based on football and career rather than wages.

Should the business dealings of clubs be scrutinsed and rather than allowing the obscene bankrolling of a number of clubs at the top should the FA be ensuring that these businesses are run as businesses rather than as playthings for the worlds weathiest people.

Do Sky have a part to play in bringing the game back to the working man by cutting the amount they pay the clubs. (this relates to sky subscription numbers so I suppose it is in all of our hands really)

viccarlton · 1st October 2011, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chip

I cant be the only one feeling like this, attendances are consistently down even though we are no longer yo-yoing. Is the attaction of football falling because they have lost touch with the fans? Is this a wider problem and not just to do with Sunderland?

Bingo

Chappers · 1st October 2011, 08:23 AM

I will be there today as normal but really cannot be arsed.

Weekends are becoming more special as work is so shit, and yet I spoil them by watching that shite every other week.

Of course I would feel different if we were doing better, but didn't feel this way during the really shit seasons and we've had plenty of those

BigWig · 1st October 2011, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chip

I fear the billionaires playing with our national sport are slowly pulling it apart to satisfy there own egos. When a footballer will willingly go to play his sport in the desert in front of 400 people over 35K in the "greatest" league in the world something is wrong. Is it about time we got back to basics and is a salary cap and indeed a transfer cap the way to bring about a more level playing field where players can choose their path based on football and career rather than wages.

Who says it is the greatest league in the world? We only started to get the best players when we started to pay them more!

Perhaps prior to this it might have been considered competitive at one point but sadly those days have long gone.

Longy · 1st October 2011, 08:32 AM

I will watch any Sunderland side put out in front of me and get involved and really want them to win. Whether it be first team, youths, reserves. Some of the best games I've saw lately was Sunderland women. They beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Cup a couple of year ago and it was class.

I very rarely watch Premier League football on the telly cos it bores me. However, lately I've been to see Hartlepool, Blyth and Gateshead and have thoroughly enjoyed the matches. There's a honesty about it all. And the centre halves don't try to rape people. If I walk through Thompson Park today and there's a Premier League match on one pitch and a Saturday League match on the other I'd probably watch the Saturday League match. The moral of the story is the Premiership is shite. The footballers are cunts, the agents are wankers, the pundits are dicks, the extra fans that it brings are wankers and they are either boring professional robots like Dean Whitehead or obnoxious wankers like Carlos Tevez.

See you at the match

Chip · 1st October 2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigWig

Who says it is the greatest league in the world? We only started to get the best players when we started to pay them more!

Perhaps prior to this it might have been considered competitive at one point but sadly those days have long gone.

Thats what the "" were for, I take your point fully

Hulkster · 1st October 2011, 08:50 AM

The era has been a wasted opportunity.

The improvement has been the absolute minimum relative to the massive increase in the budget the club has been operating on.

Thomas Hearns · 1st October 2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chip

What are your thoughts on our progress since Quinny took the helm and the subsequent Short/Quinn partnership.

From a personal point of view I used to be a season ticket holder, spent a lot of time and effort travelling up to the SOL every other weekend got to as many preseason games as I could, mainly those local to me (York, Grimsby, Barnsley, Bradford to name a few) I have never been an away traveller as all the home games were away for me.

Since the handover a few things have happened. I no longer have a season ticket - not so much to do with the new owners but a culmination of a number of years of underachievment and utter disappointment under Murray and the realisation that I could not see things changing for the better. This has been twinned with having more important things to do with my time and money (family).

I now no longer can be bothered to make the journey to preseason games no matter how local they are because my apathy has reached such a level that theres always something filling up my time thats more important. I didnt even attend the York game even though I was in York at the time!

I still get to a number of games during the year but cannot remember the last one where the highlight of the day wasnt the fish and chips at Croziers. I no longer make as much effort to make the trip either and over the last 18 months cannot say I have missed the experience too much. (I can always go to the Wetherby Whaler for fish and chips)

I still trawl websites and watch as many games as I can from home I would not miss a televised game for anything but cannot dedicate my time to getting up to Sunderland to see it in the flesh. I cant remember the last time I actually enjoyed a game at the SOL :(

Thinking about it 99% of the time its the same watching on the TV you can never relax they always have you stressed out.

I can put my feelings down to a number of things

Football has moved on from the days of Murray and although we seem to be awash with money and players are moving in and out by the dozen its all still relative and our overall position in the game is still the same. Overall we are just paying more for the same types of player the only difference being the fact they are now coming from far flung places rather than from Places like West Brom, Luton, York etc.

We have had so many false dawns over the years that no matter what we feel going into the season it is always shot down by Christmas. This year it doesnt seem to have got off the ground at all.

I cant be the only one feeling like this, attendances are consistently down even though we are no longer yo-yoing. Is the attaction of football falling because they have lost touch with the fans? Is this a wider problem and not just to do with Sunderland?

I fear the billionaires playing with our national sport are slowly pulling it apart to satisfy there own egos. When a footballer will willingly go to play his sport in the desert in front of 400 people over 35K in the "greatest" league in the world something is wrong. Is it about time we got back to basics and is a salary cap and indeed a transfer cap the way to bring about a more level playing field where players can choose their path based on football and career rather than wages.

Should the business dealings of clubs be scrutinsed and rather than allowing the obscene bankrolling of a number of clubs at the top should the FA be ensuring that these businesses are run as businesses rather than as playthings for the worlds weathiest people.

Do Sky have a part to play in bringing the game back to the working man by cutting the amount they pay the clubs. (this relates to sky subscription numbers so I suppose it is in all of our hands really)

it would have been enough just to say your priorities have changed.

Cartman · 1st October 2011, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hulkster

The era has been a wasted opportunity.

The improvement has been the absolute minimum relative to the massive increase in the budget the club has been operating on.

spot on, for the amount of money we have spent as a club over the last 5 years we should have made more of an improvement.

Remember Quinn's 5 year plan where he hoped we would be be in Europe at the end of it, we we are a million miles away from that and are only slightly better than 3 years ago. Bad choices have been made in both the transfer market and with regard to the manager.

Chip · 1st October 2011, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas Hearns

it would have been enough just to say your priorities have changed.

Its not just that though is it?

We were averaging well over 40K in my last season as a seasons ticket holder, we sold out against the top 6, we were shite.

Yes my priorities have changed but I could make the effort to go more often, I think it is much bigger than this and its bigger than economic downturn reasons too.

Is there a problem with trying to open a reasoned debate?