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Ruthlessness in improving the team for the Premier League


connolly_31 said:
I like him and think he will do a decent job. But, he dallies on the ball too much and lacks pace. He has a brittleness which will be exploited too. We need two new CB’s to help him step his game up further and challenge him to be better than he already is.
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I think Ballard will play the majority of the season. He’s very highly regarded at the club and rightly so. We probably need two CB unless they feel Seelt is a good enough backup but I’m quite certain Ballard will be lining up opening day and after the window shuts.
 
To have a chance of staying up we had to do it. It's unfortunate for the players who got us promoted but ultimately top level sport is ruthless if you want to progress.
 
Travis said:
I think Ballard will play the majority of the season. He’s very highly regarded at the club and rightly so. We probably need two CB unless they feel Seelt is a good enough backup but I’m quite certain Ballard will be lining up opening day and after the window shuts.
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You're forgetting the lad is made of glass.....
 
HellsBells said:
It is.

But my only reservation is that I worry we might not be able to hang on to that sense of TEAM.

We’ve seen the euros bring out the very best in a team against a technically better side, and we did that against Sheff Utd in my opinion, because we had the belief, the right mindset and really believed in one another. The lads were enjoying paying together - look at Jobe and how he spoke about us and how he looked after Ballard scored.

I have a niggling worry that one of our big signings might just end up like a Rodwell. Will they definitely pull together if we are 18th at Christmas?

I hope it’s just a niggle.
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Totally get that but I have a feeling the players we’ve signed still have that character, the clubs spoke a lot about having the right kind of people at the club.
 
The Situation said:
Very often clubs can get sentimental and there's a tendency to stick with players who have got you promoted due to a sense of loyalty, to the detriment of results.
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Don't be daft. Football is business and every club knows it - they don't do stuff for sentimental reasons. They don't stick with players they have because, "sniff, sniff, awww, we just can't bear to say goodbye to him".

It's money!! Or the lack of it.

And balancing risks. Make no mistake, we are really pushing the boat out financially.

They may actually think those that got them up will be good enough! They may be.

Most of the teams are bouncing back up after a recent relegation, and already have players with premiership experience. They may not have £150M+ in transfer fees to spend, and be able to commit to the wages to go with it. If they've been yo-yo-ing, their wage bill will already be higher than us (covered by parachute money) - less room for manoeuvre there.

They may be running up against FFP - I've no idea if we will be.

And they may be using the long term strategy, sometimes suggested on here:- go up and the odds of staying aren't good; so don't spend too much; but even if relegated, the continued parachute million will make them favourites to get back. Repeat and rinse for gradual improvement.

Loads of possible reasons. But being sentimental ain't in the picture.
 
Lucky1985 said:
He would like. Jobe was sold for a higher fee than the new players were bought for. Consider how much Jobe improved from one season to the next, if he did the same again he would be our best player by a distance.


We look to have done some good business, but let’s not start pretending that Jobe wasn’t a phenomenal prospect.
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Jobe’s development from his first season to his second was an exceptional but I always thought his lack of pace would be his limiting factor that would stop him getting to the top.
I would love for him to really push on and prove me wrong with that.
 
gretzky said:
Ballard is immense and well capable of playing in the Premier League
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Mmmmm, I’m not so sure

He’s fantastic with the game in front of him but he often gets in poor positions and isn’t the quickest

I think he has a chance but ideally he would be our no3 CB so he can continue to develop without the huge pressure of being a starter week in week out against many many outstanding strikers
 
There were two ways of having a go at this season, one rely on the atmosphere, cohesion etc with about 4 to 5 key signings.

The other is to try and get premier league ability in every position, we appear to be taking the second route which is fine but were still 5 big signings from doing that. Its an all in mentality and goes against aspects of what the club has taken great care to develop over the last few seasons.

Just hope it pays off, at least they are young and should we stay up they should at the very least hold their value. Should it not then although we'll be better off financially, we'll be put back years on what we were cultivating in youth progression etc.
Lucky1985 said:
Time will tell, the original postulate though was that he wouldn’t get in our starting lineup, and I disagree with that still.
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He was our best player, let's hope Diarra is of that level or better. But had Jobe not wanted off, we could have used that 30m on more pressing positions.

Had he stayed, he would have been playing.
 
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There's no room for sentiment in a progressive football club, players at any level are only ever as good as their previous game so if/when the "manager" doesn't fancy you for his team you're out/replaced. Stark but true. It's purely about getting the job he wants done. Managers are always on the lookout for improvement every position.
 
Coeus said:
There were two ways of having a go at this season, one rely on the atmosphere, cohesion etc with about 4 to 5 key signings.

The other is to try and get premier league ability in every position, we appear to be taking the second route which is fine but were still 5 big signings from doing that. Its an all in mentality and goes against aspects of what the club has taken great care to develop over the last few seasons.

Just hope it pays off, at least they are young and should we stay up they should at the very least hold their value. Should it not then although we'll be better off financially, we'll be put back years on what we were cultivating in youth progression etc.


He was our best player, let's hope Diarra is of that level or better. But had Jobe not wanted off, we could have used that 30m on more pressing positions.

Had he stayed, he would have been playing.
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We also couldn't have spent as much as we have as his fee created loads of PSR headroom. I think the club was happy for him to go
 
Mowgli said:
We also couldn't have spent as much as we have as his fee created loads of PSR headroom. I think the club was happy for him to go
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The franchise.player? I doubt it, but who knows. One things for sure, he's the only player other than le fee i wouldn't have worried about in the prem.
 
The Great Soprendo said:
Yes, it's almost inevitable that a consequence of promotion to the PL and wholesale replacement is the loss of some of the togetherness in the squad, but it could potentially be rekindled if they are doing well.

On a similar note, it's kind of inevitable that some of the connection between players and fans is lost, when you are signing players from across the world who are earning money we can't even dream about. We had some youngsters in the side last season who probably don't earn a lot more (or maybe no more at all) than a typical well-paid job. Next season, there will be players in the team picking up many millions per year, who are (let's be honest, at least in some cases) just here for the money, or to earn a bigger move. Hard to feel the same connection in those circumstances.
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Fair point this.

The togetherness last year was at least in part from seeing a team made up largely of our academy graduates, many of them Sunderland fans.

We have seen it go so wrong before when you start dishing out massive pay cheques to players from all over the world and how that can kill a dressing room.

Still, it's a necessary part of the process and a sign of the progress we have made. And it's down to the recruitment team to nail the decisions and recruit on character as well as ability, and RLB to lead the squad and get them motivated and firing.
 
Lucky1985 said:
He would like. Jobe was sold for a higher fee than the new players were bought for. Consider how much Jobe improved from one season to the next, if he did the same again he would be our best player by a distance.


We look to have done some good business, but let’s not start pretending that Jobe wasn’t a phenomenal prospect.
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Aye but hes got another two years as a prospect before hes (possibly) better than Xhaka or Le Fee and theres nothing to say Diarra wont be an equally good prospect ( hes currently a more effective player )
 
I remember Portugal pre season 3 years ago and having a meet and greet after training , all these young kids that had just won the play off final shiting themselves when all the fans walked over for selfie's and a chat . then watching the core of them beat sheff utd and thinking we've all been on this journey together , just hoping the lads can step up and carry on.
sentimental i know , but we have been down the premier road before and it wasn't that good. the connection with the players is the best I've known since Reids days
 
What's to say that by training and playing with these new players, the players that got us up last season won't kick on? I know not all will be able to but I have hopes that out of Patterson, Cirkin, Hume, Ballard, Alese, Huggins, Neil, Rigg, Mundle, Isidor and Mayenda some are young enough with improvement left in them (if they are kept that is). This could be another developmental season for them without the need to play full 90 every week, which might also help with the view that some of them are injury prone.
 
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