How has your life been affected by the decline and fall of SAFC?


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Major Major

Winger
I am 58 yrs old. I saw my first match 50 years ago. Have been an exile for 30 years. Coming back to UK this year. Footballing wise, the worst time to come back I know. We have won one real trophy in that 50 years. But loads and loads of great memories, and the club has enriched my life to a monumental degree. No need to dwell on the individual moments, you all know what they are. Not trophy-laden then, but there was always hope - whether in old Div1/Premier, or the lower tiers - that it would not take that much to make us successful. But it appears that without a huge injection of cash, that seems far away now. It could take many years to get back to a position where we can challenge again, if it happens at all.

I check these pages every day, a lot of gallows humour, and a lot of anger. Rightly so. I am not pointing the finger in this post, too many others for that. I just wanted to explore the great sadness that so many people will feel at the moment. Those that have followed the club for decades, those a lot younger. It is the lowest ebb. Far worse than Lawrie Mac days.

For someone like me, who is getting on now, it is bitter-sweet. We have experienced the highs and the lows. We have also experienced what life has to throw at us, and know that time runs fast. Football as the years go by becomes less important. It's just the way it is. Other things to worry about. And for sanity's sake, it would be suicidal to keep worrying about the club, when you have yourself, family and friends to think/worry about. But there is no denying the sickness in the stomach when the mind currently turns to SAFC. One of the most important things in my life is going down the drain, and there seems no way out of it.

Sorry for the depressive nature of this post, I am normally a positive guy when it comes to SAFC. Coleman gives us some hope, but he is not a miracle worker. I just hope someone buys out Short sooner rather than later. With the cash to save us.

Good luck at Boro lads. Fans and team.
 
I'd love to say it's not affecting me at all, having seen most of this stuff before at the club and as I support Sunderland what ever league we are in, no matter how high or low, but looking at things, not being able to see any light at the end of any tunnel, seeing our position in the league, seeing the lack of support being given to Coleman by those above him, seeing how shocking the team are and no signs of this changing enough to make any kind of difference, seeing our results nearly every week. Yeah it's getting pretty depressing.... The way things are going, Short is going to have to pay someone to take the club off his hands, or we could well dissapear into oblivion.
 
i still think that our academy will stop us falling further than the next league at worst, and might keep us in this one yet- its this prior investment that clubs like portsmouth and blackpool didnt have, whereas southampton did.
might be a bit too happy clappy but this is the reason i like coleman- relying on the academy will be what keeps the club afloat long term long after short has dumped us. i watch aalborg play on a regular basis and though its a different league (probably league 1 quality i would guess) they have a decent culture of bringing through their own players and perservering with them.
i think an example of this is honeyman who has become a useful player for us despite limitations- whatever you think of his ability, the fact he has made positive impacts in many of the games he has played shows at least how stupid we have been over the last ten years in regards to recruitment- constantly filling our bench with absoloute dross on high wages or for 2 or 3 million there, draining all of our resources for players who just arent up to it. im not naive enough to think we can be bilbao, but when we do spend money we need to buy quality not constantly be building a new team from the same money that would buy you 1 decent player.
 
to use the quote... it's the hope I can't stand . thinking it can't get any worse
 
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Barely, tbh, due to a combination of factors. Getting older and less willing to put up with shite, realising that you have a dislike of most of the players that verges on hatred (not many of the current lot though, they're hardly to blame), distance meaning I can't really get to games, and the realisation that football has changed and we're seen as mugs to be bled dry. Having to pay to listen on the radio was the final straw really. these days I keep an eye on it when I can but it's not a priority and it in no way spoils my weekend the way it used to.
 
I don't want to be melodramatic, but the real impact has been on the quality of the time I spend with my son. Loves football as much as me, he started with a season ticket at the age of 4, loved it, and times like the early days of O'Neill (eg Ji Dong-Won), the derby wins, the Wembley run, the Poyet great escape, were really enjoyable.

He's now 13, still loves football in general, but thanks to Ellis Short's destruction of the club, is totally apathetic about SAFC, and about going to the match, and often bins it. He certainly doesn't want to go to any more away games. I suspect when he goes it is as a bit of a 'favour' to me, and looking ahead, he certainly won't be going to watch us if he goes to University or gets a job or gets a girlfriend or whatever.

It's the lost generation of SAFC fans that is the worst bit of what that cunt Short has done to the club.
 
I don't want to be melodramatic, but the real impact has been on the quality of the time I spend with my son. Loves football as much as me, he started with a season ticket at the age of 4, loved it, and times like the early days of O'Neill (eg Ji Dong-Won), the derby wins, the Wembley run, the Poyet great escape, were really enjoyable.

He's now 13, still loves football in general, but thanks to Ellis Short's destruction of the club, is totally apathetic about SAFC, and about going to the match, and often bins it. He certainly doesn't want to go to any more away games. I suspect when he goes it is as a bit of a 'favour' to me, and looking ahead, he certainly won't be going to watch us if he goes to University or gets a job or gets a girlfriend or whatever.

It's the lost generation of SAFC fans that is the worst bit of what that cunt Short has done to the club.
Complete opposite for my lad. He's a bit older at 15 but he's obsessed this season. Costing me a fortune paying for his away days.

Me? I just can't get angry. I'm used to us being shit. It's the norm.
 
Just that little bit of hope before every game. I can’t get angry because I can’t control anything. Luckily I live 350 miles away, so don’t have to go very often.

Having said that, my 50th is the Birmingham away day. We have lots of friends there and I am looking forward to a few pints before the match. Watch these tosses go and win today so the weekend is ruined.
 
When we are losing it feels like there is a dark cloud following me around from Saturday night/Sunday morning to around Tuesday/Wednesday.

Then the optimisism starts to come back from about mid-week that climaxes Saturday morning before the game which makes me feel happier.

Then Repeat.

When we win I go to bed buzzing and read every column inch, plus threads on here on the Sunday and Monday. Monday and the start of the working week also seems easier walking in with a spring in my step.
 
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