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Gerrup int middle oftnart afore thid gont bed akip int cardboard box n ad gravel fort bait. Bloody luxury. Kids these days dinnat nar they're bornLuxury. Ah remember when t'players had to walk 12 miles t'ground in t'afternoon after working a 10 hour shift down t'pit, smoked 20 Woodbine in t'changing room afore t'match, beat Arsenal 10 nil and still had to borrow threehappence for a bag of chips to feed t'bairns.
Matron!Fans are as much to blame as the clubs. They call for these marquee signings, berate local players, demand foreign managers as domestic ones are not good enough, Oman constantly about the style of football and pay vast sums to Sky.
And they will worship some guy who has no connection just because he scores a few goals and then moan like bitches when he moves on for a better deal
Football has changed and so has Sunderland. Sadly, just not in the same way.Football has changed. The problem SAFC have is that the club is built on a foundation of absolute twats now.
I’ve just said on the Henderson thread. If he had stayed with us he would now be at Carlisle. We seem to break young players who show potential and very few seem to kick on to the next level.It’s what I’ve been saying about selling Henderson and Pickford at the first bid. These two could have played for us for a generation. At least some people within the club realise where we have gone wrong. We need new owners to put the theory into practice if we (big if) we get some more good ones through.
Ooooh Matron!Matron!
Exactly and we clearly haven't, we currently employ a bunch of third rate fraudsters who are paid a king's ransom whether they perform or not, case closed.It's all about getting the right personalities
Been to a talk today with Monty and Dick Malone. Just some points I picked up and have been musing.
1) Since the 60’s, Sunderland have never built on success. We’ve had promotions or cup runs, then sold off our best players, failed to replace them, fallen and started again. We need a CEO and back room staff who are committed to achieving and then building further on successes to break this cycle.
2) In the olden days players were paid a basic wage with extra for appearances and performances. The basic wage was enough to get by on but the extras paid for the luxuries. That made players hungry to work and perform as they made more money. These days the basic wage of some players is way more than they need to live on so there is no wage incentive to work hard.
3) Players used to have to work around the club as well as being footballers. When the Northumbria Centre was opened, they’d do their training, then get the rollers out and roll the pitches. Another day they all worked together and laid a footpath. They did DIY jobs around Roker Park painting barriers and stuff. All of that built team spirit and encouraged working together as well as building pride among them for the ground. They’d socialise together and built good friendships. The camaraderie like this doesn’t seem to happen these days which affects team spirit.
4) Boys were not allowed to sign for a club until they were around aged 14. Until then, they played social football in school teams, local leagues etc. Once they signed, they were given jobs and had to work hard for things like new boots and kit. These days academies take on 5-6 year olds and kit them out with everything they need. They don’t have to work hard to achieve things. They miss out on the social football as they are not allowed to play for the school and local leagues. By the time they get to around 15, the big clubs come in and cherry pick the best for their youth set ups. This is why it’s so hard to get decent players coming through academies for clubs such as Sunderland.
Anyway just thought it was interesting the way the culture has changed in the game and thought it offered some insights into the problems that we currently have at the club.
Can you imagine giving someone like Borini a tin of paint and telling him to get cracking? It just wouldn't happen.
No he wouldn’t, you could tell straight away he was going to be superb. Good first touch, normally a pass, quick, had a trick. Good stamina, the only thing he couldn’t do was tackle.Football has changed and so has Sunderland. Sadly, just not in the same way.
I’ve just said on the Henderson thread. If he had stayed with us he would now be at Carlisle. We seem to break young players who show potential and very few seem to kick on to the next level.
Yes, so recruitment is the problem. Not the fact that footballers are well paid. Case reopened and then closed in my favourExactly and we clearly haven't, we currently employ a bunch of third rate fraudsters who are paid a king's ransom whether they perform or not, case closed.
Absolutely. And any agent fees come out of their pocket.I have said for a long time that players should pick up a 'decent' basic wage (something like 1k a week/game would be more than fair imo) then have maybe 10k win bonus
Which for me (not Catholic) makes Celtics and Steins achievement the greatest ever in football . Can you imagine the fervour generated by a successful Sunderland team of local lads ? No, of course you can't .My dad told me a Sunderland player used to deliver pop in Milfield during the season when he was growing up in the 50s.
A player went out to every school every week to chat with and coach the school team.
As a kid, he could get in free if they spent a couple of hours removing the straw off the pitch before kick off.
That was football in the community.
It started sometime in the 80s that the majority of players were not from the same region as the fans.
Now it's not even the same country.
Famously Celtic's European Cup winning team were all born within 30 miles of Glasgow.
NoWhich for me (not Catholic) makes Celtics and Steins achievement the greatest ever in football . Can you imagine the fervour generated by a successful Sunderland team of local lads ? No, of course you can't .
Ajax had a team that won the European cup where most were born within 15 miles of the groundWhich for me (not Catholic) makes Celtics and Steins achievement the greatest ever in football . Can you imagine the fervour generated by a successful Sunderland team of local lads ? No, of course you can't .