What on earth has happened to our club?!!

You're spot-on, none of that can be used this year. Last year teams were raising their game against the big boys and getting in our faces. Now, Evans' teamtalk was done when our team sheet came out as they knew we didn't fancy ourselves. We were going there to nick a point and the transformation to big standard League One club was complete.
The worrying thing is is the general level of apathy and almost acceptance amongst most concerned. This could be forgiven or at least understood in seasons gone by, but this is League 1 ffs.
 


Owners don't understand football and how to set these standards at such a big club. Have cut every single thing to the absolute bone meaning that expectations and professionalism have took a huge hit. Made key, errors in staff and player recruitment.

It's a mess and I don't see it changing.

I think most would agree that everything needed cutting back to the bone initially. But then almost immediately things such as recruiting and scouting need to be bang on and are essential to get right. I’ve said before, other clubs aren’t spending the money we have but are out performing us by miles. It comes down to decision making and we appear to have people in place who are making too many wrong decisions which are stopping the club from improving
 
The worrying thing is is the general level of apathy and almost acceptance amongst most concerned. This could be forgiven or at least understood in seasons gone by, but this is League 1 ffs.

I think it's more than clear that the Manager's style of play doesn't suit the vast majority of our players and they're realising they're being made to look worse than they are whilst he looks to bring his own type in.
We can say whever we like about Ross and his overly defensive (despite not being able to adequately defend) style but, for the most part, the players were putting it in for him
 
Absolutely shambolic

we should be the Liverpool/City of this league. Setting the standards when it comes to everything!

the way we play
the players we have
A positive, forward thinking manager who has great potential
A club who can attract anyone and who can also blow any other side out of the water if necessary.

how on earth is it going so badly wrong.

Last season was a decent enough start. We’d stopped the rot, put in some good performances, two trips to Wembley and had a good enough squad to make you think.. if we add a handful of batmans for a change rather than robins we’d all but guarantee promotion. Not having enough players who can change a game, who can do something out of nothing has been our problem for as long as I have followed the lads.

and once again we sign a load of shit and appoint a clueless, uninspiring manager.

Standard Sunderland


Players having an easy ride while earning loads & couldn't give a monkeys
 
I'm not sure how Donald didn't see this shit coming.

Since January we were absolutely awful and were very lucky to even make the playoffs, then the final comes along and we are that shit we couldn't even score our own goal.

Then he decided to sell and get rid of players and replace them with freebies and thinks everything is going to magically get better despite weakening the team. We had ample opportunity to sign good players such as Maddison but we refused to cough up the money.

He then sacks one bad manager and brings in an even worse one that everyone and their dogs could see wasn't going to work out.

He knows he's fucked up too as he is a coward and has went into hiding refusing to face anyone who criticises him because of 1 or 2 idiots that take it too far on Twitter the land of the Virgin keyboard warriors of all things.
 
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According to another poster who knows one of the academy parents, it's not true. I find it really sad that people start rumours like this - things are bad enough without the need for gratuitous shit-stirring.
It was a parent of someone at the academy who told me, again I'll state I took what the lad said at face value, we were having a general conversation about the state of the club when he told me this. I virtually never post stuff I hear about the club as usually I'm told it's on the QT, I have a relative who knows someone who gets a lot of gen and I keep it to myself, this was just a passing conversation with someone who came into where I work, so I felt that it was not a big secret or anything. Once again if it isn't true I apologise.
 
It was a parent of someone at the academy who told me, again I'll state I took what the lad said at face value, we were having a general conversation about the state of the club when he told me this. I virtually never post stuff I hear about the club as usually I'm told it's on the QT, I have a relative who knows someone who gets a lot of gen and I keep it to myself, this was just a passing conversation with someone who came into where I work, so I felt that it was not a big secret or anything. Once again if it isn't true I apologise.

No worries. It seems odd that we appear to have two academy parents saying different things though. Maybe something getting lost in translation along the way?
 
Once Short lost interest we were fooked. Everything stems from that.

I know this is not popular but Quinn has to take some responsibility - selling the club to Short and appointing that woman as Chief Exec.

It is very frustrating but I am reasonably calm about the whole thing. It is nothing new I remember going to the bank to get the ground staff wages one week and not knowng whether the bank would give me them. They did...
 
I've seen it reported as being the biggest budget ever for a L1 team.

Dunno if true
I'm at the stage now where I don't know who is less believable Boris Johnson or Stewart Donald
I know this is not popular but Quinn has to take some responsibility - selling the club to Short and appointing that woman as Chief Exec.

It is very frustrating but I am reasonably calm about the whole thing. It is nothing new I remember going to the bank to get the ground staff wages one week and not knowng whether the bank would give me them. They did...
Short appointed that woman as the chief exec, I think she was the canteen cleaner or something prior to that, Peter Walton was in charge when Quinny was chairman
 
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3 mates chip in 15k to buy an Aston Martin worth 50k with the intention of buffing up the bodywork and make a quick profit only to find it needs a new engine and gearbox costing 40k
 
If that rumour was true about the parents of the academy kids being asked to pay for the petrol of the bus to take them to games, then it's all anyone needs to know...

TBF a mates son is in the Yorkshire cricket academy (and also plays for England Lions) and they have to pay for travel expenses to away games. Also had to pay for his county suit etc. for formal occasions.
Not what you'd expect at a bog-standard third tier professional football club though, I grant you.
 
I'm not sure how Donald didn't see this shit coming.

Since January we were absolutely awful and were very lucky to even make the playoffs, then the final comes along and we are that shit we couldn't even score our own goal.

Then he decided to sell and get rid of players and replace them with freebies and thinks everything is going to magically get better despite weakening the team. We had ample opportunity to sign good players such as Maddison but we refused to cough up the money.

He then sacks one bad manager and brings in an even worse one that everyone and their dogs could see wasn't going to work out.

He knows he's fucked up too as he is a coward and has went into hiding refusing to face anyone who criticises him because of 1 or 2 idiots that take it too far on Twitter the land of the Virgin keyboard warriors of all things.
Things needed to change after the play off defeat but Donald had no plans other than slash costs and cut his losses.

This coincides with him trying to get "investors", first that Campbell fella then FPP.

At this point he was given a business masterclass. FPP offered a leveraged loan with strict conditions on how it should be spent. Almost as if they didn't trust him to spend it wisely.

SD is now in a position where he could keep throwing away his hard earned on a club that doesn't appreciate him or cash out to a consortium he's already in debt to.

Madrox protects safc from EFL bankruptcy rules but not from Stewie paying the bills. All FPP have to do is wait and starve him out.
 
Looking in from outside:-

You have a big club status
huge fan base
huge stadium
wealth
History
recent history of premiership

These things should be enough to attract the top players in this league. So why are you not?
Well the fact is, you are, has many players turned you down? I mean players that other clubs in League 1 are also chasing? I don't know but I would imagine players would jump at the chance to play for you.
Are you not the club with the highest wages in league 1? (although granted that players on long term contracts from the Championship and Premier league will bulk that up)

So you have everything in place.. You just have a Shit manager with average players playing a shit system, money doesn't always buy you great players, *Cough 40mil Joelinton
I don't know much about league 1 but you are where you deserve to be, the leagues tend not to lie.
 
There's blame to be shared out at every level of the club but when those 11 players step onto that pitch, its up to them to be able to put the effort in and at the very least pass a ball 5 f***ing yards to each other!....there's no leader's on the pitch and the body language suggests that they can't wait to get out of the club.

The majority of that squad just dont have what it takes and cant handle pressure.
 
Looking in from outside:-

You have a big club status
huge fan base
huge stadium
wealth
History
recent history of premiership

These things should be enough to attract the top players in this league. So why are you not?
Well the fact is, you are, has many players turned you down? I mean players that other clubs in League 1 are also chasing? I don't know but I would imagine players would jump at the chance to play for you.
Are you not the club with the highest wages in league 1? (although granted that players on long term contracts from the Championship and Premier league will bulk that up)

So you have everything in place.. You just have a Shit manager with average players playing a shit system, money doesn't always buy you great players, *Cough 40mil Joelinton
I don't know much about league 1 but you are where you deserve to be, the leagues tend not to lie.

the club must have such a bad reputation throughout football. somewhere that players can come and earn quite a high salary in respect of their relative talent, and not really have to work very hard when they are here. that in turn scares away proper professional players, who want to improve individually and progress as a club (Luke O Nien being the current stand out exception)

the crowd have seen 5 or 6 years of utter rubbish, and haven't much patience left, the club is unprofessional from top to bottom so isn't capable of handling a slight amount of pressure, and opposition only need to have a basic level of intelligence to work it out and use it against us
 

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