Why does nobody care?

[The Rat]

It is always about money these days, because when ever a team underperforms the pundits only "solution" is buying more and more players, without any thought of how economically viable it is for that club. Shearer does this on MOTD about the Mags and then can't see the irony of saying seconds later what a great coach Benitez is.

Having said that, the only protests I remember at SAFC were in the Buxton / Butcher era mid-90s just before Reid. It was sort of about money, but really about Murray's lack of ambition. We had looked a gift horse in the mouth when defaulted promotion to top flight in 1990; a tiny bit of investment that season and Denis Smith would have kept us up. We then proceeded to just drift and gradually slip lower and lower. Seems like heaven now, but fans couldn't hack the fact that Murray had let a golden opportunity slip through his fingers. It sort of worked, Reid scraped us up, went up next season, SoL got built, the mini-golden era happened.

Yeah I just about remember that happening

to a degree the SOL has worked

My Dad said to me the other day, that in just over 22 years the lowest we have finished was 3rd in Championship

Now that may not seem amazing, but it means just pre-SOL and after its built we have alwaysbeen in the top flight, or getting promoted

So times have definitely been better, even though it may not feel like it now

It also goes to show just how bad the situation is now

With the stadium, academy we have now we should never ever be in this position

Teams will get relegated, good clubs, like Southampton, who do everything right, that happens, but you have the infrastructure to come back up at 1st or 2nd time of asking

 

[TheStatCat]

Absolutely

Do you see the point I am getting at though?

Fans moan about the disconnect, but then demand and protest that the owners spend 10s 0f millions of pounds on players who are mostly certaonly just coming for the money

Then when a player wants to leave for more money, the owner is hounded, player slaughtered

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, the fans are to blame too

Must stress on about clubs in the top league protesting, not Sunderland fans.

All the time building up big debts

Why would any fan ever want their club to spend more money than they earn, I just don't get it.

Absolutely, this is how football is eating itself, Sunderland are just the latest in a line of clubs that have been egged on by their fans, who in turn were egged on by the media circus, to be something they could never be. We won't be the last. Burnley seem to have it sussed at the moment, Swansea did at one time but now seem to be more caught up in the madness.

 

[The Rat]

Absolutely, this is how football is eating itself, Sunderland are just the latest in a line of clubs that have been egged on by their fans, who in turn were egged on by the media circus, to be something they could never be. We won't be the last. Burnley seem to have it sussed at the moment, Swansea did at one time but now seem to be more caught up in the madness.

Spot on yeah

Not having ago at the fans too much, but imagine say 4 years ago Short just said, right we are spending within our means and paying off this debt. The fans would have gone absolutely ape shit, demanded more big money signings. Even though it would have been the right thing to do for the club

Its a difficult sittuation, and I am not sure how you stop it

West Ham spent 80 million in 2017, and yet the fans are on the pitch protesting.

 

[Super Colin Todd]

Spot on yeah

Not having ago at the fans too much, but imagine say 4 years ago Short just said, right we are spending within our means and paying off this debt. The fans would have gone absolutely ape shit, demanded more big money signings. Even though it would have been the right thing to do for the club

Its a difficult sittuation, and I am not sure how you stop it

West Ham spent 80 million in 2017, and yet the fans are on the pitch protesting.

 

[naughtynose]

We're all going to die so there's no point anymore.

 

[iansun]

I doubt Quinn gave us a second thought about us after he left.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

It is always about money these days, because when ever a team underperforms the pundits only "solution" is buying more and more players, without any thought of how economically viable it is for that club. Shearer does this on MOTD about the Mags and then can't see the irony of saying seconds later what a great coach Benitez is.

Having said that, the only protests I remember at SAFC were in the Buxton / Butcher era mid-90s just before Reid. It was sort of about money, but really about Murray's lack of ambition. We had looked a gift horse in the mouth when defaulted promotion to top flight in 1990; a tiny bit of investment that season and Denis Smith would have kept us up. We then proceeded to just drift and gradually slip lower and lower. Seems like heaven now, but fans couldn't hack the fact that Murray had let a golden opportunity slip through his fingers. It sort of worked, Reid scraped us up, went up next season, SoL got built, the mini-golden era happened.

Much of it has to do with a club's fans' sense of "rightful place", if that's the right phrase. People look at other clubs in what they consider to be the same bracket, and expect emulation. There was a perception that Cowie and Murray were a bit tight-fisted in relation to other clubs, and that sparked some anger. It didn't help that financial information was much harder to come by. You could still get accounts from Companies House, but you had to apply by post, and it wasn't free of charge.

I've just had a quick look at the 1990/91 accounts, and, looking back, what Murray did was understandable. The club incurred £200k in legal costs over a share litigation (what was that about?), and another £400k on the costs of complying with the Taylor report. That would have hamstrung transfer budgets, and, indeed, in the summer of 1991, there was a rights issue to raise cash for transfers, which led to a spend of £1.2m in 1991/2. That doesn't sound much, but you need to consider that turnover in 1990/1 was only £4.1m in total.

 

[TheStatCat]

Spot on yeah

Not having ago at the fans too much, but imagine say 4 years ago Short just said, right we are spending within our means and paying off this debt. The fans would have gone absolutely ape shit, demanded more big money signings. Even though it would have been the right thing to do for the club

Its a difficult sittuation, and I am not sure how you stop it

West Ham spent 80 million in 2017, and yet the fans are on the pitch protesting.

Burnley seem determined not to get caught up in it all. Perhaps because they sunk so low, they are inherently prudent now. They certainly seem to have a long term slow-build plan and don't see relegation as something to be avoided at any cost.

Everyone seems to want their club to be taken over by a billionaire who will pour money in forever. In practice, for provincial clubs, maybe a billionaire is the last thing you want. Too easy for them to write £25m cheques every year and mask the mess they are creating. Maybe someone without the means to do this is what SAFC actually need, as they will recognise the warning signs early and prioritise the economic stability of the club over just staying in PL for the sake of it. But this is such an unfashionable view to hold these days...

Much of it has to do with a club's fans' sense of "rightful place", if that's the right phrase. People look at other clubs in what they consider to be the same bracket, and expect emulation. There was a perception that Cowie and Murray were a bit tight-fisted in relation to other clubs, and that sparked some anger. It didn't help that financial information was much harder to come by. You could still get accounts from Companies House, but you had to apply by post, and it wasn't free of charge.

I've just had a quick look at the 1990/91 accounts, and, looking back, what Murray did was understandable. The club incurred £200k in legal costs over a share litigation (what was that about?), and another £400k on the costs of complying with the Taylor report. That would have hamstrung transfer budgets, and, indeed, in the summer of 1991, there was a rights issue to raise cash for transfers, which led to a spend of £1.2m in 1991/2. That doesn't sound much, but you need to consider that turnover in 1990/1 was only £4.1m in total.

The share litigation will have been the "Barry Batey" business, which tbf was hinted at by Murray for the lack of spending at the time.

 

[Left For Dead]

Let's leave aside people inside the club, owner, CEO, players etc

I just don't see our situation being mentioned anywhere outside of our bubble. No ex-players speaking out. No pundits.

The "we are a big club" arguments are tedious normally, but we are a pretty big club, heading for back to back relegations in such awful fashion and it feels like nobody cares.

Why hasn't Quinny even said anything?

Is it because we are stuck in the north east or something?

So much football coverage, 24/7 stories, mostly about fuck all, this is a real big story surely. I;m at a loss with the whole thing, feels like we have just been left to die and nobody outside the fan base gives a shit.

Because we have stopped giving a shit and attending- me included- not totally condoning iy but west ham made the world know how unhappy they are- we are invisible now soon to be a small regional club

 

[Botchie]

I see folk are still saying people are doing nothing, while doing, nothing.

 

[Guinness Guzzler]

I know you're joking, but being a flagship city for self-sabotage and the removal of EU travel rights isn't likely to have helped.

We specifically need to attract athletes under the age of 30 with good career prospects to the area. What a great way of showing we're the place for them to thrive.

I doubt a single footballer we have approached has given the tiniest slightest bit of a fuck about Brexit ffs. They want somewhere which will pay them the most, if that's here they'll be here quick as a flash, they're not going to turn it down because Sunderland had a majority that voted for Brexit!

 

[Definitely Maybe]

All Darren Williams ever Tweets about is Herbal f***ing Life or some similar shite. Which is idiotic given he's a ex pro who should have a decent understanding of nutrition. He must be short of a few quid.

Aye he does, bad example.

 

[riffraff]

As I’ve posted on here dozens of times previously: “The greatest distance known to mankind is that between a fans opinion of his football club and the rest of the worlds opinion of it”

 

[Botchie]

As I’ve posted on here dozens of times previously: “The greatest distance known to mankind is that between a fans opinion of his football club and the rest of the worlds opinion of it”

This. If any other club in the entire world was in our position, not one of us would give a single fuck.

 

[Quillips]

Yeah I just about remember that happening

to a degree the SOL has worked

My Dad said to me the other day, that in just over 22 years the lowest we have finished was 3rd in Championship

Now that may not seem amazing, but it means just pre-SOL and after its built we have alwaysbeen in the top flight, or getting promoted

So times have definitely been better, even though it may not feel like it now

It also goes to show just how bad the situation is now

With the stadium, academy we have now we should never ever be in this position

Teams will get relegated, good clubs, like Southampton, who do everything right, that happens, but you have the infrastructure to come back up at 1st or 2nd time of asking

Quit your self pity. It's football - teams rise and fall all the time.

Why should the footballing world care? We're a club who has overspent on players who weren't good enough. Did your heart bleed for Leeds or Portsmouth when they imploded financially through overspending?

To have ambition is highly commendable, to sob that 'nobody cares' when reality falls short of ambition is just pathetic.

 

[EchoMan]

Just wait till coal becomes fashionable again

Might not be too long if the Ruskies cut the gas off

 

[Sack Fatto]

As fans, we have been beaten into a state of total apathy as the Club dies in front of us. It’s been a prolonged process and it’s horrible to witness. Nobody seems to give a fuck. And there is not a single shred of hope to hold on to....

 

[WHD]

As fans, we have been beaten into a state of total apathy as the Club dies in front of us. It’s been a prolonged process and it’s horrible to witness. Nobody seems to give a fuck. And there is not a single shred of hope to hold on to....

There's nowt like being overly dramatic. The club isn't dying, it's "just" going to be relegated to league 1. Yes, it's a pisser, but league 1 football won't kill the club. Being unable to pay the debts off might kill the club though.

 

[freethewearsideone]

Not even the supporters care so why would anyone else ?

 

[North of the Smoke]

Let's leave aside people inside the club, owner, CEO, players etc

I just don't see our situation being mentioned anywhere outside of our bubble. No ex-players speaking out. No pundits.

The "we are a big club" arguments are tedious normally, but we are a pretty big club, heading for back to back relegations in such awful fashion and it feels like nobody cares.

Why hasn't Quinny even said anything?

Is it because we are stuck in the north east or something?

So much football coverage, 24/7 stories, mostly about fuck all, this is a real big story surely. I;m at a loss with the whole thing, feels like we have just been left to die and nobody outside the fan base gives a shit.

Blame the media

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