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Editorial: Embracing Change, A Thanks To Dennis & World Cup Anticipation!
Editorial: Embracing Change, A Thanks To Dennis & World Cup Anticipation!
Is change good?
I’ve lived in Yorkshire for around twenty years now, and I realised very quickly that any sort of change in the region is about as welcome as a fart in a space suit.
I’ll give them some credit, however, that it can sometimes be a little scary, none more so when it comes to our beloved team. I’m at an age now where I have seen all my heroes who wore a red and white strip when I was young leave the club, and some of them have resulted in me being absolutely gutted.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementI imagine most of you are now thinking back to those football first loves, but when they finally left Wearside, it would rip your heart out. Marco Gabbiadini was probably the first for me, then there was Paul Bracewell going up the road in 1992, and I remember being in a state of shock when Don Goodman left.
In hindsight, that last one shouldn’t have come as a surprise because rumours were swirling for around twelve months before he actually left.
But then came Reidy’s side – and Quinny and Phillips. There were no worries about Quinn to be fair because of him being in the latter period of his career, but there was always a concern that Phillips would go. In fact, following that defeat against Charlton Athletic at Wembley, there was a fear that the whole side might break up.
This is where the fear comes in. When we have a side that brings a little success, we want them to stay together to carry on doing what they’re doing. There’s a natural hope that a side stays together, but there’s probably no better example than the Reid era (or potentially last summer even) that this isn’t always the best way to go.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLooking back now, and it’s not an exact science, but there were times where Phillips might have brought in £20m+ (to young’uns out there – this was a decent wedge back then…) and we might have been able to re-build and go again.
We went through it last season in a way that was perceived to be positive, because very quickly the income was being invested brilliantly in young talent. In the second half of last season, there were constant rumours and debate around Jobe Bellingham staying at Sunderland, and there was an almost universal feeling that we wanted to see him play for the Lads in the Premier League.
But within a couple of weeks, he had departed quickly for north of £30m, and ~£50m was spent to bring Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra to the club.
This summer, it’s a similar conversation – but slightly different.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere’s a possibility we might get those astronomical bids from the big boys for the likes of Sadiki, Roefs and Brobbey that we just can’t turn down, and those players might well see it as an opportunity they just can’t turn down – to play Champions League football for example as well as getting a decent pay bump.
But if we bring in double or triple the money we spent on those players, then we have to see it as an opportunity.
In an ideal world, a lot of these players would stay with us for a good few years, but the club appear shrewd enough to know there will be an optimum time to sell – and when those times do come around, we should get excited about what the club might do next.
On the topic of change, the first big(ish) news to come out of the club in terms of players arriving or heading off into the sunset was Dennis Cirkin leaving the club.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementI remember getting messages from mates who support Spurs at the time we signed him, and they were very surprised we’d managed to get him to come to us in League One.
But we did, and he’s been brilliant. As I said above, it would have been great to see him (and a few others…) kick on and become a Premier League regular, but we moved on a little too quickly for him.
In a parallel universe somewhere, he doesn’t pick up the injuries, and he becomes one of the best full-backs in the country. But we say thanks, and we all wish him the best for the future!
Up for the World Cup?
Gav and I were chuntering on the other day, and we realised he’s pretty excited about this World Cup – but he’s not really mentioning England or our prospects of bringing it home at all. The anticipation comes from just how many Sunderland players might turn out for their various countries!
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere are loads of them, so many that I’m not going to list them – I just haven’t got that sort of time. Surely there’s never been a World Cup with so many Sunderland players?! I think there’s one day where four or five might play across four different fixtures on the same day – or something like that.
But it does beg the question of whether or not this World Cup is creating excitement, and – it might be different when we get going – but I’m not so sure it is.
Kick-off times might have something to do with it. Ticketing issues and the banning of water also give it a weird feel, but we’ll see if this changes as the clock ticks down to the first game, and it might be a case of: “open the pubs… then I’ll be bothered”.