THE SHORT STORY: YEARS OF NEGLECT
ARe you watching, ellis Short? That is what they snarled from the South Stand. No, he is not. The Sunderland owner cares even less than some of the players who have darkened the Stadium of Light this season.
And that is why this once-proud club has slumped from the Premier League to League One in 12 months — neglect.
yes, the American has injected a lot of his own money, but he is akin to the absent parent topping up the trust fund, and those kids tend to run into bother.
All the while, Short has left his club in the care of witless guardians at almost every level of an institution which, personnel apart, has everything to succeed. Incompetence breeds incompetence at a football club, and Sunderland have long since mastered the art of ineptitude.
It is sad that two of the incumbents — manager Chris Coleman and chief executive Martin Bain — talk a lot of sense, even if what plays out is incomprehensible.
Short appointed Bain and he in turn recruited david Moyes and Simon Grayson, two of the worst managers in Sunderland history. Bain cannot escape that, even if he did inherit a club overstaffed, under-skilled, deep in debt and with a remit to slash costs.
Saturday’s relegation was the culmination of years of mismanagement. In the end, though, it was a fate sealed inside nine crazy minutes. Sunderland led through Paddy McNair as the clocked ticked into the 86th minute. Then, in keeping with a sadistic script, former Black Cats striker darren Bent headed Burton level before, in the third of five added minutes, Liam Boyce nodded the winner.
McNair then had a goal disallowed and full time sounded. Six points from safety with six to play for, or so they thought. In fact, the quirk of Burton playing Bolton next weekend means one of those teams must reach 41 points, an unattainable total for Sunderland. And so, as Coleman addressed his players afterwards, word began to spread that they were down. How terribly tragic and in keeping with this calamitous club that they did not even know they were gone.
Remarkably — but to his credit — Coleman wants to stay. He does, though, have some barbed words for the wantaway owner.
‘It has not been easy. I have not witnessed anything like this where I have never spoken to a chairman,’ said the former Wales boss. ‘ To have no conversation with him at all is bizarre.’
But Coleman added: ‘I want in anyway, even if it is with ellis. There is only one objective now for Sunderland and that’s promotion. There’s no stabilising, it’s about bouncing straight back, bang. I don’t want to be the one who misses out on this thing turning around.’
Coleman is right, there is too much history, too much potential, for them not to return to the Premier League one day. Burton boss Nigel Clough offered some poignant words. He was born in Sunderland, where his dad, Brian, had played. ‘dad spoke unbelievably affectionately about this club,’ he said. ‘There were a couple of opportunities over the years for him to go back, and he talked about what a great thing it would be.
‘He didn’t talk about many other clubs like that. He never said, “I want to manage Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal” — but he talked about this one.’ A slidingdoors moment, perhaps. But for now, it is Coleman who must stop the slide and start the climb.
P.S. There are no quotes from Sunderland players because none had the guts to talk. They didn’t even honour their obligations with the match-day sponsors.