It’s time more step up - but I
Mercifully the festive season, with all its attendant horrors, will soon be over. Santa Claus, the fat old twister, has cost everyone a fortune and slung his hook for another year, leaving us to concentrate on the things that really matter: like the transfer window.
So how excited should Sunderland supporters be about their club’s wheelings and dealings which can commence from Monday morning?
“Not very” would seem to be the answer.
For Sunderland, January is likely to be less significant for arrivals than for departures – and how much the club can make in sales.
The reason for this is blindingly obvious.
They are £110m in debt, still have a high wage bill, attendances have dropped and promotion is virtually impossible this season.
It will take more than parachute payments and sales to offset this.
Apologies to the vast majority who are abundantly aware of all this. But we have the thick-asgravel-marmalade community to think of too.
I refer to those unfortunates who can’t work out why Jordan Pickford was sold; or the very elementary difference between “asset stripping” and making ends meet. Bless.
Where the blame lies for this grim state of financial affairs is a voluminous topic for another day. Of considerably more importance is what to do now.
Ellis Short has wasted enough of both the club’s and his own cash over the years.
In a season when Sunderland will do well to finish in the upper half of the Championship, it would be astonishing if he adds significantly to this fiscal futility.
Loans are possible. But they aren’t necessarily the cheapest option in the long term. Fees paid to loanees and their parent clubs see to that.
So for the foreseeable future – not just January – Sunderland are unlikely to buy talent. They will have to discover it.
The club’s past decade has been one of almost constant struggle.
So understandably there is a widespread belief that youth should be given its chance.
Regretfully, history suggests that hopes should not be too high in this department. The record for producing talent is not good.
Hopes currently rest with Maja, Beadling, Ledger, Asoro, Greenwood, Embleton, Stryjek and Ethan Robson (al-