SELLING WANTAWAY STARS IS PRIORITY
Last May, new Sunderland owner Stewart Donald made what sounded a rather bold statement concerning the club kitty. He said: “It’s going to be a good budget for Sunderland and I’m sure it’s a budget one or two Championship clubs would like.”
We’re no closer to knowing what that means in practice. Which one or two did he mean?
Last summer Bolton, Millwall and QPR spent nothing. Small club Brentford spent £5.5m, but sold £12m worth of players.
Aston Villa, the biggest club in the current Championship, had a net spend of minus £12m. The average spend was £9m, but that figure was inflated significantly by the enormous outlays of Middlesbrough and Wolves.
In other words, Mr Donald’s statement could mean anything.
Thus far, the club has not offered money for very many players this summer. Then again, the fee for George Evans is beyond most other clubs in League One and that, lest we forget, is the league into which Sunderland have lowered themselves. So let’s not panic. Yet. Results at Darlington and Hartlepool are no more significant than the victory over Tottenham in Hong Kong was five years ago.
More concerning is the squad’s ongoing lack of physicality. The further down the football pyramid you slide, the more brutal games become with referees less likely to blow for fouls.
With Sunderland’s midfield resembling a deleted scene from Time Bandits, more muscle is urgently required; preferably muscle that can also pass the ball.
How much must be sold before Jack Ross can buy?
SAFC is not as “debt-free” as widely supposed. It owes its previous owner £40m with a further estimated £25m in unpaid transfer fees still to stump up.
A selling club? Of course they are. What else are they supposed to do?
Until they know exactly how much they will make from sales and how much longer they must continue to (over)pay certain individuals, then it’s obvious why selling takes priority over buying – for now.
Therefore Joel Asoro, who would probably shine in League One, is off. Disquiet has been expressed at this. Should Sunderland have kept him?
No. Keeping him could have seen him leave next year for nothing.
The £2m with sell-on clause offered by Swansea was the most anyone was prepared to pay; so suggestions that a bigger fee was possible are nonsense. And how much are third division players usually sold for?
Above all, if they want to leave – get rid. Preferably with the disease known as their agents alongside them.
Sunderland are evens favourites with the bookies for promotion from League One. I couldn’t say why. We don’t know who will sign. Nor do we really know what
those already recruited this summer are like.
What does seem clear is that buying is contingent upon selling. **************
The World Cup, with its attendant hype and those ruddy awful adverts for Lidl, is over. It will be another two years before we see nonboring international football again.
England did well and I enjoyed it. But Belgium and Croatia restored reality.
England lost three times and did nothing in any of their seven games to suggest they are much above decent. Glenn Hoddle blithered about needing years to shape players. But does anyone seriously think that any member of that England squad will ever be the equal of De Bruyne, Mbappé or Neymar?
Anyway, much as I wanted England to do even better, I wasn’t exactly distraught when they lost. Like many, I would swap my country winning the World Cup for my club winning one more point in the league. Any time.