Cats need an owner with tools to fix them up
SKIPPER: CLUB IS A BARGAIN BUT CHANGE NEEDED SOON
JOHN O’Shea says anyone buying Sunderland AFC will be in for a bargain – he just hopes a deal can go through sooner rather than later.
Visiting Caterpillar’s Peterlee plant was a reminder to the Black Cats of what a big club they represent, but their place at the bottom of the Championship shows what hard times they are going through.
Sunderland have been in a spiral of decline since the departure of then-manager Sam Allardyce in 2016, massively exacerbated by the attitude of the club’s owner, Ellis Short.
Having ploughed a huge amount of his own money into the club without success over the years, the American has effectively withdrawn and moved back across the Atlantic.
The weekend saw rumours that former chairman Niall Quinn was involved in an Irish consortium interested in buying the club.
While his role is understood to have been overplayed – he gave advice to potential investors some months ago but has had no involvement since – it further highlighted the need for new ownership.
“It’s looking like something needs to change on and off the pitch,” captain O’Shea admitted. “Hopefully whatever does happen, happens quickly.
“With things like that, they can fester on. It (selling the club) is not an easy thing to bring about quickly but it will be better for everyone involved if something happens. The worst thing is not being sure.
“If someone were to buy the club, they would soon know when they get in here and witness the stuff behind the scenes and what could be going on the potential it has.
“Some of the figures I see bandied around for other clubs, I’m thinking someone will be getting a good buy, that’s for sure.”
Sunderland’s players were put through a series of exercises at the 1,400-employee plant.
Most are Black Cats fans and it was a reminder to O’Shea of the scale of the club he joined in 2011.
“It’s very important to have that contact with reality and the people who come to support you every week in their workplace,” said the Republic of Ireland international.
“It’s great to see how they perform and earn their money to come and support us. It’s very important to see.
“Given the situation, the home and the away fans are something we should be very proud of and continue to be proud of, and it’s the same for the stuff that the SAFC Foundation does.
“Before we came some of the boys were looking at the facts behind the company and it’s a hell of a thing that they’ve grown up to be such a global company.
“The figures they were telling us before we started our tour of the plant were incredible and credit to them.
“When you see the quality they’re producing, the area should be very proud of them.
“The fact that the Caterpillar name is known all around the world, it’s great to be associated with it as a club.”
The Caterpillar Foundation funds the football club’s own foundation and the global company’s employees support its events as business ambassadors.