Your Cats questions answered
While the League One season may have come to an early end, the news doesn't stop at the Stadium of Light – where there remain a number of unresolved issues.
From ongoing uncertainty over the club’s ownership to concerns over transfer plans, supportershaveplentyofquestionsaboutthecurrentstateof play at Sunderland AFC.
Here, our Sunderland AFC writerPhilSmithanswersyour burning questions:
Q:MarkCampbell’sname has been brought up again. What’s happening?
It’s a very strange one. The collapseofthedealwassodamaging last time around that my assumption was that would be the end of that.
It’s also fair to say that it leaves all who saw how that developed with major reservations about the capacity to do a dealandtaketheclubforward.
However, it’s abundantly clear that he is very keen to get into football and that he still sees Sunderland as an opportunity to do exactly that.
The club’s view is that they cannotcommenthavingpreviouslysignedanNDA(lastyear). There is a good deal of scepticism and that’s worth noting, but I can also understand why that isn’t overly reassuring for supporters who are hugely concerned about the way the club is headed.
Particularly given that Stewart Donald said himself last summer that Campbell was not the man to take Sunderland on.
We’ve said it a lot and it’s worth saying again, it’s time for change at Sunderland, but it is absolutely imperative that the sale brings about a period ofclarity,securityandstability.
Everybody is concerned about where we are headed, and the club could do more to put fans in the picture properly.
Q: What is with the delay toannouncinganewdatefor theseason?Withthemeeting being pushed back to July 24 it seems the only date possible now is September 12.
Yes,theoverwhelmingconsensus seems to be that a date towards the end of August is unrealistic.
Even if a date is agreed on the 24th of this month, as you mention, that will leave clubs with a lot of work to do.
Theywillneedtobringstaff and players back off furlough, get training grounds ready for alltherequirementsofthenew worldwe’relivingin,andgiven the amount of time since the last games, managers are certaintodemandafive-weekpreseason period at the very least.
There have been some suggestions and discussions that the league season could start onSeptember12,butthatthere could be some form of cup action in the weeks previous.
That might be a sensible way of getting round both the scheduling and logistical issues of getting all the fixtures in, whilst ensuring clubs can gear up for the new season properly (the Scottish lower leagues do a similar thing).
The wait is frustrating for everyone. Clubs, players, fans.
Everyone needs that restart date so they can begin really stepping up preparations. If we’ve learned anything from the last six months, though, it’s that the myriad of interests means resolutions are never speedy.
Q: Does Stewart Donald still want to be involved with the club after the sale?
This is one of the many questions where I think fans are due an update.
Donaldwasduetoremainat the club in some capacity if the takeoverofeitherMarkCampbell or the FPP group had gone through.
It had been quite clear therefore that the hope was to sell a majority shareholding, but to retain some presence and influence.
Where Donald and the fellow owners now stand isn’t so clear, particularly given Donald’s comments to talkSPORT inAprilthatbothheandMethven would like to stay even as attempts to sell were ongoing.
That is surely now untenable, given the reaction to the financial revelations that followed and the recent debacle over season cards.
It’s one of a few key questions that we need an update on: - Is the sale still being actively pursued? - Where do talks currently stand and has apreferredbidderbeenidentified? - What is the asking price (andtherefore,whatreturnare the ownership seeking)?
Q: With Jim Rodwell saying that Stewart Donald "funding" the Club during the pandemic do you think theremainsoftheparachute payment owed by Madrox will now be reduced?
It’simperativethatitis.Fans have made sacrifices to support the club, many members ofclubstaffaredoingthesame.
So that money has to come back in.
Madrox said in May that the balance had come down to around£11.5million,andsome of that was due to funds placed into the club around the start of the pandemic crisis (it’s not clearhowmuchofthiswasFPP money).
It seems certain that more will be needed.
More broadly, this is a huge issue for the club.
If the money can’t be put in now, then fans should be told andwhyandwhattheplannow is for doing so.
Q: If the season is to be behind closed doors, will League1evengoahead?Ifnot howcanclubscopefinanciallyuntilfansareallowedback into grounds?
Most clubs will be hugely reluctanttostartwithoutfans, and that may well be one of the reasons why there is a delay.
Anymovetobringbackfans isgoingtobesubjecttogovernment approval and advice.
Individual clubs will then have to work with the local authorities to determine exactly how many they can safely get into their stadiums, and what they will have to do to make it work.
There is clearly no longterm viability for clubs to play without fans.
Whether they might agree to it for an interim period before slowly beginning to build up capacity is another matter.
Theresurelyhastoalsobea recognitionoftheconsequences of not starting a new campaign alongside the top two tiers, ranging from broadcast deals to questions of visibility and relevance.