Stewart Donald anyone.....

I’ve always found north East fans bizarre. They really do have an insupportable superiority complex that makes them believe you’re privileged to meet them.

This lot have clumsily tumbled down to our level, like many other sides before with slightly above average support like Portsmouth, Blackburn, Man City, and seemingly want us to all be in awe. They are no different except for the sheer levels of delta between reality and expectation. That article is completely devoid of the actual reasons for their anger , just more emotive nonsense about some romanticized ideal of who they claim to be. So what are these awful crimes the owner has committed. He’s had about 18 months to turn around years of engrained failure embedded into the seeds of their dna. Do they understand what it takes to turn a business around? Methven, for all his ills, may be right about the lack of corporate education up there.

1. Stadium sold off?
2. Name and colors changed?
3. Asset stripped?
4. HMRC payments missed?
5. Failure to buy players? (Griggs must be a record at this level and shows huge commitment given debts and operating losses at this level)

They’re actually showing huge ignorance as to the operating costs at this level relative to the lack of tv revenue and commercial revenue. They built this pitiful lower league existence by being part of the premiership money gravy train for so long, suckling on the teet of sky TVs money and ignoring the plight of the lower leagues. Now they reap their reward. Welcome to the other side of the fence you gravy train muppets. Deal with it or change it if you ever rise from league one, which no doubt they will eventually.

What they really need to learn is a dose of humility and recognition of where they are. The article states that those outside the region won’t understand. Another statement laced in self importance and the equivalent of Christians argument of “the greatest trick the devil pulled was making you think he doesn’t exist”. Impossible to disprove but substantiates nothing. We are perfectly capable of recognizing what we see.

In reality their first season they got to a play off final. Good season. They can look to their own impatience for the demise of their reasonably decent last manager and so called current plight where they are still well within touching distance of the play offs and only half the season gone. How many teams get relegated and bounce back first time?

Given they’ve won f**k all in decades then perhaps they should just enjoy a new league with new stadiums to visit and more real opposition fan base to engage with rather than the plastics of higher leagues.Rather than creating a toxicity, forcing a relatively decent guy out as owner, and ending up with a genuine devil in charge that the likes of Blackpool and Charlton could reference for them
 
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In reality their first season they got to a play off final. Good season. They can look to their own impatience for the demise of their reasonably decent last manager and so called current plight where they are still well within touching distance of the play offs and only half the season gone. How many teams get relegated and bounce back first time?
Agree with most of what you said Ricky, but last season was not a good one for them.
The gap between the Championship and L1 is huge financially.
Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan have come down and gone straight back up recently (didnt Rotherham as well?)
Sunderland allegedly had a far bigger budget than all of those. They should have won L1 at a canter last season.
 
"For reasons far too complicated to explain fully in a single article, Sunderland fans are a different breed, a different class entirely to a lot of larger, well known and.. well.. lucky fanbases... It’s beyond the comprehension of many outside the region."

Collective dillusion on a mass-scale.

I don't recommend you read more Here

This "our city breathes football" from the north-east masks the real reason they get tens of thousands at each home game - there's nothing else to do in Sunderland.

You could say Oxford fans are more dedicated, because there's plenty of culture, fresh air walks, etc that our fans could be enjoying. They choose to turn up and support their club, and while a good league position is nice, it isn't the sole factor that defines their entire lives.
 
Agree with most of what you said Ricky, but last season was not a good one for them.
The gap between the Championship and L1 is huge financially.
Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan have come down and gone straight back up recently (didnt Rotherham as well?)
Sunderland allegedly had a far bigger budget than all of those. They should have won L1 at a canter last season.

Agreed. But why would blame for that land on Donald. Appoints decent manager, huge investment inJanuary to support manager, and a few moments away from promotion first time. They are conflating on pitch failure with poor structural management
 
Agreed. But why would blame for that land on Donald. Appoints decent manager, huge investment inJanuary to support manager, and a few moments away from promotion first time. They are conflating on pitch failure with poor structural management
I think that Donald has to take some of the blame. Ross was a risky appointment who failed having purchased strikers like Grigg, Whyke.
Their aim had to be promotion - simple (well it should have been).
So some very good players already at Sunderland, relatively huge spending and yet a team that finish below Barnsley and Luton?
For a manager's first season in English football, maybe it was too tough. SD has built a reputation of making poor managerial appointments (at Eastleigh) and Ross to me seems like a risk that didnt work.
 
I was unfortunate enough to sit next to a Sunderland fan for a flight in November and having listened to him, read their forum and that piece I can’t say I hold much affinity for them!

Some posters on their forum think that Lincoln fans will consider Sunderland away as their cup final!!! They’re living in a dream world!

Im in Lemington and then Blythe visiting family next week and I can’t wait to chat to them about what they think of what’s going on at Sunderland (they’re Newcastle fans).

They need to get a grip and realise they aren’t a big club, they have a big fan base. Sunderland home or away is less interesting to me than at least half a dozen other clubs in our league.

I’d love it (to coin a phrase) if they sunk even further down the football league.
 
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