“Found some money, have you?” he asks academy manager Jimmy Sinclair in one of several excruciating scenes from the Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die.
Another, from series two, shows then-manager Jack Ross begging owner Stewart Donald not to offer more than £1.25m for Wigan’s Will Grigg.
“If you’re getting him for that money, it’s a good offer,” Ross implores. “But not the figures they’re talking about, it’s just mental. He’s not worth it.”
Donald eventually raises his bid to £4m, leaving Richard Hill, the club’s head of football, with his head in his hands.
For many years, this was the image Sunderland presented to the world. Chaotic. Amateurish. A club of vast potential perennially hamstrung by chronic mismanagement, who didn’t so much recruit players as sign them at random.
Jack Rodwell. Jozy Altidore. Didier N’Dong. The list of big money flops is almost endless, and saw Sunderland end a decade in the Premier League h a v i n g achieved the seemingly impossible feat of losing money during the most profitable period in top-flight history.
Today, with four harrowing seasons in League One still fairly fresh in the memory, Sunderland remain a long way from the force the club’s size and history suggests they should be.
But for the first time in a generation, there is a vision, a strategy, and a sense that the club is planning for the future, not just lurching from week to week.
Last Saturday’s 5-0 home victory over a previously unbeaten Southampton side was achieved with the youngest starting XI in the Championship, and that is no accident.
Denne historien er fra September 10, 2023-utgaven av The Football League Paper.
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Denne historien er fra September 10, 2023-utgaven av The Football League Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
END OF CUP ROAD FOR EFL BATTLERS
EFL interest in this season’s Carabao Cup came to an end in midweek, but it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying.
GOALS GALORE IN THE TROPHY
THE goals flew in from all angles as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy revved into action again in midweek.
KEEPER GAFFE SINKS TOWN
HUDDERSFIELD boss Michael Duff questioned his players’ mentality after goalkeeper Chris Maxwell’s bloomer handed NonLeague Tamworth a shock win.
ACE SLEW & WILLIAMS SEE OFF REBELS...
DECISIVE goals at either end of the game from Jordan Slew and Rhys Williams helped League Two Morecambe avoid a potential banana skin against National League South outfit Worthing.
MATT'S MEN JUST HAVE ENOUGH GAS
HONEST Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor has acknowledged his side were pushed all the way in their tie against Weston-super-Mare.
'WHITES' ARRAY OF FIREPOWER WILL GIVE THEM THE EDGE OVER RIVALS'
GARY Rowett says Leeds’ glittering arsenal of attacking stars will bring the Championship title to Elland Road.
POMPEY'S GAME OF TWO HALVES
Murphy's in to deny the Tigers
SET-PLAY PREP PAYING OFF FOR PELACH
NARCIS Pelach admitted Stoke have been working tirelessly on set-pieces since his arrival – and he was pleased the hard work paid dividends with the winner against Derby.
Robins lays marker to his Sky Blues
MARK Robins has challenged his Coventry City players to go on a Championship charge after the Sky Blues ended their wait for success on their travels with resounding victory against ten-man Boro.
JUST FAB FOUR BAYO IS UNSTOPPABLE
FOUR second-half goals in an incredible display from Vakoun Bayo powered Watford to a resounding victory at Hillsborough.