The Fish

It's a couple of things, imo. Chiefly it's his inconsistency. We've seen him play well against a range of opposition, but lapses in concentration lead to giving the ball away cheaply, poor final balls, or disappointing shots. Secondly it's the position; #10's in a 4-2-3-1 have a great deal of responsibility to keep the rhythm going. They're the fulcrum, more so than the wide players or the central midfielders. So we notice his fuck ups more because they're during crucial passages of play. #10s are under more pressure to get it right, first time, in tighter spaces, at a quicker pace while receiving more attention. Ultimately we could really do with a better player in that position, because consistency and concentration are almost prerequisites of that role.

Nah he's shite, Newcastle overpaid for him, he won't score, he'll be on massive wages, and Newcastle won't be able to shift him.

fucker

4-5-1 isolates the lone striker more, especially with the more attacking midfielder of the three being Jonjo Shelvey.

Anita Colback - absentee receptionist.

I get what you're saying about sacrificing good investments to try and fix a bad one, and perhaps it's my attitude to risk, but I'd rather turn around a bad investment to make it an ok investment and then offload it, rather than write off that money all together. To me, that money isn't lost to Short yet. If he wanted out, he should have dumped Premier League Sunderland at a bargain price of £150m, say. Because, as it stands, they're not worth that and without investment they're only going to reduce in value. Best case scenario for who?

Because if he doesn't bail Sunderland out that investment is a calamity. If he does bail them out now, he could recoup money on that investment, if he doesn't he absolutely won't. Any potential buyer is going to pay pennies on the pound, aren't they? If he pumps in enough to keep them afloat they'll pay more. Surely? A League 1 club, in administration, with no saleable assets, is worth fuck all. A Championship club, operating on a shoestring, is worth a lot more than that. Rock and roll.

Can you get bespoke artisanal heroin?

Sounds about right. He's got the look of a man who'll interrupt your story to tell you about the car he's buying.

He's got a billion quid, and while some of it may be stuck in shares, he can still access it. It's not like their relegation was a shock, so he had plenty of time to sort that out. Say your mate owes you £3k, and you can either get £1k back now, or loan him another £1k so he can get to work and repay you the full £4k over the next few years, what would you do?

I think we were trying to bring in a #10, but ultimately we were relying on Barnes and Charnley to get the job done.

Their debt is manageable if they get into the top flight. Once they're back in the land of milk and honey, that debt can be eaten away at. That's why I can't understand failing to spend money now.

No idea, but you're right, Short may look to sell that stadium under their feet to cover his own losses.

That's the biggest concern for them. Whether it's to avoid administration, or as a result of it, should they need to dump things like their best players, their academy, their stadium etc. The club that remains will face an arduous road back to the Premier League. Portsmouth had to dump everything and they not only look miles away from the top flight, but the clubs around them (Southampton, Bournemouth) have benefited by poaching their youth prospects.

What about a 3 in midfield when we play the big teams? Hayden close to and protecting the back four, with Merino winning the ball in the centre and Shelvey a little further forward of him, aiming to release the wide men? Against sides that look to bypass the midfield I think Merino’s ability in the air is very useful, and we’d likely be able to play him and Shelvey together?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41239042 Sky will be able to stream midweek Championship matches after agreeing a new £600m five-year domestic rights deal with the English Football League. All EFL clubs will be able to stream midweek league games via their websites if Sky are not broadcasting it live. The contract will run from 2019-2024, with the value of the rights increasing by 36% from the present agreement. Sky will also continue to broadcast the Carabao Cup, Checkatrade Trophy and play-offs until May 2024.

Regista

Do they own their own stadium?

What gives me hope is that he looks very busy, happy to put the graft in. If he just looked like he can ping the ball around (like Shelvey), but wasn't working hard I'd expect him to fall away, rather than stay the course/improve.

What happens to his ownership of Sunderland should they enter administration? Do the administrators get involved with looking for external financial help? Or are they solely interested in cutting costs and raising funds by selling assets?

I think some of Parish's concerns hold water. I absolutely believe that De Boer is an arrogant prick that the players didn't take to and I'm sure that he didn't want to keep Parish in the loop Re: transfers. That said, Parish has such an ego I'm amazed any manager lasted longer than 5 games with him. Simon Jordan is a cunt too.

If Short doesn't have access to liquid assets in the same way as Ashley "doesn't", then they're fine. The rumoured debt was around £100m, wasn't it? This summer they spent buttons, but have recouped about £30m in player sales didn’t they? they've still got the parachute payments coming their way as well. So how much would he need to personally commit, to keep the wolves from the door? I think RTG is spooked by it because misery loves company. When shit is bad on the pitch, any travails off the pitch gain importance. Guarantee if they were sitting at the top of the league there wouldn’t be as many worried about administration.

I watched the first half. Aarons was poor, kept running into his man. Shelvey was taking the mick, but the players getting onto his Hollywood balls weren't able to deliver a decent final ball and the targets of those balls weren't making the right runs. Those criticisms aside, the team in the first half played similarly to the first team, putting lots of pressure on the ball and looking to break quickly.

Wouldn't it be harder to unload SAFC were they in Administration and in danger of relegation to League 2, than it would be if they were comfortably safe? What's the cost of a club like Sunderland AFC getting relegated to the 3rd tier? Not just the initial financial hit, but the damage to reputation and so on. Have clubs like Leeds, Bolton, Portsmouth ever really recovered? Say, for arguments sake, Short puts in £20m to keep the club from entering administration, accepting that that would mean falling foul of FFP and incurring a £5m fine and a points deduction next season (I don’t think the punishment would be that rough btw), surely that’s a price worth paying? He could simply value the club as its current value + £25m cost of keeping them afloat? I dunno, without knowing how deep the hole they’re in is, it’s tough to guess at a plan to get them out of it.

I don't know enough about their finances, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't a route available to billionaire Ellis Short that allowed SAFC to avoid administration.