Sunderland AFC - Midsummer Preview

Article by e-Sunderland's Ben Mummery

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July is upon us, the window is now officially open, and the World Cup is almost at an end. With just three games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup remaining to be played, football fans everywhere can rejoice at having been treated to a summer sporting distraction that didn’t mean watching cricket or the Tour de France (why ANYBODY would want to watch that…?).

The tournament has undoubtedly entertained, even if it’s taught us little about our own ‘Wembley Boy’s Club’ that we call a national team. Be honest, did anybody really expect us to do anything? Nobody other than the most optimistic or ignorant of die-hard England fans could have possibly thought we’d achieve anything other than to peter out at the first hurdle, but finishing bottom of the group without a win? Surely not. Yet again the England team managed to provide a surprise, and as usual, it was such a disappointing one.

Speaking of disappointment, Brazil 1 – 7 Germany was a hoot! I think the less said about that the better.

The English Premier League transfer window is now open and in full swing, which means silly season is now officially upon us. With some eyebrow raising transfers already having been confirmed (Luke Shaw, Lallana, Fabregas, David Luiz to name but a few big money moves), Sunderland fans have been keeping a keen eye on the club to see what business the board can conjure up for us – and so far, we’re been left pretty unimpressed!

Having flirted to the point of “heavy petting” with relegation the last two seasons in a row, you’d think that the SAFC board would be bending it’s back to grab some key players and make moves for some footballers who can actually see us to a comfortable position in the league this time out. The arrival of three Bosman signings has suggested that yes indeed, there has been some activity, however while Costel Pantilimon, Billy Jones, and Jordi Gomez are decent players, there is not one Sunderland fan in the land who doesn’t know that we need more than “decent”. We need game changers, we need class.

And therein lies the issue – class costs!

Sunderland are not a rich club by comparison, however neither are we a poor club. Following a season with an average gate of over 40,000 per home match, and with some big money sponsorship deals having been signed, as well as the obvious Premier League and Sky money, not to mention the multi-billionaire Texan owner, one sees no reason why Sunderland are not heading into the player market on the front foot, identifying their targets early, and landing them. This however, has not historically been Sunderland’s way, barring a brief period under erstwhile manager Steve Bruce, who barged headlong into the transfer window and seemingly had no problem getting the owner to pile money into his war kitty.

One would think the alarm bells would be sounding at Sunderland. Surely a good couple of weeks toward the end of the season isn’t enough for the club? The only way to ensure improvement is to strengthen the squad, and it simply isn’t happening at the moment. Yes, it’s early days, the window has only been open 9 days, but we’re already seeing business being done left right and centre, and this week we’ve had the news that another target identified for the club, the manager’s own son Diego Poyet, has signed for West Ham.

This might not be the end of the world, but it’s an example of why we believe that business in the transfer market should be done early – to avoid missing out, and surrendering potential bright prospects like Poyet, to rival clubs. Ashley Williams is another, the Swansea captain was a target for the Sunderland coach, and it was clear that we were not willing to pay his asking price, rather we’d prefer to see him renew his contract with Swansea and leave us in the lurch.

Sunderland did do one thing nice and early, which was to release some dead wood, as well as one or two other players that needed to go. The club had a decent clear out, one which saw the end of Gardner, Bardsley, Ustari, Cuellar and Dossena, as well as one or two other fringe players, of which there were far too many.

(Guess who, while on a day out at the academy of light, managed to pinch Craig Gardner’s locker tag? REBEL!).

So where do we go from here?

It is clear to all and sundry that Sunderland need to spend some money to secure some top quality players, in some crucial positions.

Left back – we simply do not have a left back! Alonso has returned to parent club Fiorentina, leaving us completely without a left sided defender. We are still in need of a creative midfielder with some attacking prowess, although who knows what Jordi Gomez will be able to inject into the side, we will reserve judgement.

We have also been in the unfortunate position to see several key players who were on loan with us, return to their owners. Ki for one, would be a superb signing for Sunderland, and one can’t help but think that this is exactly the sort of player we should be going after. Borini is another, he’ll command a high price tag, which we should be prepared to pay. We know what these players can do, pay their fee, pay their wages, and let them do their thing!

The lack of activity is a worry, and one hopes and prays that we see, as promised, some marquee signings come into the club this summer. We will run a close line with the drop zone once again if not.

Keep an eye on the @e_sunderland twitter handle, as we try to keep you updated as quickly as possible with all rumors and transfer talk.

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