Consectatio Excellentiae
– “In Pursuit of Excellence.” We have all heard it; we all know it and what it
stands for. It has adorned the club crest of Sunderland AFC since the club moved
to the Stadium of Light in 1997. The dawn of a new era. The club’s magnificent new
home befitted such a message. Players like Niall Quinn, Kevin Phillips and
Kevin Ball upheld those values each time they took to the pitch to represent
our club. They set the standard and we have had others who have followed them
in the years since. Some have spilt blood for our cause. Sir Bob Murray’s
contribution to SAFC should not be understated, despite some of the tough times
encountered throughout his tenure at the helm. He always had
If we fast forward almost 15 years to the present day, the club is unrecognisable. It is incredible what has happened to SAFC in that time period. We have finished 10th in the Premier League, treaded water on numerous occasions, somehow preserving our top flight status. We have reached a League Cup final, suffered back to back relegations and lost two other Wembley finals in the EFL Trophy and Play-Offs. Relegation to the third tier and the failure to climb out of it has hit the club and its loyal supporters hard. As I think back to only four and a half years ago; to Sam Allardyce and those two fantastic wins over Chelsea and Everton at the Stadium of Light that preserved our top flight status once again. Those atmospheres and the joy on the faces of the supporters. A new era under Sam beckoned. He had the bones of a good side to work with too, yet it all evaporated in the blink of an eye that summer. Today, it feels like I support a completely different football club. The current regime has morphed SAFC almost into a parody of its former self, and it is exactly that which makes me angriest of all.
When Ellis Short took full control from Quinn’s Drumaville consortium, SAFC were to embark on a rich and successful era under the American’s stewardship. He had the financial muscle to take us to the next level; to regularly compete with the top ten clubs in English football. Heck, maybe even win something. The 10th place finish under Steve Bruce showed that we were heading in the right direction. We had signed players of proven pedigree; Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan, Bolo Zenden and John Mensah. Just a decade later, the whole face of SAFC has changed dramatically.
Perhaps the writing had been on the wall for some time. Roy Keane left under a cloud in 2008, accusing Ellis Short of meddling in team affairs, telling Keane that the squad needed trimming down and that the subsequent wage bill was too high. After a crushing 4-1 home loss to Bolton Wanderers, Keane was gone. In the time since, 19 different individuals have picked an SAFC XI to take the field, in 20 separate spells if I include caretakers. (Robbie Stockdale has held the Caretaker role twice). For a bit of context, West Ham United have had only 18 managers in their entire history. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that such a lack of planning, strategy and countless knee jerk reactions can’t bode well for the future.
It is easy to place the blame for the current mess at any one individual’s door. Can we blame Ellis Short entirely? After all, it was his decision making that has ultimately led us onto the path where we currently find ourselves. Can we blame the people he hired? Martin Bain? Who came in ultimately to asset strip, despite what he or anyone else may tell you. David Moyes? Who told everyone the club would suffer relegation after only two games of the league season. He was an absolute disaster of an appointment. Recruitment has been extremely poor to say the least; the turnover of players has been immense in recent years. Recently, it has calmed a little, but the bleak financial picture at SAFC has played its part in that. Which brings me on to Stewart Donald; who effectively used the club’s own money to fund his takeover of SAFC. I’ll admit, he pulled the wool over my eyes. Is he solely to blame for where we find ourselves? Or are the EFL? Who just sat back and let it all happen. It is an absolute travesty what is happening at SAFC and the situation has not got the attention that it has warranted, particularly at national level. Each of the aforementioned individuals is to blame in one way or another; only some have more blood on their hands than others. We are staring at a fourth straight season in the third tier; drifting into obscurity. A once powerful force that has seemingly accepted friendship with mediocrity because of the circumstances it finds itself in. It is absolutely, unequivocally, nowhere near good enough. The fan base hasn’t accepted it. The fan base will never accept it.
Despite the turmoil and discontent, incredibly, there are some positives to salvage from the current situation we currently find ourselves. Stewart Donald is selling up. At least, he won’t hold a majority share in SAFC when Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ takeover is rubber-stamped. (The fact that Donald will still hold a small stake in SAFC angers me to the core). On the football side, thankfully, Phil Parkinson has gone. If we are searching for the epitome of accepting mediocrity, then we can look no further than his disastrous time as manager of the club. In Lee Johnson, I believe we have appointed a bright young coach with fresh ideas and a clear blueprint for how he wants his team to play. We simply have to give him time, I can’t stress that enough. The club is craving some kind of continuity. As I write this after another poor home defeat, this time to Plymouth Argyle, Johnson stated in a post-match interview that any player who doesn’t buy into the “culture” that he is trying to foster, will quickly be shown the door. With 20 of them out of contract in the summer, it is a situation that is easy to remedy. There aren’t many that are good enough to play in a side that can challenge for promotion. Attitude and application isn’t lacking; sadly, overall quality clearly is.
As it stands, there are 25 league fixtures to play. There are 75 points available. There is a long way to go, but it remains difficult to stay positive. Personally, I think there is next to no chance of achieving our aims of promotion this season. Lee Johnson strikes me as a reasonably intelligent guy. He obviously can’t/won’t say anything publicly, but surely privately, he already knows the limitations of the squad he has inherited. We do find ourselves in the last eight of the EFL Trophy, but even that is scant consolation as we survey the wreckage of another season in League One. We have to hope that the EFL ratifies Mr Louis-Dreyfus’ takeover, bringing with it the much needed investment and structure to the club that is craves. It will begin yet another new era on Wearside, yet whoever is at the helm remains merely a custodian. The club will always belong to its supporters. The history, tradition and values of SAFC must not be forgotten. As supporters, we haven’t forgotten them.
Consectatio Excellentiae. Let’s see where the journey takes us.
