I’m almost used to feeling the new emotions that support football this season – winning important games and last-minute goals, going toe-to-toe with the country’s best, world-famous players joining the club, and qualifying for Europe through the league. It’s the kind of stuff we’ve seen fans of other clubs take for granted, and often take for granted – but for most of us it’s something we rarely, if ever, get to enjoy.
Until this season, that is.
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Just how far we’ve come was shown on Saturday when the Dutch national team demolished Sweden, Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey leading the way.
Yes, our striker is the main man for his country in the World Cup, he scored two goals and received praise from the world media.
It was a performance that will attract the attention of clubs around Europe, and if there are any Champions League teams in need of a striker he will be high on their list. He’s strong, he’s calm, and as shown against the Swedes, he’s got a hunter’s instinct that at times hasn’t shown up the way you’d like him to play for us this season.
You can worry about other clubs looking for our players if you want, but the truth is that it comes with a place. If we have good players, other teams will be looking at them. (We’ve seen the flip side of that many times, when we’ve had to deal with players we want to replace, and have been paid salaries for years after they’ve left.)
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Hopefully, we can give you enough of a suggestion that players want to stay – and, again, want to join.
And that’s the biggest thing about Brobbey’s performance. It’s a great redemption arc completed. I don’t know if you remember the reaction of many Ajax fans and media when he joined Sunderland, but it was not good at all. He was seen as a joke by others; The ‘I’ll take him there myself’ comments were there too – albeit in the Dutch version. Maybe ‘I’ll be the captain of the boat’.
After a promising start to his career, he has been floundering. A failed trip to Germany and off-field problems did not affect his form at the top level, and he had been largely sidelined.
When he arrived at Sunderland, it’s true that he looked out of place – he wasn’t sharp, he wasn’t fit, but Regis Le Bris and the coaching staff worked with him, gave him time to settle down, strengthened his fitness and this is the result.
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For the other players who will be on the market this summer, there is no better testimony than that written by Brobbey. We are stable, we will give you time, make you stronger, give you the support you need on and off the field. Your part of the bargain? Go in and give it your all – and you could be playing a leading role in your country’s next international competition.
Gone are the days when players need to traditionally go to a big club to get noticed. Times have changed, and now we have created a perfect environment for power to manifest.
It will put us in a good position this summer, and with many of our players participating in the tournament, the good news may just be starting.
The Premier League fixtures are out: Are you ready?
Funny, isn’t it? This time last year I was keeping my mouth shut about the new Premier League season’s fixtures to be published. This year, I would happily wait a few weeks. Maybe another month or so.
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Since the Chelsea game closed the season, it has been good to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, a successful return to the top flight that was characterized by strong performances by strong characters, and a level of football that I think no one alive has seen before in Sunderland.
Maybe it’s because of the World Cup, too, that the new season still seems so far away, but the new games have brought us back to the big task at hand – and the excitement will start to grow.
We have to play everyone twice, however, we face a newly promoted side in our first away game, which gives us a chance to learn from Burnley last season, where we failed to get promoted. They will have a new manager by then too, and it will be a tough test in front of a Portman Road crowd who will likely still be scarred from their final Premier League season.
First up at the Stadium will be Fulham, another club who will have a new manager in place, then Brentford, before we face Arsenal and Manchester City – in between we will have our first Europa League game.
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It’s a very exciting start in anticipation – a tough one, no doubt, but it’s where we really want to be.
Now that things are out, I can’t wait.
Sunderland Women’s Club – Past and Future
Finally, there was news this week that the Bay Collective had completed the purchase of Sunderland Women, with the club retaining a 20% stake in the club.
Although it seems a shame to see the ownership of the Women’s team move elsewhere, the opportunity for investment and progress is huge, and that could help establish the Lasses at the top level of English women’s football.
The power was emphasized to me when I listened to the excellent podcast Gav and Andrew did last week with Sue Cox (formerly Sue Smith), who was part of Sunderland’s first women’s team in 1989. This chapter of Sunderland women’s history is undocumented, but listening to the podcast and Sue’s enthusiasm really left the team motivated. If you haven’t caught it yet, catch it – it’s great, and I’ll be keeping an eye on what’s going on in the women’s group more than I otherwise would in the coming months.
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