"I can't believe how well it's gone. If the offer of an extension came up I'd be more than happy to sign it. It's all about the football up here. It's all passion, passion, passion, but the supporters' intensity has never scared me. They are looking at me to get the goals and that is a massive confidence booster" - Darren Bent, 5th of December.
It was put in our local paper under the tag line of "On the anniversary of the abolishment of the maximum wage..." or something to that effect, and you have to agree with the sentiment. Maybe footballers wouldn't be such money sluts and would play for the badge on the shirt if there was still a similar system in place.
I'm a Newcastle fan personally but it just seems like a stupid move from Darren Bents position. Going from a team that has a very good chance of being in europe next season to one that could be relegated this season is just silly. However from Sunderlands perspective I think they've done some good business, that 18mil could be spent on some real quality if Steve Bruce ios clever. Welbeck and Gyan can easily fill the gap left by Bent.
Fair play to the guy. Its the only way he will get recognition, dude is 3rd highest goal scorer in the prem. Deserves to go to a better team, Villa is only a stepping stone.
If they re-invest that money, they can buy three solid players. How could they not sell him for that much? Just ridiculous how overpriced English players are.
I'm happy for him to go for £18 million + extras. That's a lot of money, and I feel it's of far more use than Bent. But I really don't understand his motivation. He's going from a team that is cemented in the top half this season, with high ambitions for the future and a dedicated fanbase, to a team currently in a relegation battle. I know Villa are usually a solid top half team and they're just having a spot of bad form, but Sunderland are up there now & showing no signs of dropping off, and with the backing of a fantastic chairman & owner we're only going to solidify that position in the future. I could understand him going to someone like Man Utd or Chelsea or maybe even a team with the ambitions of Man City, but not Villa. At best it's a sidways step, at worst it's several steps back.
I can only see two possible motivations. Firstly, he might want to be the star player in the squad. With Gyan in the Sunderland squad he had competition for that star man spot, and our high ambitions for the future could see him drop even further down the pecking order. The other possible explanation is that it's for the money. Either way, I'm not bothered with him leaving. I'm happy with the manager having £18 million to put to good use on the transfer market.
@MattyFTM Yes the £18 million + is very good business, but what I'm upset about is how he said that he loved the club and fans but that was just lies, he what he really wanted is more money he just greedy. But the main problem is trying to buy a replacement which club would sell a 30+ goal scorer at this time of the season? (apart from us), Gyan is very good but I think he still haven't settled in yet, Fraizer Campbell still injured and Danny Wellbeck is on loan and could get recalled anytime.
@MattyFTM: Personally i think hes left for the same reason most southerners leave teams in the north. They dont like the north east. God know what he thinks birmingham will bring over the north east
I could understand if he went to a better side...but Sunderland are so much better than Villa at the moment, and they suit him so well. :/ It is a stupid move on his behalf, and I have no doubt Bruce will get a good few players from the move. :) Excited to see who Sunderland get if they are going to buy anyone... Gyan and Welbeck are more than fine for now. I DIDN'T KNOW GIANTBOMB DID FOOTBALL, GUYS I haven't been looking hard enough :D
Gyan and Welbeck are a good strikeforce, but the issue is that we have no backup. And with Welbeck currently injured, Gyan is our only fit striker. That's not good. And what if he get's injured? All it would take is a bad knock, and we would have zero available strikers.
@Bombs_Away: Is that the reem as your pic? :D @MattyFTM said:
" @SamSharp505 said:
" Gyan and Welbeck are more than fine for now. "
Gyan and Welbeck are a good strikeforce, but the issue is that we have no backup. And with Welbeck currently injured, Gyan is our only fit striker. That's not good. And what if he get's injured? All it would take is a bad knock, and we would have zero available strikers. "
I'm sure you'll get a new player or two in no time, I doubt any manager would risk it for too long. From what I've seen, contrary to what people tell me (Bent does all the goalscoring and is the main threat) I am always impressed by how your midfield goes forward...there shouldn't be many problems attacking from what I've seen but you know more :D Anyway, night all got college tomorrow :(
@SamSharp505: Yeah, I'm sure we'll sign some players, I'm just worried we'll overpay for an average striker in a panic buy. Because we need someone soon, and that leads to panic buying. I've seen dumb stuff from this club in the transfer window before, and this is exactly the sort of situation that could lead to similar mistakes. When Peter Reid was manager, the chairman (Bob Murray at the time) didn't give him funds until the last few days of the transfer window one time, and Reid ended up signing a completely unknown player by accident. He thought he was buying a different player.
Now, the backroom setup has completely changed since then, and we're a far better club because of it, so I don't expect anything on that scale to go wrong, but we're under pressure to sign someone fairly quickly, and the pessimist in me can't help but think that something dumb is going to happen.
" @SamSharp505: Yeah, I'm sure we'll sign some players, I'm just worried we'll overpay for an average striker in a panic buy. Because we need someone soon, and that leads to panic buying. I've seen dumb stuff from this club in the transfer window before, and this is exactly the sort of situation that could lead to similar mistakes. When Peter Reid was manager, the chairman (Bob Murray at the time) didn't give him funds until the last few days of the transfer window one time, and Reid ended up signing a completely unknown player by accident. He thought he was buying a different player. Now, the backroom setup has completely changed since then, and we're a far better club because of it, so I don't expect anything on that scale to go wrong, but we're under pressure to sign someone fairly quickly, and the pessimist in me can't help but think that something dumb is going to happen. "
Let's hope we can keep Jordan Henderson, I know Man Utd are looking at the possibility of signing him.
@Alpha1: Henderson would be a fool to leave right now. He's a really good player, but I don't think he's good enough to get regular first team football for a team like Man Utd. He's best off staying here while he grows as a player, and then move when he's a bit older.
I'm so confused with this deal. 18 million?!? Martin O'Neil left because the club had no ambition to invest in the squad. They sold Milner and didn't offer O'Neil the money to buy a replacement, so he walked. Now they sit 11 places lower in the table since he left as manager. Even more puzzling is why he wants to leave Sunderland for a club with, in my opinion, less ambition, sitting 17th compared to Sunderland who are 6th. Also taking into account Villa's results under Houlier, why would the owner let him splash on a player I wouldn't consider to be worth an amount near what Liverpool paid for Torres, but wouldn't let O'Neil spend that. There's just too much unusual about all of this.
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