Sunderland statement: right words, nowhere near good enough

Change afoot?
Photo courtesy of safc.com

It bears the hallmarks of a statement dictated by Martin Bain (CEO) and tidied up in the press office. It tells us what we know and offers the right buzz words and phrases: demoralising season, devastated, humbling support, deep-rooted passion, rise again and so on.

It even includes a “sorry”. Nay, “truly sorry”. But did Ellis Short have the least input? Was the sorry his? Remember, this is a man who may have tried to do his best for our club but ended up finger-pointing at the media, a classic cause-and-effect scenario since he freely admits he won’t even talk to reporters.

In the words of Oliver Cromwell, Ellis, “depart I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”

And here is the club statement:

Confirmation of relegation has been the culmination of what has been a demoralising season for everyone.

We began the campaign realistic in the knowledge that with the backdrop of relegation from the Premier League and our financial position, it would be a significant challenge to make an immediate return to the top flight.

However, it was not envisaged nor expected that we would subsequently be facing the prospect of League One football, which makes this position all the harder to take.

Despite the difficulties we have faced, our fans have been a shining light.

They have continued to back the team in their thousands, which has been incredibly humbling to see.

We are truly sorry that we have not been able to give them the positive outcome such tremendous support deserves.

This is also a huge blow for our staff, who have worked tirelessly throughout the season under testing circumstances and uncertainty.

We applaud them for their resilience and dedication; they are fans of the club too and like our supporters, they are hurting.

Whilst naturally we feel devastated today, there remains a burning desire from within to re-build and re-invigorate the club.

As we look at how to best achieve this, it must be recognised that we are in a period of uncertainty in relation to the club’s future ownership and the resolution of this will be the driving factor in how we move forward.

Sunderland AFC is so much more than a football club. It is an institution that has been at the very heart of its city and community for almost 140 years.

It is built on a deep-rooted passion that is proudly passed from generation to generation and it is this enduring and unwavering passion that gives us the strength and fortitude we need in times of challenge.

It is through the unstinting support of our fans that Sunderland AFC will rise again.

4 thoughts on “Sunderland statement: right words, nowhere near good enough”

  1. Utter charlatans the lot of them , a stain on the once good name of our once respected club . I don’t even trust them to find new ownership or investment, so incompetent are they. By one way or another, just GET OUT OF OUR CLUB !!!

  2. I agree on the relative insignificance of his absurd position re the media except that refusing to speak to us reptiles = refusing to speak to the fans, a sin much aggravated when he then claims to have been misrepresented. Just seems to sum him up quite neatly

  3. While you direct a lot of your ire towards Ellis Short because of the disdainful way he has treated the press, that surely is just a peccadillo compared to the way he has used our club as a rich man’s plaything, to be discarded and thrown down the toilet when his interest waned.

    Under his watch we have had precious little but a succession of poor appointments, the result of his poor appointments on the non playing side of the club’s management.

    This has resulted in Martin Bain, Chris Coleman and the press room firefighting, trying to resurrect the confidence of the support. I can’t think that Short even bothers to read the statements that are put out anymore.

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