George Honeyman chosen as captain, Jack Ross rewarding his ‘absolutely fantastic’ attitude


George Honeyman, once thought to be among those wanting to leave Sunderland, as the new club captain.

SAFC.com quotes the manager, Jack Ross, as saying: “George’s attitude towards training on a daily basis is absolutely fantastic What he has is an absolute feel for this club because he’s come through the academy, but he’s also suffered, as a lot of people have through the past couple of years, and it bothers him.”

“He wants to help take the club forward and there’s no better way for him to do that than by being a successful captain. He’s a mature and intelligent young man, and his energy levels and application in games will be a major asset for us, so I’m delighted he’s wanted to take on the responsibility.”

Read more about it, and the midfielder’s own thought the “best moment of my career so far”, at the club site at this link. Honeyman is the first product of theclub to captain the side since Michael Gray.

When remembering the comment that he would rather play at a higher level than where SAFC find themselves, remember also that the words came from his agent, the former CEO Margaret Byrne, whose departure from Sunderland was hardly the most edifying moment of her career.

Nick Barnes, the BBC Newcastle match commentator on Sunderland games, posted this at Facebook: “There will be plenty who don’t agree with this but in my experience Honeyman loves the club and has worked tirelessly through pre-season to convince Jack Ross he is worthy of wearing the arm-band.

“Ross has justified his decision and Honeyman was only expressing ambition earlier in pre-season, which is to be applauded, and the situation was taken out of context.”

4 thoughts on “George Honeyman chosen as captain, Jack Ross rewarding his ‘absolutely fantastic’ attitude”

  1. I have always argued that players are paid to play football, not to support the teams they play for. Their careers are short, they should not be expected to show loyalty when little or none, frankly, is shown in the other direction and they are fully entitled to seek better deals – or hang on the advantageous ones they have rather than sell themselves short. If, however, they refuse to train or to play, issue ultimatums etc it becomes a serious disciplinary issue, or would in any other walk of life, and gives supporters every justification for feeling angry.

    And the best goal I ever scored was through a goal with jumpers as posts. It was a deliberate own goal (I imagined myself as a sort of Johnny Crossan, but even more rebellious)

    • The best goal I never scored was in a recreation area at Peterlee Tech. The ball was played into me as I made a diagonal run into the “box”. With the keeper obviously expecting me to control it, then turn and shoot into the bottom corner I just ran over it without breaking stride and watched it go in the opposite corner. Pity there were no mobile phones to record it for posterity back in the 70s. It would be viral on You Tube these days.

  2. ” fans who try to quarentine football from normal life.”?

    I get your point about players who are ambitious and a) want to test themselves at the best possible level and b) look at other clubs if they think they will be able to make a better living elsewhere.

    I made the same points when replying to a comment made when Paddy McNair was sold but that was before it appeared he had issued an ultimatum and said he wouldn’t play for the club again, but football isn’t like normal life.

    Most of us don’t have agents who will profit from us changing jobs and may agitate to engineer a move. There are few jobs where a member of the workforce will be on a bigger basic salary than their line manager and can make ultimatums to them. Tail wagging dog in other words.

    Surely anyone in a highly paid job should still seek to give their all for their employers even if they are looking at other jobs or is that too old fashioned an attitude these days?

    There’s a big difference between the reported attitudes of Honeyman, Cattermole and Oviedo and McNair, Kone, Ndong and Djilibodji. At least McNair and Kone reported for training but what sort of message are Ndong and Djilibodji sending out to prospective employers?

    I have no problem with Honeyman, Cattermole and Oviedo and would be happy if they all stayed. The club probably wishes the latter two especially weren’t on such lucrative contracts in this division but that is a result of negotiations that took place under the previous regime. Oviedo has said he wants to move because he’d like to play at a higher level – fair enough. Despite the stick he gets from some sections of the crowd I always feel Catts gives 100% and isn’t as reckless as he used to be – at least not as often.

    What excites me about the new season, the new ownership, the new manager and the influx of new players is the development of a positive club image, a sense of belonging and the perception of a team with ambition and a sense of togetherness. We may not be Man City and may no longer have the backing of a multi billionaire but the overwhelming feeling I have is of a club going places.

    With such an overhaul we may not see immediate results, though obviously I hope we do, but after years of feeling marginalised I once again feel as if I can identify with the club I started following over half a century ago.

    Right now I’m off down the park with my casey for a kick about – must remember a jumper despite the warmth!

  3. Dont get all the fuss.
    If a player wasnt ambitious hr shouldnt be at the club.
    Those getting uppity need to take a long hard look and stop being so precious.
    Too many jumpers for goalposts aficionados amongst fans who try to quarentine football from normal life.
    If players are on big contracts and fail..tough. They have every right to collect every penny even if they are languishing in the stiffs.
    If they want to play for a more successful club and say so well again tough.
    Midfirld options look ok if nit homogenous
    Mcgeoch, honeyman, gooch, nien and maybe cattermole in cm contention

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