This January transfer window will show that the club have little power against players,and it is the fans that suffer. This is highlighted by two players. The dealings of Yann M'Vila and Lamine Kone show that football has reached a new level of player power. It shows that the mercenaries are in control.
Yann M'Vila
Yann is quite simply the best midfielder Sunderland have had on their books for a very long time. He was absolute quality at the end of last season and had signed a pre-contract agreement with us to begin on the 1st January 2017.
Something happened on deadline day at the end of the Summer 2016 transfer window as Yann M'Vila arrived in England only to post a cryptic social media message that Sunderland had broken his heart. This is a man with a track record for playing clubs off against each other for his own gain.
It has been announced this week that he is now going to join Sunderland in January, The club stated that they only want players that really wanted to play for the club. Our best midfielder in many years was staying in Russia, with a club that he had fallen out with completely only a matter of months ago.
This is the type of mercenary behaviour that gives footballers a bad name. I understand where the club is coming from and if he isn't committed to the cause then he won't be an asset. He looked highly motivated when playing for Sam Allardyce in the second half of last season and if he wasn't going to be that motivated again then maybe he wouldn't have been the same player. It is the player that concerns me.
Yann is quite simply the best midfielder Sunderland have had on their books for a very long time. He was absolute quality at the end of last season and had signed a pre-contract agreement with us to begin on the 1st January 2017.
Something happened on deadline day at the end of the Summer 2016 transfer window as Yann M'Vila arrived in England only to post a cryptic social media message that Sunderland had broken his heart. This is a man with a track record for playing clubs off against each other for his own gain.
It has been announced this week that he is now going to join Sunderland in January, The club stated that they only want players that really wanted to play for the club. Our best midfielder in many years was staying in Russia, with a club that he had fallen out with completely only a matter of months ago.
This is the type of mercenary behaviour that gives footballers a bad name. I understand where the club is coming from and if he isn't committed to the cause then he won't be an asset. He looked highly motivated when playing for Sam Allardyce in the second half of last season and if he wasn't going to be that motivated again then maybe he wouldn't have been the same player. It is the player that concerns me.
Lamine Kone
Another player that really concerns me is Kone. He was a revelation towards the end of last season as he defended brilliantly and scored goals as we stayed up. Obviously his transfer stock rose and he was in demand. But the club is looking upwards and want to keep their best players. He had only signed in January 2016 and really owed us at least one full season.
Kone did not see it that way. He wanted a transfer to Everton and it looked as though he was going to force this earlier in the year. he missed training, suggested he might refuse to play and fell out with the club completely.
In the end the deal was not done. The performances of Kone this season have not lived up to the promise he showed last and there is a very strong possibility that he will get his move to Everton in the January window. Another mercenary and his agent work the system their way until he gets the deal he wants. he has shown no loyalty to the club at all. We signed him from the relative obscurity of Ligue 1 and he wants more.
Sunderland
What do the club do? I think that we need a strategy as a club ti determine the way we are going to deal with players. For all the flaws of Steve Brice, he went to the big clubs and brought in their up and coming players on loan. We helped the career of Danny Wellbeck, Danny Rose and others with this way of working.
Southampton look from the outside like they tell their players once they have given two years service then they will not stand in their way of an offer from a big club.They have made huge profits on the likes of Lallana, Clyne and Wanyama while getting at least two quality seasons out of them.
Sunderland don't seem to have a strategy for attracting the best players, or for retaining those players if another offer comes along. I understand from players point of view that they don't want to stay with a club fighting relegation to the last few games of the season year after year. We need to grow and the way to do this is to have a strategy. Ellis Short seems to be content with just avoiding relegation every year. His players are not and neither are the fans.
Another player that really concerns me is Kone. He was a revelation towards the end of last season as he defended brilliantly and scored goals as we stayed up. Obviously his transfer stock rose and he was in demand. But the club is looking upwards and want to keep their best players. He had only signed in January 2016 and really owed us at least one full season.
Kone did not see it that way. He wanted a transfer to Everton and it looked as though he was going to force this earlier in the year. he missed training, suggested he might refuse to play and fell out with the club completely.
In the end the deal was not done. The performances of Kone this season have not lived up to the promise he showed last and there is a very strong possibility that he will get his move to Everton in the January window. Another mercenary and his agent work the system their way until he gets the deal he wants. he has shown no loyalty to the club at all. We signed him from the relative obscurity of Ligue 1 and he wants more.
Sunderland
What do the club do? I think that we need a strategy as a club ti determine the way we are going to deal with players. For all the flaws of Steve Brice, he went to the big clubs and brought in their up and coming players on loan. We helped the career of Danny Wellbeck, Danny Rose and others with this way of working.
Southampton look from the outside like they tell their players once they have given two years service then they will not stand in their way of an offer from a big club.They have made huge profits on the likes of Lallana, Clyne and Wanyama while getting at least two quality seasons out of them.
Sunderland don't seem to have a strategy for attracting the best players, or for retaining those players if another offer comes along. I understand from players point of view that they don't want to stay with a club fighting relegation to the last few games of the season year after year. We need to grow and the way to do this is to have a strategy. Ellis Short seems to be content with just avoiding relegation every year. His players are not and neither are the fans.
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