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Clubs are going to be unleashing their war chests in an attempt to win the race to sign a hot prospect, after he’s issued a come and get me plea hoping to put an end to the transfer saga before the transfer window slams shut.
I don’t think I wasted any clichés there. On a serious note though, this is how football is these days. It is a 24/7 sport and media outlets are all in competition with each other trying to quench the public thirst for news and updates.
Of course, for many of us this is the most tedious time of the year, so far we have been linked with a boatload of players. Every day everyone from Sky Sports News to @footyagent101 are linking us with just about anyone who’s ever put on a pair of football boots.
This only fuels the impatience of the social media generation - everything must happen now.
Despite it being only July 2nd, some Sunderland fans already appear to be worried by our lack of transfer activity. This is understandable to an extent, after all every transfer window we are told to be patient and quality signings will come as the window goes on. This rarely ever materialises and we end up with a collection of players not fit for purpose and no further forward than we have been.
Of course, the actions of other clubs do not help. Newcastle have spent over £20 million on two players and Crystal Palace are making offers in excess of £30 million.
This has led to some on Wearside to label these clubs as ambitious whilst bemoaning our slow start to the transfer window once again. It’s a bit like being at school seeing all the kids with rich parents getting a pair of golden total 90’s whilst you’re stuck with functional black Umbro boots which have been too small for you for about a year.
So I know we’ve been here before, but this time is going to be different... honest.
Assuming he doesn’t get appointed as England manager, in Sam Allardyce we have a manager with excellent contacts both in this country and abroad, full control of transfers and a track record of getting a high standard of player to join his clubs.
In previous years we have also been hampered by a number of restricting factors. Under Paolo Di Canio and Gus Poyet we had inexperienced head coaches who did not have the contacts or the knowledge of the market to attract the required calibre of player.
Dick Advocaat also suffered from having never managed in England before, so instead primarily targeted players he was familiar with who didn’t turn out to be good enough.
This rather encapsulates the problem we have had for years. The director of football model was a resounding failure. With Roberto Di Fanti and Lee Congerton often struggling to bring quality players to the club and when the head coaches were left to their own devices they tended to target players they had managed before. A tactical plan was very rarely evident.
As we have also proven in the past, early signings do not guarantee success.
Three years ago, it was all change on Wearside. After Martin O’Neil’s slow, predictable brand of football, our saviour Paolo Di Canio rode in on horseback promising to "change everything" and promised to deliver a season without suffering.
In came Modibo Diakité, Valentin Roberge and Cabral (or Michael Essien as we liked to call him after that game against Spurs) - VIVA LA REVOLUTION!
Of course I don’t have to tell you how badly that went. The now infamous photo taken at the AOL shortly after with Diakité, Roberge, Cabral and Karlsson will be used to scare misbehaving Wearside children for years to come.
Fortunately, we now have a manager who is clinically sane, and isn’t restricted by a Director of Football.
It’s going to be a long summer full of speculation but with Allardyce we are in safe hands and his judgement on transfers should be good enough for us all.
