Ellis Short - Stop insulting Sunderland’s proud cultural heritage

Our future is rooted in our history, is it? Pah. Our future and our history couldn’t be more distinct. We actually had a sense of pride and dignity in our history.

Sunderland LTD - Ellis’ Short’s very own Asset Strip Club - took on a new slogan this season as the club hoped to find some morale in the only place it had left to look: its people.

‘Our Future Is Rooted In Our History’ is Sunderland’s attempt at getting the rightfully resentful and understandably downtrodden red-and-white football contingent to stick around for another season of underwhelming performances amid financial ambiguity.

By appealing to the sense of pride we have in our region, a place built on the foundations of genuine hard-work and resilience, we’re reminded of the cultural aspects of our city we were born into, called our own and ultimately came to love.

But this promotion of patriotism we’re told to rally around is nothing more than a soulless corporate marketing strategy. We’re asked to buy into an ideal appropriated by people who are currently working against everything it stands for. We’re given nods to a history of honest and genuine people and we’re told a future of Ellis Short and Martin Bain is ‘rooted’ in this. How stupid do you think we are, lads?

How dare you tell us that the proud miners of Sunderland are rightfully succeeded by a man who’d rather see a club go under than invest even a fraction of the fortunes he’s made back? A man very much aware of the fact that even a measly budget of £10 million would’ve met our astoundingly low criteria of an average, consistent season in the Championship. A man who’d instead rather see us roll in the grave he spent season after season digging, safe in the knowledge that he himself would eventually clamber out and leave us writhing in the dirt.

How dare you tell us that the proud shipyard grafters from the banks of the Wear are rightfully succeeded by a man who’s paid an extortionate wage to end the careers of those earning far less, just so his even wealthier superior can continue to cut corners? A man so infamously renowned for knocking down the cultural monoliths of proud footballing cities? A man siphoning success from every aspect of the club at every possible opportunity?

That slogan is an insult of near-inconceivable proportions. Don’t pretend knuckling down with Simon Grayson and James Vaughan was done with the intention of appealing to the ideals our city was built on. No, they’re just the only blokes you can bring in to ensure that all hands not belonging to Short are kept off the tightly-drawn purse.

You’re not resurrecting a bastion of graft from the days of old by asset stripping the club and making the remaining employees work with threadbare resources. You’re insulting a proud people by telling them their club reflects what they believe in when, in reality, the club is deceiving them so it’s owner can hold onto as much cash as he can as he fixes both eyes squarely on the exit door. To sell this image to the fans is to insult the fans. No two ways about it.

SAFC.com

“Your Future Is rooted In Your History!

You’re from Sunderland!

You work hard!

Be proud!

Now please sit back while we strip the club of every valuable asset it has and replace them, with a budget unfit for any team expecting more than a Championship relegation battle. Your owner doesn’t understand you and he’s happy for you to rally around your city’s history so that you’re distracted from the demise of your football club.”

There’s no connection between what Sunderland was and what its football club has now become. Ellis mate, don’t piss in our ear and tell us it’s raining. We don’t buy into this bullshit.