Fan Letters: “Would it be the end of the world if Ellis Short failed to sell Sunderland?”

Dear Roker Report,

Losing to Burton and getting relegated in the fashion we did was probably the worst day of my life but I’m trying to stay positive and looking forward to what League 1 brings for us.

But if we did keep Ellis Short and he failed to sell the football club, would it be the end of the world? I don’t feel like you really need much money to get out the 3rd division and especially with the youth players we have got coming through, the quality is there.

Yes we need to invest at least some money because of the huge amount of players we will be losing, but surely to get out of the 3rd division you don’t need any more than £2-3 million - especially with the likes of Gooch, Asoro, McNair and Honeyman all ready to play.

Also - I’ve been confused all season about the ridiculous amount of loanees we have brought in. I know that is down to Ellis Short not giving the manager the funds to invest in players but we have brought in so many loan signings that aren’t even any better than the players we have now. The point of bringing loan signings in is to improve your team as a whole, but why bring in loan players if they’re not any better than the players we already have?

Why are we playing them? All it does is help Liverpool and Chelsea and other clubs.

All we are doing is giving their players the experience they need - it’s not benefiting us in any way.

Anyways, I’ll be going next season - it’s not the division I support, it’s the football club.

Ryan Lingwood

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Relegation is technically the worst thing to happen in our history. I know we’ve been in the third tier before but we’ve never gone down with so much debt, and considering the overhaul we need to have and the lack of resources that is likely to be afforded to the manager, it’s tough. We need to bring in real characters - robust athletes that won’t drop to pieces and let us down. It’s going to be tough to address that without any money and it’ll be interesting to see what Chris Coleman does from here.

Which leads me on to your next point - yes, it would be the end of the world if Ellis Short doesn’t leave this summer. He doesn’t want us, he’s dropped all responsibility for us and this gloom and negativity is impossible to shift whilst he’s our owner. I fear another relegation battle if he’s still our owner.

Regarding the loanees - it’s a thankless situation. We’re skint and needed new players so bolstered the squad with bodies from other clubs, but as you rightly say most of them aren’t good enough and in affording them game time we’re neglecting some of our own players as a result.

Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

If Chris Coleman is not backed financially this summer then we may as well give up any hope we have that the club can return to anywhere close to where it should be.

As stupid as this may sound, I see a golden opportunity to rebuild this summer. We have a manager who ACTUALLY WANTS TO BE HERE (when was the last time we could say that) and has the record to boot.

We have never been this low, and thus all the shit must go this summer, a perfect opportunity for Coleman to have a clean slate and begin the long, arduous slog up the pyramid. He is the last decent manager who will ever want this job, if we blow this chance no one will come to this club, and thus the cycle of negativity continues and League Two beckons.

It’s been said before but this summer is the biggest in our history.

Louis Dinsdale

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Indeed - I think Coleman has failed thus far in the job but has had long enough to assess the situation and likely knows exactly what we need to change. He needs to be allowed to bring his own squad on board, and only then can we properly judge him on what he’s capable of.