Could Sunderland owner Stewart Donald’s pink seat removal BBQ day ACTUALLY be on the cards?!

Now that Stewart Donald’s takeover of Sunderland AFC has been completed things seem to be moving apace regarding football matters, with Martin Bain leaving and a new manager set to be appointed imminently.

Speaking on our podcast, the new owner talked about his intense desire to bring the fans together - and he appears to be a man true to his word, as he is already working on a couple of things in order to do just that.

Although the deadline for early bird season card renewals was back in April, we hear that the club are looking to bring the scheme back for a couple of weeks for fans who either missed it or who let their seasonal commitment to the club lapse.

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So far over 16,500 season cards have been sold for next season - which is a remarkable number for League One - and now fans will have the chance to renew for a reduced price, with the fresh start offered by the new regime leading to a bit of optimism around the club.

As well as the early bird scheme returning, the club are also looking into health and safety procedures to actually make the fan weekend BBQ that Donald touted on our show happen.

Speaking on our podcast, the new majority shareholder spoke about wanting the fans involved in replacing the pink seats which, for many years now, have become a source of annoyance for proud supporters:

The problem would be health and safety, but that’s how I see the club; if we could do something like that we’d all change the seats together. I’d front up the costs, the fans provide the labour, we’d provide the refreshments, and we all have a day or two or a weekend and we’d all do the ground together. That’s the type of football club I want.

That’s the type of thing we need to do to connect with the fan base, and I think the fans will want to come into the ground and say I changed that seat or I changed that seat for you. That’s how it should be and that’s how we want it to be.

Should talks with health and safety officials progress, we may see that happen in the near future. Whether that weekend happens or not, it’s good to see that the lack of pride the club has had in itself in recent years - which is the main problem with the pink seats - may soon be rectified.