ITHICS Fanzine: Reacting to Sunderland fans that think we’re being taken for a ride by the owner

Sunderland fans sometimes just can’t help themselves. In ride new owners, doing exactly what most fans wouldn’t have dared imagine they would in their wildest dreams, and we get people moaning that we shouldn’t believe what they’re saying.

Sometimes you just want to tear your eyes out from their sockets. Maybe it really is true - some people aren’t truly happy unless there’s something to complain about.

On Tuesday, Roker Report published a letter from a Paul Robinson who, on the basis of some dodgy grasp of finances, surmises that the new owners have bitten off more than they can chew.

Eh? Come again, guv’nor. Where the hell did you get that from?

First of all, Mr Robinson, you’ve got the details wrong. Listening to the latest podcast with Stewart Donald, it was £3m that Juan Sartori paid for 20%, not £2m. Although you do go on to to say we’ve lost £5m on the deal - presumably you’re dividing the £40m purchase price by five (which makes eight) and subtracting £3m. But even so, the fact that you’re prepared to listen to the innuendo and ‘banter’ of opposition fans over the clear and detailed interviews given by Donald and Charlie Methven tells its own story.

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Let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you can’t quite believe the good fortune that Sunderland has found itself in. It still doesn’t allow for the misleading assumption that “…these two have skinted themselves by taking us on”.

I’m pulling what little hair I have left on my head out here. Did you not listen to the Roker Report podcasts, where Stewart Donald clearly said that he wasn’t in a position personally to keep bailing the club out? Hence, the club needs to start earning more than it spends and paying for itself. Investors like the Sartori fella will be needed to take the club to the next level. Not only for his own investment savvy, but for the other similar level investors he can bring to the club.

It’s like the guy on my Facebook who was worried he wasn’t going to get his seat in the stadium because the direct debit for his season card, due to go out on the first of every month, didn’t go out on 1^stJuly - because it was a Sunday.

Finances are a complicated thing. Something is worth what people are prepared to pay for it and the price will also reflect what the investor can add to the party.

I’ve worked for financial publications in the past and I’ve rarely heard owners speak so candidly and convincingly about their plans.

I say, back them and back them fast.