Fan Letters: To be a Sunderland fan you need a glass half-full... and religion... and alcohol

Dear Roker Report,

It’s all about what happens on the pitch. If we are winning, everything throughout the club is heavenly. The problem is we haven’t really played that well, sometimes even when we have won.

Added to that is the apparent poor attitude and commitment by the team in recent games. In these instances, everything is wrong from top to bottom.

I do not believe Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven are chancers, though. Parkinson seems to be really well regarded in the game, so let’s see what January brings.

Is this the resilience of blind faith? To be a proper fan you really do need a glass half full. And religion perhaps. And alcohol.

Geoff Morgan

Ed’s Note [Gav]: I agree with all of that, Geoff - I remarked myself the other day that if we were winning games, people wouldn’t be overly concerned about every single intricate detail that goes into the running of the club. That’s not to say people shouldn’t find these things interesting, or ask questions - I personally just want to see the team do well on a Saturday which, as you’ve alluded to, makes all the difference when it comes to mood.

I too don’t think they’re chancers. They’re businessmen, but they’ve attempted to make an impression on the supporters and also make the tough decisions that will ultimately benefit the club in the long run. They’ve made mistakes - particularly on the football side of things - but who hasn’t? Using their contacts to secure American investment could prove to be huge for the club’s short and long term future, and that deserves praise.

There’s plenty that I could sink my teeth into here but yeah - ultimately I’m happy enough with their ownership and certainly don’t feel like they deserve the amount of stick they get.

Let’s hope that when they do eventually leave us that we’re in a far better position that we were when they took us on.

Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

As the saying goes you only get one chance to create a good first impression. For me this is something Phil Parkinson has failed spectacularly to do, so much so I feel we need to make a change (yes already) before things get worse. We look worse than under Jack Ross and play with no clear game plan in mind. His recent interviews have failed to reassure me that things will change and I am really concerned for the future of this club as long as he is in charge. Some may see this as an overreaction and I hope they’re right but I just don’t see things changing.

The only positive I can take from his first 8 games is that no significant damage has been done to our league position. With the right man in charge and a good January transfer window I still believe we can be in the mixer come the end of the season, however that looks a long way off at the minute. Am I crazy to suggest sacking Parkinson after only 8 games?

I know the question will be who do we get and I am sure everyone has there own opinions on who should be the manager but I can help feel that if we do nothing we could find ourselves in this division for far longer than any of us anticipated.

Philip Oates - a very worried Sunderland fan

Ed’s Note [Gav]: I wouldn’t say you were crazy, but I think you need to take a breather and let the fella get his feet under the table before we start judging him too harshly!

There’s no getting away from the results so far, but I’d be a hypocrite if I went at him for the way we’ve handled the cup games as I’ve said repeatedly that I do not want us to be in any cup competitions. The league form is most important, and with the benefit of some injured players returning and a proper go at training we should hopefully see an upturn in performances and results.

I felt as though we looked really burnt out against Scunthorpe and had done in the two games prior to it. I’m not excusing the performances but I couldn’t help but wish for the international break to come - the opportunity freshen things up a bit will be handy if we are to get ourselves in a good run of form, something we need throughout the rest of November and December as the transfer window approaches.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images