“Stop f*cking about and do your jobs!” Desperate times at Sunderland - where do we go from here?

This club is an obsession from which there is no f*cking escape. It haunts me. Gives me a f*cking migraine that wakes me up suddenly at whatever time with the urge to just say publicly that it is my sincere belief that these f*ckers are indeed going to be the death of me.

The performances from some of these players have been utterly dire - beyond a f*cking joke, with decision making bordering on the insane and such pathetic levels of effort applied by senior members of the squad that the fact they receive an actual wage off the back of it is sickening.

There is no overstating this fact; some of these players do not deserve the shirt or the honour of being regarded as a Sunderland player, let alone the wage. Simple. They know exactly who they f*cking are too - an embarrassment to themselves and the club.

As for Phil Parkinson, well... I’ve defended him. Not because he’s the manager I chose, as he was third on the list of possibilities given, but because I think he, like all managers, needs time. But his tactics... What the f*ck were they? Does he have any at all?

Regardless of what people may think on calling players out for not actually performing their jobs adequately at a time where we desperately need them to, some of it is exactly that. Some downed tools before he joined after all. But does Phil have the ability to work around that?

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It certainly doesn’t look that way going on what we’re seeing, not just in how we set up but who he selects. Make no mistake that some of these players he keeps selecting are part of his problem, yet he persists. A lack of options or a lack of creativity on his part? Both?

Fact is, if his appointment is a failure then it’s a result of a failure at the top. A failure to recognise that his position was never going to be tenable unless he improved the squad instantaneously, as only a very small section of fans actually wanted him.

It’s a result of a failure of certain “characters” to respect us as fans enough to work with someone they may not like to the best of their abilities. A result of players suddenly forgetting that they are indeed footballers. Human, yet very capable of negotiating a contract.

So negotiate your way into the f*cking areas you know you should be in and sign your name on the pitch. Imagine the ball represents say... money - if you don’t take care of it, you lose it. Just put the effort in, it’s the very least you can do for us.

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Now, we were told by Stewart Donald that they were aware of problems at the club regarding identity and “issues behind the scenes” and all that when they first arrived. It’s in the first 15 minutes if I recall on the first Podcast he did. So they were aware something needed to be fixed.

Well I’ve heard a daft amount of people say exactly the same things for a long time, former players and staff, journalists and people with great insight into the club for many years. So this problem... this something... this lack of consistent direction... This sh*te? Still here.

It hasn’t gone anywhere. We haven’t had any consistency at all in a long, long time. So what is the best option here? Keep placating fans? Just momentary appeasement that drives the owners to say/do sh*t they later regret? I’m not saying it’s malicious either.

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It’s just not good enough. I like Stewart Donald and think he’s a sincere lad who wants to make us happy, and obviously, hes not a charity so he’ll want to succeed to make something from this venture. But if he can’t identify that the problem is a lack of actual direction... then why not?

Wouldn’t a direction make sense? A target (not 100 points ffs) but something realistic like, say:

• Managers MUST be given a budget.
• Scouting MUST be of the highest calibre.
• Players we bring in MUST fit the ethos of this club.

Then, after all of that, you worry about points on the board/promotion?

We have been a chaotic club for so long that we don’t know what normal is - we jump from emotional high to emotional low as a fan base on an almost daily basis. Aye... We’re hard work as fans. Because we’re a hardworking people. Because we expect to turn up and watch our side work hard.

I don’t actually know what all the f*cking answers are, if any. It may take far more than simply getting the right people in to do the jobs required. We may come up short (again) regardless. But at least we can look at the situation and know they tried absolutely everything.

Stop. F*cking. About.

Do your jobs. Do them well. That’s the only reason you’re here. Prove you give a f*ck.