Fan Letters: “Should naysayers give Donald & Methven credit for finding Sunderland investment?”

Dear Roker Report,

After the investment news from yesterday I feel there is still an aura of discontent by a section of our fans. They seem to want to know everything going on at the club.

Has social media made us a fan group where we are becoming a bit arrogant (too big a club for L1). Do some fans just play FIFA and FM19 and think it’s easy to run a club? Are some merely keyboard warriors? So many experts, yet they never seem positive.

I’ll agree I moan about some decisions but some just need to know what content of methane gas Stewart Donald would let out. It’s getting ridiculous what some are wanting to know. We’re all passionate but I feel with some it’s getting over the top.

Let’s accept the club’s business diligence and move on to try get out of this division - which will be a hard task as it is.

Soortmad72

Ed’s Note [Tom]: I often wonder if a lot of our fans find it difficult to really trust what’s being said to them because of the manner in which the previous ownership and management damaged the club. In an ideal world that shouldn’t be the case, but it’s difficult to move beyond second guessing every move made when we were on the verge of administration and fans felt hopeless about the whole situation. As such, the ownership being far more communicative also brings the fact that fans expect to be far more involved and knowledgeable about all facets of the club. It’s a tricky balancing act.

That being said, I think there’s a difference between questioning/constructively criticising and being overtly negative or even abusive. The former should be welcomed, the latter has no place in society. Fans need to be mindful of what they’re saying and how it might be perceived. Respectful discussion is always the answer.

Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

I have to admit that I have been 1 of the many who have critisised Stewart Donald throughout last summer and also this season though I have to add never abusively. It’s all born out of pure frustrations on and off the pitch that points towards inexperienced people being recruited to important roles within the club, namely recruitment.

Although news of the investment wasn’t to the level of what many of us were hoping for or led to believe it has to be seen as positive news.

Plus with what Charlie Methven has said in interviews with the echo I think the time has arrived to draw a line under what’s gone on up to now and what’s been said or not said by owners and fans.

Let’s view it as a new beginning, a chance to really move forward together. Wait and see where we are come next May and then we can comment on the failures or successes of the season. Hopefully it won’t be failures.

Michael Clarke

Ed’s Note [Tom]: I honestly think the ownership welcomes constructive criticism; after all, it’s vital in any business if you want to find lasting success. Could we maybe have done a better job with specific areas of the club over the course of the last 18 months or so? Perhaps. But then again, the rebuild has been an immense task thus far and it will take time to be totally completed.

This is speculative, but I’d imagine the group investing the sizeable chunk of cash into the club seem to think the business is stable enough to warrant investment - as such, that’s a job well done by the ownership. It’s difficult to know exactly what’s going on with the deal, but ultimately - as you noted - it’s a real positive for the club, and will hopefully allow us some room to grow both on the pitch and off it.