Fan Letters: Should Parky settle his differences with Aiden McGeady for the sake of Sunderland?

Dear Roker Report,

As the new season approaches, I think we need another at least five signings.

Sunderland should be in prime position to do this, as there will be a rush for free agents trying to find new clubs before the season starts - i.e. Maddison... get him signed up.

The one thing that worries me is that the ownership saga rattles on with no end in sight - it could affect performances on the field, so the sooner it is sorted the better, but again we have silence.

Another saga still rumbling on - where the hell is Mcgeady?! The club are still paying him - either come out and say he is finished, or bite the bullet Parky - kiss and make up. He can still be a big asset to the team - he has quality.

I think Parky has to be shrewd and use the loan system to bring some young, hungry quality players into the squad. That’s where we have failed in the past - Oxford seem to do it well every season, so it’s time we did.

The start will be crucial to the season - we have some hard away trips, and this will probably define our season, even this early on, so hopefully we get off to a flyer and get the feel good factor back to the club, players and fans.

Everybody stay well - let’s beat this virus and life return to some normality.

Here’s to a great season, and to the day when we can fill the stadium to the rafters, celebrating good times again.

Mark Wild

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Cheers for writing in Mark. You’re right, McGeady is conspicuous by his absence, but I think that’s probably for the best. Parkinson laid down a marker when he rid the squad of McGeady and he’d look weak if he retreated on that and let him back into the fold. As long as Parkinson is here, McGeady has no Sunderland future - and, to be honest, having read what Lewis Morgan had to say about him, I think it’s probably for the good of the squad that he never plays for us again.

I don’t doubt his quality, but I’m not sure he’s a good influence on other members of the squad. Hopefully the morale of the group is higher now than it was 12 months ago.

Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

The Messi situation may look like an existential crisis for the football world but there is a sensible solution. He should buy Sunderland.

As owner, chairman, manager, coach, captain, and potentially first choice striker - if he can prove he’s better than Charlie Wyke, he will no doubt be a very busy chap, but he’s got plenty of equally disenchanted friends who can help him out - Busquets?

Such an arrangement would also suit Barcelona very well. With no conflict of interest, it gives them the opportunity to demonstrate magnanimity in withdrawing their objection to his contractual release.

Messi’s got two or three good playing years left in him, and the asking price of thirty five million for the club can surely only be loose change. He’s gone stale in Barcelona. He needs to rekindle his love for the game. He needs a refreshing project, and Manchester City, PSG or Juventus are absolutely not the solution – they will only add to his despair.

When crowds are allowed back into grounds, the Stadium of Light will be full. Commercial sponsors will be scrambling over each other for a piece of the Messi action. Replica shirt sales will skyrocket. And in two or three years’ time he will be able to cash in his modest investment for a ten-fold return.

For a boy raised in the gritty port city of Rosario, Argentina, what could be more fitting, cathartic or rewarding than a return to familiar roots - with Sunderland.

C’mon Leo, you know it makes sense.

Carlos Luxul

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Pass me the pipe, Carlos.