Fan Letters: Is signing 35-year old Danny Graham a good move for Sunderland?

Dear Roker Report,

Sorry to disagree with your blind optimism with regards to F*nny Graham - he was absolute garbage first time around on a ridiculous wage where many northern league players would have done a better job for nowt.

If you spent a fortune on a plummer to put your shower, toilet and washer in and he flooded your house out, would you employ him ever again? Honest reply would be welcome.

William Longworth

Ed’s Note [Martin]: Completely appreciate the prospect of Graham coming back isn’t a mouthwatering one by any stretch William, however the fact he didn’t work out first time round is pretty irrelevant. We were a Premier League club when he played here last. Now we are not. If Parkinson persists with the formation and tactics of last season (nothing we’ve seen in pre-season suggests he’ll stray far from it) then a target man is central to that. Charlie Wyke’s our only option there at present, and it’s fair to say he hasn’t set the world alight in his two seasons so far. Graham’s stats for Blackburn are decent - in the past 3 seasons he’s scored 33 in 80 starts in the championship. Compare that with Wyke’s 10 in 40 in League One and it suggests Graham is an upgrade.

Of course, none of us wanted to be in a position where 35-year-old Danny Graham is perceived as a decent addition, but here we are. And if he hadn’t played for us before, I imagine we’d all be a little more enthusiastic about the prospect.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

I think it is obvious that the owner does not want to sell the club.

He pretends so he can make a lot of money with crowds of 15/20k, and is happy with the pay cap, so he can get out of contract players. He does not have to buy - he had the chance to buy before cap came in - but instead looks at people like Danny Graham at 35 years old.

That shows his ambition and the academy players - sell sell sell - I wonder if he could sell the land for building? Sorry to be gloomy.

Roger Stokell

Ed’s Note [Martin]: Who knows what’s going on, Roger. It’s all gone quiet since he was rumoured to be in a period of exclusivity with a potential buyer.

To be fair, it’s obviously a terrible time to be selling a football club, but now we’re back in action there’s a little more certainty around on the footballing side of things. Hopefully this spurs on a sale.

What we do know, however, is something needs to change. It’s a scandal this club is spending its a third consecutive season down here.

There’s been little investment into the club or the team, and as you say the way the academy has been stripped of any modicum of talent is nothing short of a disgrace. Fingers crossed there’s some positive news round the corner.