Fan Letters: “I for one am now very concerned” says Sunderland fan!

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Dear Roker Report,

How much longer until the major lack of signings become a concern?

I for one am now very concerned, with the season beginning in a months time we have brought in 0 first team players. While we did sign Carney i dont think he will play a part this season and will end up with our under 23s.

Up to now we have lost our top 5 scorers from last season totalling in over 40+ goals and not one of them have been replaced. When you add on top of that we released 7 players lost a further 3 due to loans expiring as well as Wyke leaving and potentially Hume, Dobson has also gone with Grigg probably to follow makes it even more worrying personally. 12 players departed what potentially soon can be 14 and not one signing still. Very concerning.

For me I’d have like to moved on burge for a new no.1 but thats not happening now. On top of that 2 lbs, 2 cbs with wright or flanagan departing, another rb assuming O’nien will be there. 3 new midfielders all varying in height, pace, creativity, physical presence, energy and not all the same molding as per usual. Another rw as i dont see diamond or gooch being good enough or consistent enough for a top 2 push. A new lw to support mcgeady. 2 new strikers. That’s far too many players to bring in for Wigan next month now.

At the moment i can only see a slow start and Johnson can not afford that becuase rightly or wrongly people wont accept the results as well as his management speak drivel if we are losing home games like we did last season and dropping points to ultimately lesser teams.

Time will tell but at the moment this new recruitment team are filling me with no hope and the longer the lack of signing’s drag on the worse start to the season we will probably have.

Max

Ed’s Note [Rich]: Thanks for your letter, Max. I know you wrote in before today’s signing was announced. You’re still absolutely right that the squad needs overhauling, and it might take more than one transfer window to get it right. Despite Johnson saying that the market is a bit stagnant, but we’ve got Alex Pritchard now and that's a really good start in my book.

Photo by William Early/Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

I get it we have to be patient with the ‘new’ regime taking shape, and thing’s happening behind the scenes. However, the primary aim is to get out of this league, long term plans are fine, however, surely it wouldn’t cost that much for the new owner’s to stump up 10 million and buy 4 or 5 decent player’s who the fan’s can put a name too.

But so far, it’s not looking good, we are still searching for the bargain basement buy’s on the cheap, the players nobody else wants, and those not with a club.

How about buying player’s who the parent club don’t want to sell for a change, rather that those they they reject. All well and good filling the academy, but 4-5 decent top players with decent pedigree would get us out of this league, doing thing’s on the cheap wont. Cheers

Alan Metcalfe

Ed’s Note [Rich]: Cheers for writing in, Alan. I’m not sure how we go about buying players that their clubs don’t want to sell, other than offering ridiculously over the odds transfer fees. Do we really want to go back to the strategy that’s seen us drop down so far so quickly? I’d rather we execute a well-thought-out plan to recruit players we can develop, rather than splashing the cash on someone with a half-recognisable name who did okay a few years back. Picking up Pritchard on a free is a good start in terms of players with a decent pedigree, and surely there’s more to come.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

Let’s face it Maguire’s career has been blighted by inconsistency. He looked good for Aberdeen in the SPL but when he moved up a level to play for Derby County he wasn”t good enough. David Jones gave him another chance at that level with Sheffield Wednesday and he was subsequently moved on to the third tier. On his day he looked the part in red and white but he was frequently average.

Wyke on the other hand had a good season last season building on his improved form with Carlisle and Bradford City. He also relied on the service provided by McGeady. He is 28 going on 29. How much more can he improve? Bearing in mind defenders will have a better handle on how to play him.

The best decision is to move them on and replace them with younger, hungrier players.

Andrew Hadfield

Ed’s Note [Rich]: Alright there, Andrew, cheers for writing in. Wyke and Maguire have been good servants of the club for the last three seasons - they’ve given us some great moments, and some frustrating ones too. It’s definitely the right time for them both to move on, although I wouldn’t bet against Big Charles bagging one for Wigan on the opening day or Mags scoring a screamer when Lincoln visit the SoL.

Photo by Sunderland AFC/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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