Sunderland in the same boat as Town it would appea

Taken from the BBC News website, an open letter from Sunderland fans to their chairman. Now where have I heard all this before.....?

It is somewhat of an understatement to say we Sunderland fans are not happy.

For too long now we have suffered increasingly poor football, record-breaking poor results, a carousel of managers and a host of players who have not been up to the task or have given minimal effort. In too many cases ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ has never been more apt. It’s felt like a gradual, painful demise; a death by a thousand cuts.

We have an absent owner who no longer takes pride in our grand, old club. We find ourselves abandoned at the bottom of the Championship, on course to plummet into League One following two successive relegations. We are experiencing our lowest attendances since the opening of the Stadium of Light, with many fans now staying away to avoid more misery. Many supporters will not return until the current regime ends.

Ellis Short might be ‘propping up’ the business and still ‘writing cheques’ to cover deficits, but as of now, Short is doing the very minimum he can as an owner of a football club. When all is said and done this is a mess of his making, so forgive us supporters if we’re not gushing with gratitude for the money that has been wasted during the last decade.

Do us a favour Mr Short — sell.

Make it your number one priority to source a reputable buyer and go.

Many loyal supporters debate the merit of demos and protests. Others talk of apathy and frustration. The match day experience is unrecognisable. Thousands of supporters have understandably given up and no longer bother. Sunderland supporters are a humble bunch, and we do not feel our club has a divine right to play at any particular level. This is about more than league position. It feels like Sunderland AFC has lost its soul, and with it we’ll lose a generation of supporters.

There may have been a period in which Ellis Short was enamoured of SAFC, but that time has long passed. By contrast our infatuation lives on, almost 140 years strong, a never-ending blessing and curse. Owners come and owners go. We’re Sunderland ‘til we die.

We are a club steeped in tradition with its fair share of glory and pain, but through thick and thin this club has had a heartbeat, a lifeblood that is as passionate as they come. We are not the tatty, discarded plaything of a frustrated and disillusioned billionaire, who no longer finds novelty in owning a football club.

We call upon Sunderland AFC supporters far and wide to sign our petition and tell the world what is happening to our football club.

In our petition:

We demand that Ellis Short makes every endeavour to find a reputable buyer for the football club he no longer wants. Produce a business case for potential buyers, and treat SAFC with the same respect that a successful businessman would a going concern.
We request that if Ellis Short cannot find a reputable buyer himself, employ someone to do it for him.
In the meantime, we ask for transparency, honesty and regular communication between the owner and supporters.
The Red and White Army is an independent supporters organisation that aims to represent Sunderland supporters through structured dialogue with SAFC. Together, supporters are stronger. You can join the Red and White Army for free at redandwhitearmy.co.uk.

SIGN THE PETITION!

Sign the Red & White Army’s petition.

Hull, Sunderland, Blackpool ..... all screaming to get rid of the Chairmen , strangely enough all ex Premier League teams too.

In reality there are very few supporters who are actually happy with their chairman.  If your team isn't winning, or challenging then sooner or later the chairman is going to get stick.

But I thought we were the only club to criticise players management and the board...

Oh that's what some people think isn't it

He's offered to sell the club for FREE - as long as someone picks up the £137million debt - things aren't so bad after all!

Any team that employs a player on alleged 70k a week without a relegation release\wage reduction clause etc...

Sunderland seem to be this season's leeds/villa\ Portsmouth etc etc   am worried that they may help hull survive ha

Bunch of drama queens. They've been up and down between the prem to the championship for ages so results must have been good almost every other season.
What would we give to be bottom of the prem every other season.

This season will be the 10th out of 11 they've finished in the bottom half (and the other season they came 10th).

Quoted from MuddyWaters

He's offered to sell the club for FREE - as long as someone picks up the £137million debt - things aren't so bad after all!

So I have no agenda here but, can a financial wizard please explain the difference and any pro and cons between a dept and a benign loan. I understand the figures are completely different but for this argument pretend they are the same amount.

No difference a loan is a debt, that has to be paid back. However, in the made-up world of benign loans, we are pretty secure as JF won't call them in until there's a "football fortune" as it'll be JF who loses out.