Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has challenged new manager Steve Bruce to unearth a few more "rough diamonds" as he prepares for a summer spending spree.
Bruce arrived on Wearside this week with the promise of financial backing from new owner Ellis Short if he can find the men he believes can drive the club forward.
Quinn has warned, however, that Short will not spend for spending's sake after seeing the club only just survive relegation from the Barclays Premier League last season despite investing almost £80million in new players during the previous two years.
But rather than targeting marquee signings, the Irishman is hoping Bruce can be as inventive as he was at former club Wigan, where he discovered the likes of Wilson Palacios, Maynor Figueroa and Amr Zaki and reaped the rewards.
Quinn said: "His experience does count for a lot in this appointment, there's no doubt about that. He has taken many a rough diamond and polished them up beautifully, and the clubs he has been with have benefited.
"We hope he can do that for us. The good thing he feels right now is he has been told, 'We trust you, your record has been very good on that. If the deal is smart and it's intelligent, we will do it'."
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Fulham! Second (previously third) rate London club - says it all, the lure of the bright lights and not a thought about football. PAH!
Rated at £6 million, good player actually - says he's had interest from 4 bigger clubs than sunderland, and he included Fulham as one of them . . . that's funny.
Scharner? Who? A non-descript Austrian who wants out of Wigan and a move to a Bundeslige club - using Bruce's move to Sunderland to raise his profile in the hope of attracting attention. Don't think he'd be an improvement on any of our defenders so can't see Bruce wanting him anyway.
Latest fact on Brucie boy's revolution.
Scharner at Wigan, and i quote:
'Joining sunderland would be a major step backwards for me in footballing terms'.
cameron,quote.
One major flaw in your argument old son; we ain't got any 'better players'.
Nobody is gonna buy our players, and they certainly ain't gonna want to move; would you, on those wages!!
commomsense innit!
oh and nobody,s gonna buy the club either,£100m.west ham just sold for that!.and thats a big club,no, sorry a big big club.!
Up-to-date fact: the Doon Army are "Down Down" (in the Chamionship) and going by the news and fans reactions are heading "Deeper and Down" (into League One). Back page of The Journal Monday 8th June, Headline: "Magpies are heading for oblivion" - read it and weep, you Sad Geordie Fools. As for us Mackems ... LOL
FACTS TO BE REMEMBERED: IN 1987, SUNDERLAND WENT INTO THE THIRD DIVISION. IN 2003, UNDER MICK MCCARTHY, SUNDERLAND WERE RELEGATED FROM THE PREMIERSHIP WITH 19 POINTS. A RECORD ONLY TO BE SURPASSED BY DERBY CO.
IF WE HAD A CHAIRMAN WITH INTEGRITY AND A REAL DESIRE TO RUN OUR CLUB AS A PROFESSIONAL CONCERN, I CAN ONLY THINK OF ONE SINCE I STARTED SUPPORTING NUFC IN 1973, ( JOHN HALL - even a bit dodgy himself ) AND WE WERE INSTALLING STEVE BRUCE AS OUR MANAGER, THEN I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY. HE'LL NO DOUBT DO A DECENT JOB. BUT I CAN'T HELP THINKING ABOUT THAT CLASSIC JIMMY NAIL SONG. " I DON'T WANT NOBODY ELSE. I LOVE YOU. ( S ) HE'S LYING." OR WHEN BOWIE CAME ON STAGE AT JOKER PARK BACK IN THE 80'S ( GLASS SPIDER TOUR ) AND SAID, " HELLO NEWCASTLE." STEVE MAN. HAVE YOU BECOME COLOUR BLIND. THEM GEEZERS ARE WEARING RED AND WHITE. NOT BLACK AND WHITE - YOU FOOL. MR T SHOULD TELL HIM TO " STOP ALL OF HIS JIBBA JABBA."
OH BY THE WAY, REGARDING MIKE ASHLEY. JOHN HALL HAS RECENTLY STATED THAT “What you have to acknowledge though, is that Newcastle’s decline had actually begun before Ashley arrived at the club. Some of the managers have been disasters and ruined the club long before he came in.” THAT'S RIGHT SIR JOHN. AND THE MAN WHO MADE THESE DISASTROUS APPOINTMENTS WAS FREDDY SHEPHERD, AND, TO A LESSER EXTENT, YOUR SCUM BAG SON. AND, MOREOVER, YOU ALL WALKED AWAY FROM NUFC WITH 10'S OF MILLIONS. WHAT DID SHEPHERD EVER DO TO JUSTIFY HIM LEAVING OUR CLUB WITH 33 MILLION QUID? FU@@ ALL. THE MAN IS A DISGRACE....
pull of a big club tony i think u've been pulling ur big club to much and its given u a complex
yer reckon tony k eh!before long yer'll be shouting about the champions league again! haha!al least yer mite be able to shout on about the championship league sort ov sounds the same don't yer think!
Poor little Magpies nothing to say but snipe about the Magnificent Mackems. If they weren't doing that they would then have the time to realise just waht a precarious state their club is in. No Manager, an S H 1 T Chairman, an Owner they all despise and wants out but can't even find a buyer on EBay and a team that will include Joey Barton next season. So sad really. Meanwhile down the road Sunderland are on their way, on their way, in the Premier, all the way. I have every faith that Bruce will come up with the signings we require to progress upwards next season. Yep, you've got to feel pity for the Skunks.
He's only a poor little Magpie,
His feathers all tattered and torn,
His team's down and out, spat his dummy out,
He wishes he hadn't been born!
heyup cameron,
the difference at cats is they create great players,not like newcy buy what you think are great players.sunderland have no need to buy into your mistakes,brucey will get grass root players and turn them into thoroughbreds,and yes they will be forever greatful to sunderland.now thats the way to do it.!!!granny
steve.laidlaw
One major flaw in your argument old son; we ain't got any 'better players'.
Nobody is gonna buy our players, and they certainly ain't gonna want to move; would you, on those wages!!
If mega-bucks man city are finding it tough to attract the world's best, what chance has Bruce and safc?
As i've said before, you will be feeding on the scraps of the scaps of the scraps - safc are in the bottom group in the pecking order, along with wigan, bolton and burnley.
Tony K
IS A P RICK DONT BOTHER EVEN READING HIS S HITE
SCUMMY SCUNT
Tony, i appreciate your black and white through and through but you need to accept the fact that your better players will be off. If you don't bounce back at the first attempt then you will find it very difficult. Any decent players moving to the North East will be heading to only one club.
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