Sheffield United v Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final
RR reader Fred Walton wants to see Sunderland aim high on their return to the Premier League — what do you think? Email us:RokerReport@yahoo.co.uk
Why all this talk of survival? I’m sick of hearing fans and others talking this way.
I hope the players aren’t thinking ‘survival’ or we won’t. For goodness' sake, think positively and focus on the top ten instead.
Fear brings failure; positivity will bring success.
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Fred. Thank you for your letter.
I fully agree that we need to approach the upcoming season with a positive mindset and the willingness to embrace the challenge and the prestige of being a Premier League club once again.
Is it going to be tough? Of course. Can we lay down foundations for what’ll hopefully be a lengthy stay in the top flight? Absolutely — and that’ll only be achieved with everyone buying into the club’s vision and pulling in the same direction.
This is the reward for an awful lot of hard work, so let’s make the most of the opportunity!
Sheffield United v Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final
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Dear Roker Report,
Yet more days have passed and as of now, not one single player has come through the doors. I’m genuinely becoming very tetchy and unsettled at the lack of any breakthroughs and I’m also quite alarmed at the seemingly priority of signing a goalkeeper.
Don’t get me wrong: having a good solid back up for Patto is absolutely the right thing to do, but we’re short all over the park and I would personally say that we have other much more pressing positions to cover.
I say this mainly because it seems to often show that the process of getting outfield players to sign is somewhat more laboured than bringing in a keeper.
We only have a few weeks left before the players report back and as of now, we’re two worse off than six weeks ago.
I get that deals are being worked on but somewhere along the line the, club will have to take the plunge and pull out actual asking prices as opposed to what they offer. If not, we’ll see the game against West Ham being full of kids and us really playing catch up.
The longer things go on, the harder it’ll be for us to portray the club as we all want it to be shown as. Something needs to happen, and happen now.
Peter Milton
As I said in my reply to your previous letter, I’ve been as eager as you to see some transfer business completed and as I write this reply on Saturday afternoon, it seems as though we’re on the verge of a breakthrough, with Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra set to sign from Strasbourg for a club-record fee.
It certainly feels like a ‘statement’ signing and should it be followed by the addition of goalkeeper Marcin Bulka (who’d surely be signing for us on the basis he’ll be our first choice between the sticks), it would certainly be an encouraging start to our summer business.
As you rightly say, we need reinforcements all over the park and there’ll be a lot of work to do ahead of the season opener against West Ham, but as we stand on the verge of making two big signings, I’m starting to feel far more optimistic about how things may pan out.
England v Senegal - International Friendly - The City Ground
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Dear Roker Report,
Why is it that we constantly rely upon betting firms as our main front-of-shirt sponsors?
They cause so much misery to many people by the lure of winning with the inevitability of losing, while by it’s nature, it’s an addiction that blights our society. Is this the right fit for a family club like ours? I’m not so sure.
I understand many may not agree as it’s all about the money and if we didn’t take it someone else would, and this leads us into the realm of who’s suitable to be a sponsor or owner. How many of us would like a corrupt, evil government to procure our club like them up the road? Probably more than would not.
It’s a sad indictment of the times we live in and I would rather be playing Championship football forever than go down that route, but many wouldn’t care. I do feel that the club has a responsibility to act out of conscience and not the overriding need for greed.
Show some humility and give the front of shirt to a deserving charity we can all relate to and have on the front of our children’s shirts as well as our own.
Most I feel will think this isn’t borne out of reality and they’re probably right. Betting sponsors are unfortunately now the norm and until a government bans them from advertising, it’ll remain as it is.
Of course, it’ll not stop me from supporting the club I’ve loved for sixty years and hoping that we take our rightful place in the Premier League and of course stay there.
Harry Cole
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Harry. Thank you for your letter.
We published an article on this very subject on Saturday (which you can readhere) and it certainly drew some mixed responses.
My own personal view is that it’s probably not the greatest route to go down in terms of morals and ethics, as there may well be supporters who are battling gambling addictions and would like to see the club opt for another shirt sponsor, but on the other hand, this is clearly a very lucrative deal and one that does show the club is trying to expand its commercial reach.
Not the easiest circle to try and square, to say the least.
Sheffield United v Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images