Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal reaction: How far can this team go under Régis Le Bris?
The pundit hasn’t minced his words on former Sunderland chief Ellis Short
The Black Cats head into the current international break fourth in the table having lost just two of their opening 11 matches, and with positive results against the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea to their name already.
They are also unbeaten at the Stadium of Light at the time of writing, and in a recent discussion on talkSPORT, Jordan and fellow talking head Martin Keown were asked about the importance of the club’s home support to their recent run of auspicious form.
What did Simon Jordan say about former Sunderland owner Ellis Short?
In response, Keown said: “I think we have to say this, right? That they [Sunderland fans] now have a team that they can get behind. It's the chicken and egg situation, isn't it? What makes you play well? And what makes you cheer from the sidelines? Every time that Arsenal had the ball at the back [last Saturday], bang, they went after them. Every time they made a tackle, the crowd were out on their feet as if they'd scored a goal. It's infectious.”
Jordan then interjected, reflecting on the club’s recent history and making a pointed jibe against ex-Black Cats chief Short. He said: “I also think it's that passage of time where they went in such decline and it was the object of such ridicule that they dropped down from the Premier League. Ellis Short decided to disappear up his own backside and not be interested in the football club whatsoever.
“You know, they dropped down in the league into League One and now they're back and they appreciate being back. There was a period of time where Sunderland were in the Premier League - Peter Reid had a good period of time with them, Steve Bruce had a good period of time with them, put them seventh in the league. And Bob Murray was their chairman. It perhaps got a bit laissez-faire. Now they're really bubbling again because they appreciate where they are.”
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Keown replied: “They limped into the play-offs. I went to watch them play the second last game of the season against Oxford United, and their fans were booing them. Their fans were booing them because they lost.”
Jordan retorted: “They didn't limp into the play-offs. What they did was they had a problem in the play-offs because they were there so early. They weren't going to catch the top two. They were stuck. They were almost marooned into the play-offs and they actually went through this terrible run of form going into the play-offs, didn't they, where they hardly won a game and suddenly found their mojo again for the big games.”
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