The season is slowly dragging to a close, and with our final away game of the season approaching, we had a look at the recent stories surrounding Sunderland.
LINKED WITH BIRMINGHAM MIDFIELDER
In the winter transfer window we were linked with Birmingham’s Paik Seung-Ho who at the time was playing for K-League side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. During the January transfer window he signed for Birmingham, and has since been a constant feature for Tony Mowbray’s new side. It is believed that we are still interested in the South Korean midfielder, and may be looking to bring him to Wearside this summer.
CHIMBONDA AND KEANE SPAT CONTINUES
Earlier this year Roy Keane mentioned that signing Pascal Chimbonda was a mistake, and now Chimbonda has responded to Roy’s comments, asking why he was the one being singled out when we signed a few players at the time. Here is what he said:
“When he said, earlier this year, that signing me was a bad choice, I didn't understand it, to be honest. First of all, he called me to tell me he wanted me to come and play for Sunderland. Why did he do that, if people told him beforehand that it might not have been a good idea to sign me? You signed me because you know I'm a good footballer and maybe I could've done something special for you at Sunderland. Things didn't go how he would have wanted because obviously he got sacked, you know. And then afterwards, he said he'd made a bad decision in signing me."
“He signed so many players that summer, but he said that I was the bad choice. Why only me? I don't understand... he signed El Hadji Diouf, he signed Djibril Cisse, he signed Steed Malbranque, he signed Teemu Tainio... he signed so many players, but the one person who has to take the blame is me?”
TONY PULIS ON CLARKE
Tony Pulis has been discussing Jack Clarke and his impressive performances this season. Pulis thinks Clarke is ready to take that next step up to the Premier League:
“In a football team, there are certain things that you need to have in order to be successful. One of those things is a player that will take defenders on because defences are so well organised, so you need someone to create space and open doors. Jack Clarke is one of those players. I watched him at Leeds United and I think he's now more mature and is a lot stronger. He'll have a very good future but I don't know if Sunderland will want to sell him to a Premier League team this summer. I don't see why he can't play in the Premier League as he's a promising and exciting player.”
PHILLIPS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SUNDERLAND
Kevin Phillips has been in charge of Hartlepool since late January, so he hasn’t had a full transfer window with his new club. He has been discussing his potential recruitment plans ahead of next season and Phillips has admitted he will be looking to take advantage of his pre-existing relationship with Sunderland. Zak Johnson was recently on loan at Hartlepool this season but that was before Kevin Philips took the reins at the Pools. Here is what Phillips said:
"I think it’s important. I tried to do it when I was at South Shields, I think it’s hugely important that you build relationships with your local clubs. It’s something that we are looking at, and with my connections to Sunderland, it’s a chance to make the most of it. I’m always cautious about bringing young players, under-23s, into this environment, I don’t think you can have too many. For me, you need players that have experience of the National League or the Football League. I’d love to build some relationships."
AMAD QUESTIONING MUFC
This one might not be directly related to Sunderland, but we all wish Amad the best, and we all secretly have some hope that he might return one day, though he most likely won’t. Amad has reportedly been frustrated with his current game time at Manchester United, and he has every right to be upset. He was injured for some time during this season, but since regaining fitness and becoming ready for selection again he hasn’t been called upon anywhere near as much as he’d have hoped. Even since his last minute heroics against Liverpool in the quarter final of the FA Cup he’s only played roughly 80 minutes of football and that was over a month ago. His attitude and ability are far superior than that of Antony’s and it’s baffling how Erik Ten Hag can’t see that. So these rumours come as no surprise, and hopefully for his sake he can get his career back on track after what seems like a wasted season.
Erik Ten Hag was asked about Amad's lack of game time:
“Amad deserves it, but don’t forget he had a long period in the season injured, so we rebuilt him and now he has had some opportunities and a real contribution. He played in a position that is not his best position. He started as a striker and then he had to play in the midfield, so he did well. We have a number of players in that area, there is big competition. He already deserved more game minutes, I would say, but I have to choose there. We have Garnacho, Antony, and we have Omari Forson. We have a number of players in that position and we have to make choices there. But I am very happy with his performances and his progress, I see his qualities and his assets can really contribute to our game.”
