Lush kits. Lush pitch. But there is still no striker with a pedigree worthy of the name.
Régis Le Bris smiles and talks about ‘the process’. How long can the process be. The club is working hard behind the scenes – no doubt they are.
We can never doubt the club’s commitment to finding players. But it seems that the crux of the matter is financial again. Sunderland do not have the financial strength to buy a striker with twenty goals a season. Even signing a loanee from the Premier League, whether it’s an under-21 or Kieffer Moore, comes with financial terms.
In the club they will talk about outside noise and how they are not affected or inclined to listen to that sound. But this “noise” originates from the life force of the club – the fans.
Every fan I meet has one question, sometimes before they even say hello: “When are they going to buy a striker?” I’m afraid I don’t have an answer. I don’t know
Every week I ask Régis Le Bris, he smiles again and the answer is noncommittal. It is clear to me, as it seems clear to everyone, that the team is crying out for the number nine. Someone who can take advantage of half chances. Someone who can hit instinctively. Someone who can handle the ball.
With all due respect to the hard-working but naive Eliezer Mayenda, the Spaniard is not the solution. If Jack Clarke leaves, who will score twenty goals a season in the current squad?
Predictions for where Sunderland will finish this season range from the top two to the bottom three and somewhere in between — predictions based on a team with a striker and predictions based on a team without a striker.
Until the transfer window closes, it’s almost pointless to try to predict where Sunderland will end up, but on the evidence of the two competitive games played so far, strength in depth isn’t all it could be. However, the starting XI, if they can stay fit, is a good XI with top half potential.
But there is a caveat: everyone should be in shape. Dan Ballard was injured in the preseason. Dennis Cirkin looks impressive, but his injury record is concerning. Trai Hume has no right back. The stunning possibilities are limited.
I admire Régis Le Bris for his stoicism, but I wonder what he really thinks.
On Sunday, Le Bris will stand on the sidelines and be serenaded by Elvis and more than 35,000 fans. If he doesn’t realize how big this club is now, he will on Sunday.
Fans whose devotion is unwavering. They paid good money for their shirts and tickets and their buses and trains to away games in the thousands. He paid them petrol and diesel to watch the boys. Round trips to Cardiff and Preston were over 1,000 miles. He paid for their food and accommodation because they like boys. Paid in hours and minutes, days, weeks and years.
They love the club.
It’s all too easy to say they’re self-evident, but it’s easy to listen to their universal appeal as the only thing that could elevate the season from so successful to incredible.
The shirts featured the “Invest in Africa” logo.
Now all those thousands are asking: please invest in a striker (or two).