Sunderland madness

[BEARGER 1,830]

SUNDERLAND: Why the Jack Rodwell saga exposes the chronic mismanagement that has driven the Black Cats to the brink

Scott Wilson  scottwilsonechoChief Sports Writer

ON HIS KNEES: The signing of Jack Rodwell is one of the costliest mistakes Sunderland have ever made

WHEN the story of Sunderland’s calamitous decline is told in a couple of decades’ time, the role played by Jack Rodwell will barely merit a footnote. Yet when it comes to explaining why the club finds itself at the foot of the Championship table, saddled with debts of more than £100m, the tale of the invisible England international could hardly be more instructive.

Even for a club that has set new standards of ineptitude in the last few years, Rodwell’s three-and-a-half years as a Sunderland player represent a remarkable new low. And despite this week’s talk of cancelled contracts and mutual agreements, the most staggering aspect of all is that there could still be another 18 months of this sorry saga to run.The numbers make for harrowing reading. Rodwell was signed from Manchester City for £10m in August 2014, and is understood to have been awarded a five-year contract worth £70,000-a-week.

He has spent 180 weeks as a Sunderland player, picking up £12.6m in wages. In that time, he has made 76 senior appearances, 23 of which were as a substitute. If his transfer fee and wages are combined, he has cost Sunderland £299,000 per appearance. Or to put it another way, the club has shelled out more than £4,700 for every minute he has been on the field.

Perhaps that would have been worth it if Rodwell had been leading Sunderland to a succession of Premier League wins. Instead, the 26-year-old has made 44 league starts for the Black Cats – and only one of those games resulted in a victory. To all intents and purposes, Sunderland have spent more than £22m to secure a 4-0 win at Crystal Palace in February 2017.

The sums are staggering, and if Rodwell opts to see out the remainder of his contract, he will leave the Stadium of Light having earned £18.2m in wages over the duration of his deal. Plus the one win bonus from Selhurst Park.

Rarely can a player have taken so much for so little, and having completely fallen out of love with the game over the course of the last 12 months, it would suit everyone for Rodwell to walk away and make a new start.

A player with three senior England caps to his name, and who was once touted as the answer to this country’s central-midfield issues, would have the opportunity to rebuild his career while there might still be clubs in the top two divisions willing to take a chance on him. Chris Coleman would have a £70,000-a-week gap in his wage bill, waiting to be filled by some much-needed acquisitions. And Sunderland would be able to move on from an extremely costly mistake.

It all sounds so easy, yet the fact that Rodwell remains on Sunderland’s books despite having asked to leave at the start of the month proves it is anything but. The reality is that the Black Cats’ highest-paid player is perfectly within his rights to sit tight for the next 18 months and continue to count his money. Ultimately, it is the club to blame for the current shambles, not him.

What on earth were Sunderland thinking back in 2014 when they signed off the Rodwell deal and agreed to the midfielder being one of the only players on the club’s books not to have a relegation clause inserted into his contract?

The transfer made no sense at the time, and is even harder to explain now, yet it was far from the only instance of dreadful decision making to have occurred on Ellis Short’s watch. In fact, the Rodwell signing fits neatly into a pattern of chaotic management that has driven Sunderland to the brink of League One.

Two-and-a-half months before Rodwell arrived, Sunderland had clambered to Premier League safety under Gus Poyet. They were locked into a recurring narrative. New manager arrives and drags the team out of the bottom three. New manager asks for a barrel-load of money and is given it to make new signings. New manager abandons everything that his predecessor had been building. New manager starts to struggle, is sacked, and becomes the old manager. A new manager is appointed and the whole sorry cycle starts again.

The upshot was that Sunderland signed 45 players under a succession of different bosses, and made a profit on just three of them. That’s how you rack up £100m of debt even though your owner continues tipping money down a black hole.

Sporting director Lee Congerton was in charge of recruitment when Rodwell was signed, and no doubt wanted to make his mark. Margaret Byrne was the chief executive charged with the task of drawing up contracts, and appears to have been out of her depth from the outset. Poyet wanted high-profile new signings, and was delighted to see Sunderland outbid a number of their Premier League rivals to land a player who had recently been playing for England.

 

[Bluedell 5,679]

Rodwell looked a really good player before he went to Sunderland.

[Rousseau 10,823]

Promising player, but I think his value was inflated by City paying so much for him, in terms of fee and wages. Sunderland had to offer a relatively high sum, but he wasn't worth it. 

 

Although, the main trouble was injury; if he was a mainstay in the side, Sunderland would've been better off.

 

They're in a really troubling situation.

[Uilleam 5,960]

Rodwell to leave his sick bed,  and arrive Lazarus like at fhilthfootballclub, according to today's Guardian;

 

Finally, some good news for Sunderland – Jack Rodwell and his colossal wage packet are set to depart in January, with rasellik the likely destination.

 

£70K per wk may cause some dressing room unrest; as may a huge signing on fee. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jan/17/football-transfer-rumours-milans-andre-silva-to-wolves-or-swansea

[craig 5,199]

No way will they pay him that kind of money.  They will head for financial Armageddon if they do.  They will be taking a punt that they will, at some point, be able to sell him on.  No guarantee given his injury history and his seeming lack of enthusiasm for the game.

[Gazza_8 233]

Rodwell looked a really good player before he went to Sunderland.

He hardly kicked a ball for Man City. He left Everton far too early in his career and his career has come to a complete standstill.