James Copley has been speaking on The Roar podcast about the area holding Sunderland back and the impact Kristjaan Speakman has made.
It’s safe to say that since Lee Johnson’s sacking, it has been a less than enjoyable time for Sunderland fans and players, as they’re yet to win since, despite the arrival of new boss Alex Neil, while they also saw their squad weakened and made more threadbare in January, losing Denver Hume, Tom Flanagan and Aiden O’Brien.
Will Alex Neil get Sunderland promoted?
Yes!
No!
It’s not just what’s happening on the pitch impacting results and performances, but the circus that’s emerged off it, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus recently revealing he actually only owns 41% of the club, while former ownership group Madrox still have a majority shareholding of the Black Cats.
Copley believes that poor business in January is what’s led Sunderland to this point, although there are many other factors.
He said: “I’ve not spoken to him ever in my life but I would hazard a guess that Kristjaan Speakman probably would have wanted to keep Hume and Flanagan at the club in terms of numbers and then for whatever reason, they’ve gone.
“I don’t think that’s the ideal situation in his mind, and I don’t think the squad depth is ideal in his mind, either, but I think you’ve got to follow the money in a sense.
“That’s not to say that Sunderland aren’t being funded, but it goes back to the issue of ownership and that shareholding issue I think is holding the club back, in my opinion.”
TIF Thoughts on Sunderland’s situation…
Given that Sunderland lost the likes of Flanagan – who featured in 28 games this season – on Deadline Day and responded by bringing in midfielder Jay Matete, who could yet be a shrewd piece of business, the other recruit was a 39-year-old Jermain Defoe, who was a free agent and had played nine minutes of football this season before joining.
It doesn’t appear to be smart business by Sunderland and if what Copley said is true that they had to be following the money when it came to their transfer window activity, it may raise alarm bells once again about how the club is being run.
In other news: ‘Thankfully’ – Echo journalist shares potential ‘big’ injury boost for Sunderland