10 Things We Learned From Sunderland Til I Die Season 2
8. The Importance Of A Club’s Culture
For too many years Sunderland have been more Crazy Gang than Culture Club. A succession of poor appointments both on and off the pitch have meant that the club from academy to boardroom is brimming with people happy to collect a pay cheque and further deplete club resources without truly contributing to the cause.
The shadow of administrations and squads gone by, looms large over the current incarnation of the club, with Stewart Donald, and Charlie Methven in particular, ruing the apathetic culture that allowed the club to sleepwalk through consecutive relegations. Methven cites the custom of, ‘sending a cheque at the end of each month to Florida’, symbolising the rampant lack of accountability at the club. Donald throughout expresses the need to pull in the same direction, improve the club’s spirit and build towards something etc.
However, aside from parting ways with one non-believing staff member, the challenge of shifting the culture of the club from lethargy to togetherness appears to be ongoing.
As Stewart Donald paid well over value for Will Grigg, Sunderland continue to pay the similarly hefty price for years of mismanagement.