After one good performance it is still far too early for me to be dishing out the "I told you so's" to those fans who doubted Quinn. After one good performance it is probably too early to be even thinking about saying it, too often the lads have risen hopes only to dash them.
And yet I AM optimistic and I AM feeling self-righteous and absolutely furious at every so called Sunderland fan who accused Quinn and his consortium of 'asset stripping' and all sorts of other nonsense.
I couldn't figure out at the time why so many fans were so quick to doubt Quinn, was it because his first actions weren't to hire O'Neil as manager and draft in Ronaldinho on a £50 million Irish dosh funded transfer?
Though I can guarantee one thing, should we pick up wins at Derby and Leeds under the mighty Keano they will be among the other 20,000 running eagerly back to the Stadium of Light to accept the mantle of 'best fans in the land'.
In Roy Keane I see a manager desperate for success, a man who has been involved in football at the highest level for many years and who has collected a number of important contacts along the way. His arrival immediately heightened Sunderland's stature and reputation in the game, and who knows how important that may prove to be in the future if Keane achieves the success he craves.
And success will come, as long as a club has finance it will slowly get better and better until it is in the top flight. A team cannot continue picking up quality players and staff without steadily improving. Now we have a manager who I genuinely believe will do a job at Sunderland and I was pleasantly surprised at the transfers he brought in.
But this poses a real selection headache now, especially in the middle of the park and up front. I wasn't too far off when I suggested some of these lads may need to head to the job centre. Now they really have to fight, not just for their place in the team but for their very careers. After all who would buy the likes of Danny Collins now?
This competition is long over due, excuses just won't cut it anymore, and I think it will be good for the team. It's a long season and despite our poor start there are still enough points for us to be promoted as champions comfortably breaking Readings record points total gained last year...
Rumour has it Quinn's plan centres around Sunderland drawing in big gates again, apparently he is planning to expand the Stadium of Light to 52,000 in the future. The revenue from full houses is integral to Quinn's plans for the club. Indeed, one of the first things he did upon taking over was to establish his 'Stronger Together' PR campaign.
See how the optimism slowly creeps back in? We have good players here now and we will continue to bring in good players until we get back to where we belong. However long that may take.
He and his consortium are making good on their commitment to us, putting forwards the cash and bringing in the names to make this club great again. But we must do the same for him, take another leap of faith for our club and get back to the Stadium of Light to cheer on a team with new determination, new optimism, and some new faces.
It won't be easy, it probably won't be this season and maybe not next but time, money, and determination are on our side. We're second bottom of the league for now, but in the long run my money is on Quinn. He has always been a gambler, let's get ourselves behind the new regime and prove he's backed a winner.
FTM
Regards,
Michael
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