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Dear Roker Report,
Driving home from Villa Park, our conversation was one for our future. The last ten minutes or so — you don’t script it.
Losing, drawing, should’ve won, then lost, but Aston Villa are a model Sunderland can emulate.
Not so long ago, Villa were in the Championship. They got promoted and for the first couple of years survived but also built a foundation to progress. Now they’re in a European semi-final and in a Champions League position within a decade.
Survival was always our aim this season — anything
else is a bonus and next season, we carry on building.
Like Villa, we have a good fan base and stadium. With more shrewd signings, we can continue the dream as to be honest, we’re not far off the top six as it stands. However, we can’t take backward steps in selling our assets.
Mark
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Mark. Thank you for your letter.
The point you raise about Aston Villa being the kind of club that Sunderland should try to emulate is very valid — and perhaps even more so after Sunday’s game.
Of all the teams currently in the Premier League’s top six, I admire them the most. Why? Because they’re somewhat comparable in stature and history to ourselves; they’ve got a bit of everything as a team and Unai Emery is one of the shrewdest and most effective managers around, getting the absolute maximum out of the resources at his disposal and keeping Villa competitive season after season.
That’s most definitely something from which we can take some cues and although Sunday’s loss was frustrating, it ought to be a worthwhile exercise in the long term.
Dear Roker Report,
I’m sure I’m far from alone in my thinking regarding the future of our young players — and if we believe the hype, Brian Brobbey is already gone along with Noah Sadiki, Robin Roefs and a few others.
It never seems to stop. I get that it’s in some ways a positive thing, as it shows we’re being taken seriously, but there is the other side of the coin.
Since in this region, football is everything, we treat our players as heroes and they have a certain standing that does not happen in other regions. If they believe the hype, they could well decide they want to go, and let’s be honest, what can stop them if they do? They may well bomb elsewhere (as do the vast majority of players once they leave this club), but if they do go, where do we actually find replacements?
It’s fine knowing we have a brilliant scouting system, but Régis Le Bris has performed miracles in knitting this squad together and he might not be able to repeat with five or six new players next season if we sell the spine of the team.
As I mentioned, if a player wants away, there’s little or nothing a club can do to hold onto him, but please let’s not hasten such moves.
What we should all be hoping is that we keep our first-teamers and add even more quality and that can take us to the next stage. As fans, we’ve waited decades for genuine hope and we need to also hope the players don’t get caught up in the carousel of fantasy football.
Peter Milton
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Peter. Thank you for getting in touch.
It’s the classic scenario, isn’t it?
Phrases such as “feeder club” and “stepping stone” never seem to be far from the discussion when we talk about Sunderland’s chances of retaining our key players for 2026/2027 and possibly beyond, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of rumours and speculation about the players you mentioned once the season is done and dusted.
My view of the situation is this: I want Sunderland to fight as strongly as possible in order to keep our key men in the fold and I also hope they would see the appeal of staying on Wearside for as long as possible, but I also accept that there’s a pecking order in world football and that if clubs with greater resources than ourselves come knocking, it’s always going to be hard to resist the urge to sell.
This isn’t a situation in which we alone find ourselves, and I do feel that those making the decisions on transfers have earned our trust. If 2025/2026 has told us anything, it’s that Sunderland is a very attractive destination for potential signings — and that’s a real ace card for us.
