John Wilson says…
We don’t know the circumstances in which Alan Browne came out with the comments he did, and I doubt whether he sought out the media to make a statement.
He was asked a question about the situation regarding the Championship squad and their feelings, and I don’t think he could’ve answered it any more honestly or fairly than he did. Regardless of how many games he played for us (he left Preston after many years as he thought Sunderland offered him a better chance of playing in the Premier League), he was simply
stating the obvious for me: that some players will feel disappointed and a little let down.
That’s human nature. Nobody is going to turn around and say “Of course I didn’t expect to get a chance in the Premier League”. He accepted the path Sunderland have taken, and he recognises our intent. There’s no sour grapes — he’s just saying he feels disappointed.
I think we all know that it was the most sensible and obvious path to take. We have to give this season our best shot and sentimentality can’t come into it. I think the players understand this, but they’re perfectly entitled to feel dejected at the same time.
It could mean that every team who gets promoted in the future could follow our template and jettison almost their entire Championship squad upon promotion. Of course players should want to fight for their place, but some haven’t been given the chance.
That’s the harshness of football. I’m fully behind our strategy and management, but I accept Browne’s frustration.
Joseph Tulip says…
At least Alan Browne has been honest here, and it’s the first real insight we’ve had into the true feelings of one of last season’s players who’ve been deemed surplus to requirements.
Whilst Browne stated that he accepts the club’s approach to the challenge of Premier League survival and has wished us well, I can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment in his comments overall.
Browne may be on loan to Middlesbrough, but he remains a Sunderland player and you’d expect him to tow the party line and keep his true feelings of disappointment private for now.
Who knows — perhaps other players in a similar position, such as Patrick Roberts might get asked about Browne’s comments and the whole situation could create a little bit of unwanted negativity.
Nic Wiseman says…
There’s been much hand-wringing among the Sunderland fan base about how the players who got us promoted are being cast aside for the most part.
You’d naturally expect any player to be disappointed to be told he has no future at the club, but let’s face it: Alan Browne wasn’t one of the most prominent players from last season.
At best, you could say he was a bit-part player last term, so if he was only making up the numbers in a Championship season, it’s not too much of a surprise to see him being shipped out now we’ve been promoted.
The club has stated that it’s not in the Premier League to make up the numbers, and we’ve shown commendable ambition with our summer recruits.
Football is a brutal business at the top and if Sunderland is to make a decent fist of it, we need higher quality players. It’s questionable as to whether Browne would still be at the club had we not got promoted, but he has the honesty to say he can see why decisions were made. And if he were the sporting director, could he honestly say he’d keep himself?
