The King Is Dead, Long Live The King

Kenwyne Jones our “Caribbean King” has said his farewells today and moved on to pastures new, reuniting himself with the Sunderland B team in the Potteries. Good luck at Stoke City big Ken.

I realise many fans are up in arms over the decision to sell Jones but the fact of the matter is; he is replaceable. I don’t necessarily mean like for like but in terms of quality, there are better players out there. Players who will come in and help add a new dimension to the side as opposed to the kick and punt option we were accustomed to when Jones was leading the line. In the three seasons he’s been at the club we’ve battled relegation twice and finished (for us) a rather respectable 13th place. He’s never really set the world alight and at the back end of last season I felt he was extremely frustrating to watch. He was finding it difficult to control the ball, half-attempting to win headers here and there and seemed more intent on ploughing up the football pitch with his JCB-like boots as opposed to putting his foot through the ball and hitting the target.

His goal return has been sufficient to keep us in the Premier League but I think our over-reliance on Jones at times has actually led to our downfall. When we went on our what seemed like a neverending winless run last season it took a Mr. Frazier Campbell to step up to the plate and really put in some classy displays to get us back to winning ways. I’m not saying Campbell is the answer but his attitude eventually saw him displace Kenwyne from the side and in doing so added a whole new state of play to the Sunderland team. I’d like to think we can develop a pacey, attack-minded formation, offering lots of movement in the final third.

I firmly believe Bruce will bring in some quality signings to put our minds at rest. Along with Quinny and Short he’s a very ambitious man and immature ‘mag’ references aside only wants what’s best for the club. I urge fans to sit back and see how the transfer window unfolds before making a hastey reaction which could be detremental to the teams performance this coming Saturday. It’s the first game of the season and I for one am itching to get into the ground and behind the lads. They need all the support they can get and it’s up to us as the fans to roar them on to Victory against Birmingham City.

Heads up…Haway the lads!!!