Why are people so surprised?

[KieronDRFC]

Less than a week ago he said the following.

"But if you do well here then you'll earn a lot more money at a bigger club two or three years down the line.”

He openly told his players we were a stepping stone to a good career elsewhere so why would he feel any different?

And to be honest I don’t blame him. He worked a miracle last season and the owners repay him by giving him a mid table budget and dismantle a fantastic team.

Expecting him to perform a miracle yet again.

Good luck Grant, thank you for a fantastic season and I wish you well.

[Herbert Anchovy]

You're missing the point. The issue is he's going to a club with virtually no budget!!!

[PDX_Rover]

You know f**k all about the budget.

[KieronDRFC]

Their standard of squad vs ours? I know who I’d rather manage. We’ve barely got 11 players.

[DonnyOsmond]

Their standard of squad vs ours? I know who I’d rather manage. We’ve barely got 11 players.

That is his doing, you know?

[since-1969]

You're missing the point. The issue is he's going to a club with virtually no budget!!!

I know it’s unbelievable

[Herbert Anchovy]

Their standard of squad vs ours? I know who I’d rather manage. We’ve barely got 11 players.

You do know what’s happening at Hull City don’t you?

[Campsall rover]

Less than a week ago he said the following.

"But if you do well here then you'll earn a lot more money at a bigger club two or three years down the line.”

He openly told his players we were a stepping stone to a good career elsewhere so why would he feel any different?

And to be honest I don’t blame him. He worked a miracle last season and the owners repay him by giving him a mid table budget and dismantle a fantastic team.

Expecting him to perform a miracle yet again.

Good luck Grant, thank you for a fantastic season and I wish you well.

You know what our budget is then do you? No you don’t. It Was 6th highest last season and I would imagine similar this season. But neither you or i know what it is.
Another post that wants to put our club in financial trouble. Spend spend, spend.
Bolton, Bury etc etc etc. That’s what you want. Then you really will have something to moan about.

[KieronDRFC]

Retaining a starting 11 that finished 6th last season isn’t much to ask for on a “top 6 budget”. We’re losing out to teams like fleetwood and scunny, we haven’t got a top 6 budget at all.

[MachoMadness]

We "lost out" to those teams because of McCann's hard-line negotiating stance, though. That was nothing to do with the board. The money was there, McCann chose not to spend it.

[KieronDRFC]

Their standard of squad vs ours? I know who I’d rather manage. We’ve barely got 11 players.

That is his doing, you know?

You believe that? We wasn't willing to pay the going rate to retain a decent league one player.

[Red wizard]

I don't think we have a top 10 budget this season. I think the budget has got smaller each season since we got relegated.

[KieronDRFC]

I don't think we have a top 10 budget this season. I think the budget has got smaller each season since we got relegated.

I agree, unfortunately.

[MachoMadness]

Considering we paid a fee for a highly regarded left back literally this week, yeah info believe it.

[Herbert Anchovy]

Their standard of squad vs ours? I know who I’d rather manage. We’ve barely got 11 players.

That is his doing, you know?

You believe that? We wasn't willing to pay the going rate to retain a decent league one player.

You don’t actually know though do you? You’re guessing. Now, go and read about what’s happening at Hull City and tell us again if we should be surprised

[KieronDRFC]

Considering we paid a fee for a highly regarded left back literally this week, yeah info believe it.

I haven’t seen one comment from a Sunderland fan expressing their disappointment in his departure. We also had a perfectly good left back.

[Red wizard]

Yep we have lost to many players for it not to be true. Let's see who we sign this summer. There should be a lot of spare wages atm given the players who have gone. I'm betting we get cheaper options. And that's fine by me but just tell us I stead of saying we have a top league one budget.

[Chris Black come back]

New manager might see out situation as being quite attractive. No solid dressing room to take on, ability to build up his own squad, potential to get very decent cash for Marquis and Whiteman to fund a major acquisition programme.

[KieronDRFC]

Their standard of squad vs ours? I know who I’d rather manage. We’ve barely got 11 players.

That is his doing, you know?

You believe that? We wasn't willing to pay the going rate to retain a decent league one player.

You don’t actually know though do you? You’re guessing. Now, go and read about what’s happening at Hull City and tell us again if we should be surprised

That’s what makes it so disappointing, the fact that if we had retained last seasons players and added a couple to it he would have stayed. We made the decision easy for him by expecting him to perform another miracle to get us in the top 6 again.

[MachoMadness]

Considering we paid a fee for a highly regarded left back literally this week, yeah info believe it.

I haven’t seen one comment from a Sunderland fan expressing their disappointment in his departure. We also had a perfectly good left back.

He played 30-odd games for one of the best teams in the division last season. He's won promotion from this league twice. Andrew was very good towards the end of the season but he has nowhere near the track record James has. The idea you're pushing that he's the cheap option makes no sense.

[KieronDRFC]

Considering we paid a fee for a highly regarded left back literally this week, yeah info believe it.

I haven’t seen one comment from a Sunderland fan expressing their disappointment in his departure. We also had a perfectly good left back.

He played 30-odd games for one of the best teams in the division last season. He's won promotion from this league twice. Andrew was very good towards the end of the season but he has nowhere near the track record James has. The idea you're pushing that he's the cheap option makes no sense.

I’m not pushing anything just stating a fact.

[donny dave]

I think We have a great board but God why do We go Through this every time just go for a target and do what Hull did.
We do not have time to Danny aabout

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Andy butler doesnt say anything in his tweet, but read what you want into it.

[sha66y]

Retaining a starting 11 that finished 6th last season isn’t much to ask for on a “top 6 budget”. We’re losing out to teams like fleetwood and scunny, we haven’t got a top 6 budget at all.

Does it matter, really?
Are we really losing out to scunny and Fleetwood, really?

I’m sure when the season begins in earnest the team will look quite healthy and raring to go....

a top 6 budget is only as good as the players it signs...

[eastender]

I'd love to hear what GM has to say to Jarrod Bowen .

Will it be, go on son you've earned the right to have a crack at the Prem , when Everton come calling.

Or will it be the Loyalty , commitment speech. 

[Lifelong supporter]

Less than a week ago he said the following.

"But if you do well here then you'll earn a lot more money at a bigger club two or three years down the line.”

He openly told his players we were a stepping stone to a good career elsewhere so why would he feel any different?

And to be honest I don’t blame him. He worked a miracle last season and the owners repay him by giving him a mid table budget and dismantle a fantastic team.

Expecting him to perform a miracle yet again.

Good luck Grant, thank you for a fantastic season and I wish you well.

You know what our budget is then do you? No you don’t. It Was 6th highest last season and I would imagine similar this season. But neither you or i know what it is.
Another post that wants to put our club in financial trouble. Spend spend, spend.
Bolton, Bury etc etc etc. That’s what you want. Then you really will have something to moan about.

No it wasn't.
Even the club and SM didn't make that claim.
Think you're mixing it up with an earlier season.

[Michael Shaw]

The board keep saying that they want to make the club self-sufficient, fact. As a private company we have no way of proving whether we have a top 6 budget or not, but equally why should we just believe what we are told. We could afford Rowe and Butler for years, and yet with the same budget, now we can't afford them. Something doesn't add up.

[sedwardsdrfc]

More a case of differing valuations with Rowe and Butler i think. Personally i was behind the transfers he was doing this year i thought we'd get better in and have a squad in his mould more than last season. Now we're in a bad position though.

Why can we have a list of say 5 managers who we keep tabs on should something like this happen? could speed up recruitment so much. Other clubs will do it and every other month or quarter they'll review the shortlist and update it if someone else becomes available or loses form. We should really do that the last two managers to leave us have shown we should always expect this and be able to act meaningfully

[Campsall rover]

The board keep saying that they want to make the club self-sufficient, fact. As a private company we have no way of proving whether we have a top 6 budget or not, but equally why should we just believe what we are told. We could afford Rowe and Butler for years, and yet with the same budget, now we can't afford them. Something doesn't add up.

Butts and Rowe were asking for more money.
So we should just pay what anybody asks. Bankruptcy here we come. Get real please.

[Michael Shaw]

You make the assumption that Rowe and Butts were asking for significant payrises. We don't know.
Maybe they only wanted a cost of living rises because we are not told what increases they wanted, so why assume bankruptcy?
It's an unfair assumption to make.