Fan Letters: Was there more to it than meets the eye with Jack Clarke’s route out of Sunderland?
Dear Roker Report,
The time must now surely have come for Mr Speakman to go asap. As well as appearing to have an unhealthy influence on our young owner, this self styled director of football has, quite frankly, been an absolute disaster.
The warning lights were flashing when Alex Neil jumped ship because he couldn’t accept Speakman’s crazy “kids only” project. The brilliant Tony Mowbray was shown the door hours after for expressing similar reservations. Michael Beale (let’s not say anymore about him and the crazy pay off he went with) came and went. Then we had the humiliating experience of being snubbed by
three potential new managers who quickly realised they weren’t going to win anything with Speakman running the show. Now we have the seemingly likeable Regis Le Bris who guided Lorient to relegation last season and was reportedly about to be sacked before Speakman came calling with compensation for his services that the French club must have thought was like all their Christmases coming at once! Meanwhile, the once proud club they used to call “the Bank Of England” provided the unedifying spectacle of wallowing in football’s bargain basement recruiting free transfer rejects presumably no one else wanted. And Speakman continues the nightmare chasing new strikers with dubious records and absolutely no experience of English football. Then, oh yes, there is the tear jerking spectacle of selling our best player for a fee that must have left Ipswich unable to believe their luck. Let’s be honest here, the brutal fact is that as long as Speakman remains at the helm we face the prospect of League One again rather than the Premier League. Boy, oh boy, this is painful.
read more:
Jack Clarke and Kristjaan Speakman explain Ipswich Town decision as Sunderland exit confirmed
Jack Clarke has been confirmed as an Ipswich Town player, with Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman saying that the club respected his desire to play in the Premier League.
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Clarke has joined the newly-promoted side for an initial £15 million, which could rise to £20 million depending on performances. Sunderland also have a sell-on clause should Clarke move in future. Clarke had two years to run on his current contract and with a breakthrough on a new deal not deemed realistic, Sunderland opted to accept Ipswich’s bid.
“Jack is an incredibly gifted player, who has played an important role in our progress throughout the last three seasons,” Speakman said.
