Sunderland have been in decline for years; dealing more in atrophy than any trophy.
Upon the confirming of their relegation, one Sunderland fan beautifully summed up the farce the club has become with a tweetstorm that betrayed the whips and scorns of relying on Wabi Kahzri.
Agreeing to tweet one ridiculous anecdote from Sunderland's recent history for every favourite that tweet received, he found himself reflecting on the absurd situation in having enough material to match the 1,000-plus responses.
We assumed that it was as pithy a summary of the club's dysfunction as we were ever likely to read, but the recollections of a fan are nothing compared to the actual actions of the club. They have flirted with relegation for years now, yet the club are not best prepared for live in the Championship.
A report in the Daily Mail today claims that the club renegotiated Jermain Defoe's contract last year, and now Defoe - their one success story of late, with Defoe's form at Sunderland forcing his way back into the England squad - now allowed to leave the club on a free transfer. This is despite the fact that contract does not expire until 2019.
Given how utterly useless almost all of Sunderland's players have been this season, clubs won't exactly be kicking down doors to shower Sunderland in cash for the services of their merry band of lamentables. Defoe is one of their very few bankable assets, so to lose him for nothing is careless to the point of mismanagement.
One player they won't be getting rid of anytime soon is Jack Rodwell. The midfielder, formerly of Everton and Man City, and has made just 42 starts. The first 39 of those was blemished with a miserable run in which he failed to actually win a game. In spite of that, Rodwell will be one of the best-paid players in the Championship next season: while most players will have their wages cut as a result of a relegation clause lurking in their contracts, Rodwell's deal has no such agreement: meaning he will receive £60,000 per week in the second-tier next year.
We doubt Sunderland will be back in the Premier League anytime soon.
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