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Dear Roker Report,

Is it just me, or do some of the pessimists who write here and call in to the radio talk shows remind me of the old ex-leper from Monty Python’s Life of Brian“Some people just can’t be pleased.”

Admittedly, KLD and Speakman have made mistakes and will no doubt make more – but who doesn’t in business, football or personal life? Some people seem so quick to react to their mistakes that they are blind to all the obvious successes and reasons for optimism.

What a start to the season. Three wins from three games, zero goals conceded, a new manager who is getting more impressive week by week and a young, hungry team that plays with passion, energy and love for the club. Add to that some positive developments off the pitch, such as investment in infrastructure and the Hummel connection, and these are certainly exciting times for Sunderland fans.

We are all sad to see Jack Clarke go, but it was a great pleasure to see Mundle take his chance and then some on Saturday. Maybe we could have gotten more money for Clarke, but maybe not – with no other offers the club had to make a decision and it was clear that Jack (and Ian Harte) had decided to go. Ultimately, the transfer and that of Ross Stewart last year is proof that the much maligned model works. We made a decent profit on both players, which hopefully has been and will be reinvested in the club.

So what more could the doomsayers want? Maybe they should rewatch our Netflix series to remind themselves how bad things really were before. I for one am delighted with where we are as a club and a team and look forward to seeing how this season pans out for Regis Le Bris’ Red and White Army. Long live the boys!

Michael Dugdale (Big Mac’s cousin)

Editor’s note (Gav): Nice to meet you Michael! Honestly I think some people are just addicted to drama/can’t admit when they’re wrong. Whatever happened to objectivity? Everything gets so tribal. Address things when they need to be addressed but be supportive too – I just assumed that was the natural attitude to anything SAFC. Usually you get labelled as a cocky person just for being a fan which is frankly ridiculous. I will never understand why there are people who think our owner is out to fleece the club when the evidence suggests otherwise. I know what a bad owner is, I’ve seen a few of them here and KLD is definitely not one. He’s trying to make this right.

Photo by Martin Swinney/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

I hope this message reaches Gav.

As I said, I have followed SAFC through thick and thin since 1967!

Anyway, on to the current team and squad, I thought Romaine Mundle looked more relaxed yesterday as the pressure of Clarke’s departure had gone and he put in a man of the match performance and scored a typical Clarke style goal.

Patrick Roberts is back in top form, Chris Rigg is an incredible talent at just 17 years old and Dennis Cirkin is arguably the best left-back in the championship!

We trust Patterson. And Alese seems to be much better at center back than he is at full back. O’Nien keeps proving people wrong and Trai Hume is Huuummmme!!

Although Mayenda scored two goals last week, we still need a striker. I’m not sure Dan Neil will be captain as he let the team down yesterday with two silly bookings. Alan Browne seems like a good addition and personally I’d make him captain.

And finally Regis Le Bris. Even if we had won 10-0, he would still want an improvement and say we should have had 15!

Onwards and upwards. I think now is a good time to be a Sunderland fan.

Gav, I’m on the same planet. Hopefully.

Philip Wright

Editor’s note (Gav): I’m actually fine, Philip! I’m glad we’re on the same planet. With the evidence right in front of us, it’s impossible to be anything but happy right now.

I like what you say about Regis, by the way – I like that he’s never really happy. I get carried away because I’m a fan, but he’s never too high and never too low. That’s a good attitude because when things don’t go the way we want them to, at some point he has to be the voice of reason.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

I am an avid listener of your podcasts and read them here regularly in the mornings (great work, by the way, guys – they have become a regular part of my daily routine!).

I don’t normally feel the need to write but I felt it was right to do so as some of the fan letters I have seen over the last few days have left me confused to say the least. I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and of course that is absolutely right. But somehow I have seen people, not just here but on social media, still making very negative statements and taking a defeatist attitude towards the club. I can only assume this is due to the sale of Clarke. Yes, of course I am disappointed that he has gone elsewhere and yes, the reported transfer fee is below what we fans would have expected for someone of Clarke’s calibre at this level – but we don’t know the full story and we never will. He is gone now and that chapter is closed.

Football is all about the present though. What we have is a young, hungry, extremely talented (and if I do say so myself, well-coached) group of lads competing for the Championship. There are literally so many positives about this team I don’t even know where to start. Patterson and that back four haven’t conceded a single league goal in their first three games. Seriously, we all know how good Ballard is but can you really justify changing that back four at the moment? And then there’s the midfield. Jobe looks like a dog with a bone – he’s come back and has already improved his game significantly in my eyes. Chris Rigg, at 17, is already way above the experienced midfielders in the Championship, Dan Neil is one of the top three midfielders in the league in my opinion and Alan Browne has come in and provided exactly what we’ve all been crying out for in midfield. Roberts has come back and looks like he has something to prove, Mundle is certainly talented and took his chance on Saturday and Mayenda obviously looks inexperienced but he has talent too. I suspect we have more firepower on the way too.

I could go on forever – there are a few more that probably deserve a mention. I read somewhere that this was our best league start since 1925, so my question to you is, am I missing the point or something? Personally, I couldn’t be happier with how the season has started. Yes, OK, we got beaten by Preston in the cup, but I honestly don’t even think about that anymore. Football is a results-oriented business, isn’t it? Can you ask for more than nine points, three clean sheets and seven goals, and win the probable league title as well?

Do I agree with everything Speakman has done? No, of course not. He made mistakes and I’m sure the next sporting director will too, but he is also the architect of a huge success for the club, whether people want to admit it or not.

As I said, please tell me if I’m wrong, but I believe football is about the present. We all know only too well how quickly things can go wrong and I am aware of that. However, at the moment I can safely say that I am delighted with how the season has started and I am very optimistic about how this season will continue. We can all dream, right?

Lewis B

Editor’s note (Gav): Thanks for listening to the pods and checking out the website, I really appreciate it! You’ve given a good summary of where we are now and to be honest I think the silent majority feel the same way about things. We can all sit together and address things we think this regime has done wrong but there’s no denying that this club is in a much better state now than it was when they took over.

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Dear Roker Report,

I write this a day after watching a great win over Burnley at the Stadium of Light, where a team of 11 (mostly young) lads put in a brilliant performance to secure a comfortable win over a team that dominated the league a couple of seasons ago, scoring 9 goals in their first two games. We went home with a fantastic 3 points at home, 3 wins in 3 games and 3 clean sheets to top it off.

So why am I reading fan letters where people are constantly complaining about Mr Speakman and the sale of Jack Clarke, instead of praising the team and management for one of our most successful starts to a season in a long time? The boy wanted to play in the Premier League and it’s not like other clubs are lining up to bid for his services.

I say to all the moaners and complainers: Enjoy the team in front of you, play good football and win games.

And to Jack Clarke: all the best at your new club and good luck for your future (unless you end up joining us one day!).

Tony Elliott

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Dear Roker Report,

I’m a huge fan of Le Bris so far. He feels like Klopp at his best, with a brilliant counter-pressing style. He also seems to have great people skills and builds team cohesion, courage and confidence.

Another subtle but interesting aspect of Le Bris is that he seems to be a fair and strict disciplinarian when necessary. Ba and Aouchiche were left out of the squad yesterday and if I remember correctly he hinted at a press conference that they might go, saying it was because of a bad attitude in training (although he put it more diplomatically). I really like that. It seems like some of the substitutes have had a pretty bad attitude and it’s time to change that.

This is possibly one of the few small weaknesses in the recruitment strategy of Speakman, Harvey and the others (although I am a big fan of KLD and Speakman in general). Sometimes it seems like they get it wrong when it comes to psychologically assessing a potential signing. Occasionally they bring in someone who looks good on paper but lacks determination, work ethic or willingness to train hard and improve. I hope they learn from any potential mistakes in this regard. I believe they will. KLD and Speakman seem to be competent people who are able to learn from their mistakes and improve their decision making. The future of the club looks bright as long as they are at the helm.

Daniel Ejstrup

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