Another Take: Sunderland and Survival

I've had quite enough. Ever since Djibril Cisse's season-long loan move to Sunderland from French club Marseille, I've seen numerous media outlets, bloggers, and other writers on this site asking the question of whether manager Roy Keane and the rest of the Sunderland staff are looking to "buy" Premier League survival.

Excuse me? Really now, is this question actually being posed? I can't help but be dismayed by such questions and subsequent comments, because they seem to allude to Sunderland's recent spending as if this were something that had never occurred before.

Not every team can follow Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth in going from 17th place one season, to 9th place the next with less than £5 million spent thanks to the cheap/free signings of the likes of Nwankwo Kanu, Sol Campbell, and David James.

And they aren't the first team to spend after managing survival in the previous season, as West Ham United won their battle for Premier League survival in the 2006-2007 season on the penultimate day, to then purchase a host of impressive (and expensive!) players including Freddie Ljungberg, Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer, Scott Parker, and Matthew Upson among others.

And it has also been proven in recent times that despite having a strong first season after immediately returning to the Premier League, that a failure to spend money or adequately attract quality players can send you back down to the Championship in the Sophomore Slump. Reading proved it in this past season, having gone from an 8th place finish to 18th after spending only £3.5 million in the summer and failing to replace a key player in Steve Sidwell. So, why is all this negative criticism being leveled at Roy Keane, Sunderland, and owner Niall Quinn?

Alternatively, is it simply because Sunderland have the money and the capability to spend it that are making the other mid-table finishers look over their shoulders? We've all heard the over-used talk of how relegation from the Premier League is the "£30 million (or more!) plunge," so should anyone be leveling criticism at a wealthy owner investing in his team?

More importantly, however, is that Keane seems to be spending his money well. I believe that Cisse, El Hadji Diof, Pascal Chimbonda, and Anton Ferdinand (once his move is finalized) will all prove to add a significant amount of goals and guile to the Sunderland squad during this next season.

The signing of Steed Malbranque will add more experience to the squad, and my only question mark is over the impact of David Healy, particularly with the talk of the Black Cats interest in Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy.

Personally, I applaud Roy Keane and the rest of the Sunderland backroom staff, and wish them a successful season. I think that they have brought not only the quality necessary to survive into their squad, but also the quality necessary to improve on their performances last season.

In addition, I can't help but feel that the comments of the team "buying" Premier League survival are simply high-emotions of those teams unable to attract quality players the likes of Cisse themselves. Expect to see a few surprise fixture results involving the Black Cats this season.