Niall Quinn reveals £100m gamble to make Sunderland a top ten side

Niall Quinn has revealed the extraordinary £100million gamble Sunderland are taking to reach the Premier League top ten.

Owner Ellis Short is bankrolling a spectacular spending splurge with his own cash – as the club admit they are “living beyond their means” for a couple of seasons to relaunch the club in the big time.

The pressure is now on for Steve Bruce and Sunderland’s players to deliver on Short’s aim – because questions will be raised as to how long tycoon Short will keep supporting their huge overspend.

Figures released yesterday show the huge punt smaller club’s like Sunderland have to make to compete in the top flight.

Their wage bill soared by £12 million to £50 million in the year to July 31, 2009. But turnover was only £64.6 million, meaning 78pc of all income goes on player wages... the same as Portsmouth.

Sunderland made a £26 million loss last season, and expect to lose the same this season too.

For now Short is putting his own fortune into the club in hard cash, not loans, meaning it can’t be taken back out – underlining his amazing level of commitment.

The club now need to up their earnings, including increasing crowds, and will consider selling naming rights for the Stadium of Light. They are also looking for a new shirt sponsor to take over from BoyleSports.

Quinn says Short is ready to put more money in to chase the dream adding:  “Ellis' bought Turner and Cattermole this year – cash. We did a great discount deal on both players. We put cash on the table.

“The process will continue once he feels we are being diligent. The aim, our aim, his aim and it's a realistic aim is to be a top ten Premier League club year in, year out.

“We thought at one stage this year, it looked as if it was on. It could be if we go on a phenomenal run but the reality is this one, for whatever reason - and injuries have played a part. We still have a good squad.”

Quinn has revealed that Short has never interfered with his “footballing decisions” including Bruce’s future during the 14 game run without a win recently, or who to buy.

Quinn said: “After five minutes against Bolton the other night our Crazy Corner started singing Steve Bruce's name and Ellis went 'we're right to have this guy, aren't we?' and I said, 'yeah, you're dead right.' He has never once said 'have we got the right guy?”

Short, from Kansas but based in London, travels to games in the train, and has never given an interview. He made his fortune in the City and his assets include a bank and a castle in Scotland, but has been a football fan for more than a decade.

He is semi retired, looks after his wealth, which is so great his Sunderland investment does not dent his fortune. He bought the club at a knockdown price from the Irish Drumaville group, and hopes to make it worth many times his original investment.

Ironically chairman Quinn also yesterday called for wage restraint among Premier League clubs, with levels agreed before a season starts, and sanctions if club’s over spend.

Quinn also said he supported the UEFA Financial Fair Play Initiative that requires clubs to break even in 2012-13 – meaning Sunderland would have to live without Short's investment in coming seasons.

MirrorFootball also quizzed Quinn and chief executive Steve Walton on a number of other issues:

On Ellis Short finally “getting” Sunderland:

Walton: “Ellis said to me the other day that he didn’t really get the Sunderland thing until he was here for the Chelsea game on the last day of last season. He couldn’t get his head around the fact that we’d just got beat and hung on to the Premier League by the skin of our teeth, yet you’d think we’d won the Champions League with the way the supporters were dancing in the street. He didn’t get it until that moment.”

Quinn: “I drove Ellis up to the city centre an hour-and-a-half after the game and said, ‘I’ve got to show you this to give you an idea of what I’m on about’. We drove through, and they were literally dancing in the streets because Newcastle had been relegated. We drove through and he said, ‘This Sunderland is one crazy, son-of-a-bitch club’. That’s exactly what it is, welcome to Sunderland.”

On sky high Premier League player wages, and how to control them:

Quinn: “I’m not discounting a salary cap; I think some sort of disclosure of where your wages are at, prior to the year ahead. At least then every club is telling the chairman of the Prem this is where we hope to be, this is our business plan, so nobody has gone off the wall on their own. And if it looks excessive, the chairman should have the power to say that we as a group are not happy.

“The chairman of the PL should have the power to say: be careful, you are coming into a red area here. Maybe let them do it one year, but if you do it for the third year in the row you are docked points and you are out of here.”

Quinn on his own future as Sunderland chairman:

“If we go down I might sack myself! I was hoping that this would be the 4th year that we would be a top ten club, so I feel we haven’t quite got there yet. When my message gets tired, regardless of where we are finishing, and I hope I hear it a few weeks before it happens, then that’ll be the time.

“If my message is tired and people say we’ve listened to Niall Quinn for years now and it hasn’t got any better then I’ll question my position. But for the moment I think Ellis is comfortable with me, Steve Bruce is comfortable with me, I’m comfortable with the set up. You feel pressure because you put your neck on the block. You say follow our way and this is how it’s going to work.”

On Ellis Short’s backing for Steve Bruce:

Quinn: “After five minutes against Bolton the other night our Crazy Corner started singing Steve Bruce's name and Ellis went `we're right to have this guy, aren't we?' and I said, `yeah, you're dead right.' He has never once said `have we got the right guy?” 

On selling Stadium of Light naming rights:

Walton: “The naming rights issue is an extremely emotive thing. It would only be done if it was completely right for the business. We’d only do it if it worked and didn’t take anything away. There have been a couple of things in that kind of area we have been looking at.  It doesn’t necessarily carry the same emotion because it’s a relatively new stadium, it’s only 12 years old. If it was say, ‘The Stadium of Light, powered by somebody or other’, and the money was right, we might well do something like that.

On losing their shirt sponsor:

Quinn: “I’ve spoken to the chief executive of Boylesports recently, and Boylesports would prefer it if we found somebody else. Their business has changed and they’re going to go completely online with their advertising and PR. They’re also feeling the pinch like the rest of Ireland. They’ve been a real good friend of ours, and we have a timeframe where we’ll know by the end of the season exactly where we’re going.”