So long-suffering Sunderland fans have had to accept the loss of another striker. As if the departure of Darren Bent in January was not hard enough to take. All those break-up songs cannot hide the sense of betrayal.

We get used to these stars, believing naively that pulling on a Sunderland shirt, playing well, leading the line and scoring goals, means as much to them as it would do to us. I was in shock after reflecting on the defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, when our youngest son said Gyan had gone out on loan. The Daily Telegraph interprets this as a betrayal and I quote some of Luke Edwards’ excellent article below. But look a bit deeper and there may be more going on.

Some people, including Steve Bruce are just interpreting this as a departure for financial reasons. Gyan appears to be quadrupling his wages, but after a certain amount, how much money do you need, unless you are considering buying a third world country?

First, we should not underestimate what role the departure of his friend and fellow Ghanaian international John Mensah will have played. When you feel alone in a northern outpost of the UK, it is good to have a fellow national around. Secondly, he seems to be a man of faith, and that context is also important.

I know fans will criticise Gyan’s behaviour as I do, but I had a formative conversation with former Sunderland assistant manager Dave Merrington who told me that he had been offered the Sunderland manager’s job after the departure of Jimmy Adamson to Leeds in the late 1970s – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sunderland_A.F.C._managers - he told me that at the time that he felt he missed his church fellowship in Lancashire too much, but admitted later that he regretted the decision. We may never know if that was a factor for Gyan, probably unlikely since he is moving to the Middle East.

Whatever the reason, he has gone, and may not be back. Gyan at his best is a gifted player, we remember his great November week when we drew at Spurs and won 3-0 at Chelsea, when he put in his best performances for the club. Gyan has clearly been out of sorts since coming back from injury in May. Niall Quinn has left the door open for him to return, but Bruce may well need some convincing.

So this will have unsettled the side further, after what appeared to be a fairly routine Chelsea win at the SSOL at the weekend. John Terry opened the scoring in the 18th minute, with a scruffy goal following some untidy defending by the home side. Sturridge increased the lead with an astonishing back heel early in the second half before a neat but late Ji Dong-Won reply. The result was disappointing, but there were chances, 7 shots on target. However, the crowd figure of less than 37,000 does not bode well.

We are starting the season with a winless run, which we normally would reserve for the winter. The team needs to get out of the slump with a win and some goals in the clash with Stoke City on Sunday. I quote Luke Edwards’ great Daily Telegraph article below:

Asamoah Gyan's departure leaves Sunderland manager Steve Bruce stunned and short of goals

Nothing hurts quite like a betrayal. The lies, the deceit, the loss of trust, respect and affection. Asamoah Gyan has chosen to leave Sunderland, but he has betrayed Steve Bruce.

The departure of the Ghana international just hours before Sunderland’s 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea, initially on a season’s loan to Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates, has left a gaping hole in Bruce’s squad and a similar sized one in the heart of the manager who fought so hard to sign him for a club record £13 million a little over 12 months ago.

Bruce is not naive enough to believe footballers are driven by loyalty. He fully understands ambition, but his definition focuses on the desire to be the best you can be, not money.

They are from different generations, different backgrounds, different worlds even, but Bruce is angry because he cannot understand why Gyan – a person he liked and a player he admired – could not only lie to him about wanting to stay at Sunderland, but that he moved, aged just 25, to earn more money playing football in front of a few hundred fans in Abu Dhabi.

“Football leaves a bad taste in your mouth sometimes,” said Bruce, whose side have yet to win this season. “I can’t understand someone’s logic: Africa’s player of the year, a hero in his country, to leave the biggest stage in the world to go and play in the Emirates …

“Everybody has got ambitions. If it had been Real Madrid – and I spat out my porridge the day that was mentioned – then we’d understand. I can fully understand if people want to go and play for Chelsea or Manchester United and get to the top of the tree in your profession.

“That’s what everyone is about. Whether you’re a journalist or a road sweeper, you want to get the best out of yourself. People want to leave for ambition but it baffles me that today, the way it is, and we have to just submit to it.

“I met him on Thursday, with his agent, and shook his hand. We talked for half an hour and he said he wanted to stay. Then it’s transpired that he’s talking to this, that and the other and wants to leave to go to the UAE. I don’t think I had a choice when someone is adamant he wants to leave.”

Although Nicklas Bendtner’s arrival on loan from Arsenal will lessen the sense of loss, Sunderland have scored just two goals in five games in all competitions and one of those was an injury-time consolation here.
©Lars J.S. Knutsen

Tweet

Follow ESPNsoccernet's Football Correspondents on Twitter