HATCHET MAN: Laurent Blanc insists Sunderland aren't a big club and it is hard to argue with him

Laurent Blanc was a classy defender and appears to know what he is talking about as a boss too. The Bordeaux coach insists he will not sell Marouane Chamakh to Sunderland because they are not a big club. Given their yo-yo existence over recent years and last season’s desperate flirtation with relegation it is hard to argue with him. Steve Bruce looks like he has got a bit of money to spend, but then so did Roy Keane and look where that got him. PS. Whether Blanc is right to insist Chamakh is good enough to attract a big club is another matter. The striker is 25 already but is by no means the finished article, as these examples show. Click here, here and here...