To the fans of FC Girondins

Congratulations on your Ligue 1 Championship. I was pleased to see Lyon's long run of titles broken (otherwise the league becomes boring), especially by a team that had not won a title for 10 years.

This is why as a Sunderland fan (historically one of the great teams of English football), I have been very disappointed by comments made by certain people at Bordeaux that Marouane Chamakh "deserves better" than to play for a "small club".

Like Bordeuax, Sunderland have won the Championship 6 times, FA Cup twice, have a 50,000 capacity stadium (2008/09 average attendance 40,000 compared to 27,000 for Bordeaux), one of the finest training facilities in Europe, is managed by a former captain of Manchester United and is backed by a wealthy businessman.

Our football club is recognised all over England as having some of the most passionate fans in the country. As such, to hear the comments made by the manager and chairman of Bordeaux seems unfair, incorrect and most importantly highly disrespectful.

The history of FC Girodins and SAFC sound similar and both are followed by passionate fans. For the sake of upholding the good name of FC Girondins, please ask your manager and Chairman to think more carefully in the future before they insult our club, especially if they are unprofessional enough to conduct all their business through the newspapers.

Good luck next season in retaining your title.

well good luck and keep doing a great job