Time to cut the apron strings?

Well so long as they do not have title aspirations they should be fine.

A second string United side wouldn't be bad, you know

Maybe try and coax Neville and Scholes out of retirement for one last final hurrah?

Now that's just being silly

. . . . and signing 'has-beens' taking the mickey for one last pay day is what the Skunks are renowned for

As a United fan, I can honestly say that I think Steve Bruce's willingness to give our players who didn't quite make it a second chance and take our youth players under his wing is brilliant for both clubs. For example, Sunderland will likely not challenge for the PL in the next 10 years, and Darron Gibson will likely never become a world class CM. However, Gibson is a very talented young player who will certainly be good enough for European football in a few seasons time. Players like this are who Sunderland need to build themselves up as a club. As for O'Shea and Brown, if Wes Brown hadn't picked up injuries early in his career which seriously stunted his development, he would certainly be where Vidic is now for us. SAF has on numerous occasions called Wes the best natural defender he's ever had. Clearly an extreme talent crippled by circumstance. O'Shea has more versatility than any other player I've ever seen (he's literally been used in every position from GK to CF!) and has never once put in a performance that could be considered a let down. Also a first choice for his country, and scores goals against the big teams. ( chip vs Liverpool ).

The young players we produce 9/10 go on to be PL class minimum and honestly what team in the PL last season wouldn't have been stronger with Welbeck in the squad, United included! All in all, for the forseeable future the arrangement United and Sunderland have is mutually beneficial and the only teams loosing out are the rivals of the 2.