It is a fair bet that Steve Bruce does not subscribe to the Blackcats list or read Salut! Sunderland. He may know of the existence of neither.
It is perhaps just as well …
My own verdict on our latest grim disappointment – dumped out of the FA Cup by supposedly the worst team in the Premier, a club engulfed in a crisis that has reduced their day-to-day running to a shambles – was: ”Custom and practice: cannot defend a lead.”
This made way for the rather neat “Defensive clangers set off the Pompey chimes”, the first offering – in Pete Sixsmith’s absence from Fratton Park – of a new cnmtributor, of whom more later.
Each verdict tells the same essential story: even restrained Sunderland fans are fed up with the week-after-week failure of their team to muster a semblance of an effective defence.
If we are not well beaten without raising a whimper, we are throwing away leads or failing even to hang on for a draw.
It has reached the stage where, since we have no cause to expect a point from Everton on Wednesday, forthcoming home games against Wigan and Stoke now look vital must-win affairs if we are not going to sink into yet another relegation battle. Some fans fear our collective and individual failings have already plunged us into one.
I read the following contributionto the Blackcats, from Scott, with a bleak sense of deja vu.
Portsmouth are clearly the weakest side in the Premiership yet once again we were unable to overcome them. These are worrying times ….
I thought Bruce would bring some steel to our spineless away performances yet despite changes in personnel we appear to be the same old Sunderland. I share the view that no matter who plus for us, who manages us and who invests in us, we are destined for a life of disappointment punctuated with the odd false dawn!
Steve Bruce has been honest after each pathetic performance since we beat Arsenal in October, a league success that doesn’t just seem a long way away from where we are now, but is. Now, with the greatest of respect, is the time for action rather than words.
Bruce would not like the tone of some of the other messages left on the Blackcats loop tonight. But he has to take notice of the fact that some of football’s longest-suffering fans are feeling seriously despondent and disillusioned.
Colin Randall
I watch Stoke yesterday and couldn’t help but think Collins, Higginbotham and Whitehead would waltz into the current Sunderland team on merit, I hear how great Cana is but see this liability diving in like a loony Turner can’t defend facing his goal and we don’t have a good header of the ball in the back four.
At least we should have one or possibly two decent defenders by then and a shortened injury list. No, we haven’t been playing at our full potential of late but nor have we been playing at full strength. I take that as cause for a certain amount of optimism.
About the most positive response to Scott’s e-mail about us under-achieving, no matter who played for or managed us, may have been the first: me saying I’d grudgingly accept defeat yesterday as a tradeoff for three points at the same place on feb 9
But isn’t it sad that after all the hope (yet again, I know) and expectation, that’s what this long-in-the-tooth supporter is willing to settle for: relief from the prospect of another relegation scrap with a win at the bottom club? Worse, a win that seems highly improbable the way we’re playing.
A good cup run would have been nice but I can’t say I’m sorry to see us out of it. Now we can concentrate on the league and consolidating our position. I don’t mind a long, hard slog as long as the end result is worth it.
this is fast turning into a nightmare season after so much promise.. . . . we are sadly lacking two PROVEN IN THE PREM full backs and two widemen who can actually beat their man and deliver a telling cross . . . . and i would also like to see more cover for central midfield and upfront . . . i very much doubt we will do this in january so it will be a long hard slog to the end of the season . . . i never say we are too good to go down, cos on current form we are bottom of the league . . but we should have just about enough to keep us up . . . .bruce will be under the microscope from now til the summer and he could be on his way if he doesn’t improve on the teams pitiful performances . . . the fans have had too many false dawns to stomach another 🙁
Watching Spurs on the box yesterday..Bale and Hutton, although not regular first teamers, were streets ahead of anything we have. Both could do a job for us as could Bentley. I feel a triple raid on WHL coming on. Swap Jones and a few quid for all three.
I am starting to lose faith. Yesterday Jones won virtually nothing in the air worth talking about. On the odd time that he won a ball either on the ground on in the air he did nothing with it. He was pushed around as if he 5ft nothing.
Yes we need 2 good lb + 2 rb. When will Bruce realize that Richardson is no good at LB? Even Cana is looking a shadow of himself.
We have been here too many times. Too many false dawns, this is being to feel like another false dawn.
I genuinely think Steve Bruce is the man to give safc so stability which we havent had for a long time. He knows in which area we need to improve on and will given time. Some of our team have forgotten what it’s like to win and you can see there is a lack of confidence with certain players. We have 2 good keepers, some good centre def in mensah, turner and da silva, catts and cana in midfield with henderson coming through and jones and bent up front (campbell one for the future)..but we need 2 good wingers and 2 alt full backs before we would improve. I know people may laugh but babel and nani would be 2 great acquisitions, both have pace and can cross a ball and would give jones esp some service to start scoring again. I think we have too much ability to get involved too much with a relegation scrap and too many teams below us still to play but we need to be careful. I like murphy but will never improve us as a team so think it’s time we said bye bye to him, healey, ferdinand, malbranque, mccartney, bardsley, richardson (mr inconsistant) and even nos (even though his commitment cannot be questioned he’s never going to take us to the next level). I reckon we need at least 6 new players to make us a top 10 side (and possible keep bards and mccartney as back up with andy reid as a squad player).