An early afternoon kick off and the hope that a good result today would secure the club’s status as a top ten side saw Pete Sixsmith on the road at 4.30 am. With neither side having to worry about honours or relegation this was a game that perhaps would give an indication of the manager’s thinking regarding who would and would not be part of the side’s make up next season. With Ji Dong Won starting and Bentdner on the bench, no sign of Craig Gordon or Kyrgiakos and no action for Bridge, Meyler and Elmohamady it could be that we are in for wholesale changes. The MON effect has, it seems, worn off and if Swansea avoid defeat a top ten finish may be beyond the side.
Here Pete Sixsmith captures the glory and shame, hope and despair, excitement and ennui of the Sunderland matchday experience. When, rarely, Pete is absent or delayed, a supersub does it for him and the seven-word verdict is preceded by an asterisk. Pete’s full analysis of the game will usually appear within a day or two.
The full Sixer’s Sevens archive – see link below – sums up what all Sunderland supporters feel, from darkest gloom to sublime elation, in the words of one who is usually there …
May 6th 2012 Fulham (2) 2 SAFC (1) 1 Lacked quality when and where it mattered
April 28 2012 SAFC (1) 2 Bolton Wanderers (1) 2 Fair result: both sides could have won
April 21 2012 Aston Villa (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 Chances spurned but a much better performance
April 14 2012 SAFC (0) 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers (0) 0 Minimum excitement, maximum frustration: a dreary afternoon
April 9 2012 Everton (0) 4 SAFC (0) 0 There’s poor, really poor and there’s this
April 7 2012 SAFC (0) 0 Tottenham Hotspur (0) 0 More than matched a Champions League side
March 31 2012 Manchester City (1) 3 SAFC (2) 3 How frustrating when we deserved three points
March 27 2012 FA CUP 6th round replay: SAFC (0) 0 Everton (1) 2 Everton simply better. Hope they win it.
March 24 2012 SAFC (1) 3 Queens Park Rangers (0) 1 Played very well and won with ease
March 20 2012 Blackburn Rovers (0) 2 SAFC (0) 0 Very disappointing. We looked tired and uninterested
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To see Sixer’s Sevens in full, click here. If an asterisk precedes the comment, the words that follow are the work of someone else because Pete is for once absent from the game
The MON effect has not so much worn off as – inevitably -worn out. There’s still no cause for anything but optimism.
A bit of useful work from Ji.
Eight games without a win perhaps shows up the quality of the squad that MON inherited, which makes his early results even more impressive. The test will come when we can see what business he can (and is allowed to) do before next season.