It all started as brightly as the yellow shirts which the Lads were wearing. The Poyet approach had seen some crisp passing moves and it is fair to say that Sunderland were beginning to outplay the team in red and white before the home side took the lead against the run of play. The influence of Wes Brown since his return from injury cannot be underestimated and he was showing his quality in this game until a preposterous decision from referee Kevin Friend to show the red card for a perfectly executed tackle, saw him off down the tunnel to test the waters of the Stoke City showers.
This was the second away game in a row where Gus Poyet’s half time team talk was directed at a depleted side. Against Hull the nine men came close to salvaging something. It was the same today when Begovic’s challenge on Fletcher might have been a penalty, but our “Friend” the referee didn’t deem it worthy. Eventually Stoke got a second and at the risk of sounding like Arsenal fans we are left bemoaning the performance of the man in the middle. Pete Sixsmith was there and as usual sums up the day in just seven words …..
November 23 2013 Stoke City (1) 2 SAFC (0) 0 Ridiculous red gave us an impossible task
November 10 2013 SAFC (1) 1 Manchester City (0) 0 A wonderfully disciplined performance. Real hope now
November 6 2013 Capital One Cup 4th Round: SAFC (0) 2 Southampton (0) 1 A tidy second half brings Wembley closer
November 2 2013 Hull City (1) SAFC (0) Damage limitation after appalling first half performance
October 27 2013 SAFC (1) 2 Newcastle United (0) 1 Bragging rights and a win. Good combination/ or Perfect Poyet puts another one over Pardew
October 19 2013 Swansea City 4 (0) SAFC 0 (0) No Poyet magic cure for abject failure*
October 5 2013 SAFC (1) 1 Manchester United (0) 2 Better side first half, outclassed in second
September 30 2013 SAFC (0) 1 Liverpool (2) 3 Spirit in abundance, undone by shoddy defending
September 24 2013 Capital One Cup 3rd Round: SAFC (1) 2 Peterborough United (0) 0 A solid performance without any touchline histrionics
September 21 2013 West Bromwich Albion 3 (1) SAFC 0 (0) Coach looks completely out of his depth
September 14 2013 SAFC (0) 1 Arsenal (1) 3 Performance far better than the result suggests
August 31 2013 Crystal Palace (1) 3 SAFC (0) 1
Nowhere near good enough for this league
August 27 2013 Capital One Cup 2nd Round: SAFC (0) 4 MK Dons (1) 2
Outplayed, outclassed, somehow got out of jail
August 24 2013 Southampton (0) 1 SAFC (1) 1
The point was better than the performance
August 17 2013 SAFC (0) 0 Fulham (0) 1 Ultimately little difference from previous two seasons
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Two Geordies on the same post, one down south and one pretending to be from the Boro, by eck. Glad we’re so interesting to yers.
There’s no evidence that smoggie is a horse puncher. He really could be one of the benighted ones down south in Yorkshire.
It’s even possible he was one of their biggest crowd this season, when 21,000 turned up for their derby with Doncaster.
Have to say footballs gone mad when perfectly good tackle is a red card. Never mind I am sure you’ll get promoted next season.
Kevin Enemy, by that’s clever
Henceforth the official in charge of todays game (I can’t bring myself to mention his name) shall be known as Kevin Enemy.
Kevin Friend or Kevin Enemy, he was certainly Stoke’s ‘Man Of The Match’.
Hard enough for Sunderland to win away, but especially so when facing 12 men.
Aye and if your granma had wheels she’d be a corporation bus
Get yersel on to a Smog website (do they have one)? and address your own sides deficiencies.
We’ll all be in same boat next season m8, we’ll have some grand matches together
Only if you stay up and I wouldn’t be betting on that
Our boat has a small leak, yours resembles the Titanic.
We’d have won against Hull if we’d had 10 men.
Funny like how Palace managed to win away with ten men but mebbe they can’t spell impossible lol
Funny how the Boro couldn’t win at Leeds with ten men but then maybe they just can’t spell in Smogland!
Smaggie wouldn’t have a clue who the Boro were playing. Are we just the victims of a master of deception!!!