As David Moyes writes his final post-match letter of 2016 to Colin we’re left wondering what 2017 will bring. Some decent players? A bit of spirit? A change in our luck?
As if!
Ah, well, it’s what supporting Sunderland’s all about.
Happy New Year, and let’s not forget we’ve been here before. In fact, we’ve been here with fewer points and a worse position. All is not lost
Jake: ‘sorry it’s late but not as sorry as that sorry shower of sh*** should be’
Monsieur Salut writes: unhappy texts flowed between Turf Moor and me today. I cannot recall an occasion when it seemed right to post Pete Sixsmith‘s seven-word instant verdict as the headline. This was one. I watched and listened as best I could and Gary Bennett got it spot-on – ‘no communication, no will to win, no belief, no character’ …
Do you remember Evertonian Hannah Myers*, who came second in our “Who are you?” annual awards (beaten only by former manager Denis Smith) a couple of seasons ago? Now it’s her brother’s turn to grace our website, but he happens to be of the red persuasion.
So you might detect a little sibling rivalry as Tom Easby gives us the lowdown to set the scene for our first game of 2017, the congestion of fixtures bringing this interview ahead of the Burnley game …
With great respect to Vito Mannone, who has had fine moments in goal for Sunderland and is quite capable of stepping back successfully into first team action, the loss of Jordan Pickford for up to two months can be seen only as a cruel and massive setback.
“We’re looking at 6-8 weeks, it’s a major disappointment for him and for us because he’s been saving us points.”
Let us meet Andy Robinson*, our Burnley ‘Who are you?’ volunteer for both forthcoming games between us, at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday and at our place in the FA Cup a week later. Andy, who says he hasn’t missed many home games in 30 years, loyally wants and predicts wins for his team in both games but, when you return for his follow-up thoughts on the cup match next week, has an interesting view on league vs cup. Here is his look ahead to Saturday’s crunch match at the bottom (note that his shopping list of players he’d be happy to take from Sunderland preceded news of the Jordan Pickford injury) …
Salut! Sunderland: Presumably you’d take defeat in the cup game provided you get three points a week earlier?
Andy Robinson: I’d sell a kidney for three points at the moment so yes.
Jake asks: ‘can Moyes rely on money being available to do what’s needed?’
The jury is probably still out on both David Moyes and Ellis Short. Sunderland’s recent run has given hope but that hope will disintegrate if we do not continue to pick up points, from the higher-placed clubs as well as fellow-strugglers. This is where Ellis Short comes in: is he simply being canny, letting it be known through his chief executive Martin Bain that no money is available for the transfer window, whereas Moyes actually has at least some room for manoeuvre? Or is he really willing to risk a massive cut in the value of the club he wants to sell, hoping Moyes’s threadbare squad can hack it but ready to let it sink into the Championship if it does not? Alex McMahon offers some thoughts on these issues…
You never know – you could end up the proud owner of one of these (or a Cardiff one)
Liverpool’s ultimately easy 4-1 win against Stoke City confirms what we already knew – that Monday’s game against Jurgen Klopp’s side will be tough. Even if Simon Mignolet keeps his place and makes more errors than usual, they have bags of goals in them.
That makes Saturday’s game all the more important. The good work of the past eight games, producing 12 points and giving Sunderland a fighting chance of getting out of trouble, would be undermined if we came a cropper at Turf Moor unless we then rose to the occasion at the Stadium of Light two days later.
John McCormick writes: I wasn’t surprised at Ndong’s error but thought Denayer’s was even worse. Perhaps it was tiredness, perhaps just someone failed to move into a space when he expected otherwise. Whatever, those mistakes cost us dear as without them it would have been 1-1, thanks to a goal by Borini. Or would it? Did Man Utd always have enough in reserve to hold on once they’d opened the scoring? Over to Pete Sixsmith, who was there, for an unbiased opinion:
If we can go on scoring goals like this, from Fabio Borini and only by then for pride and goal difference, we’ll be all right.
Having spent Christmas in France – just three nights – I was driving home when the match against Manchester United kicked off. I’d boldly gone for 1-1 at ESPN FC, more from the heart than the head though I did think we had a chance.
