Listening to Barnes and Benno it sounded as if we were under the cosh a bit in the first 45 being forced into playing a long ball game by the Dons and the half time scoreline sounded fair enough. Pete Sixsmith was one of the 727 Sunderland fans officially in the crowd and his half time text read “bigger, better and stronger at the moment” referring unfortunately to the home side rather than ourselves. Could Jack Ross continue to impress with a halftime reassessment and reshuffle of his squad, still lacking the option of a big physical centre forward.
Well it definitely sounded as if we came into it more during the second half and although Wimbledon had further chances to score it was the rejuvenated Lee Cattermole who found the net not once but twice prompting our man at the match to message “bloody hell – he’s done it again!” when we took the lead.
One thing we can say about the season so far is that it certainly hasn’t been boring. Pete’s full match report will be with us tomorrow but for now we make do with his instant 7 word summary sent as the final whistle sounded!
Aug 25 AFC Wimbledon 1 (1) Sunderland 2 (0) Teams gain promotion with wins like this
Aug 22 Gillingham 1 (1) Sunderland 4 (3) Wrapped up in an explosive 15 minutes
Aug 19 Sunderland 3 (3) Scunthorpe United 0 (0) Iron pummeled as three lusty blows delivered
Aug 16 Carabao Cup: Sunderland (0) 0 Sheffield Wednesday (1) 2 Result disappointing but plenty to enthuse about
Aug 11 Luton Town (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 Played well in patches against solid opposition
Aug 4 Sunderland (0) 2 Charlton Athletic (1) 1 A great day for club and academy
July 21 St Mirren (0) 0 Sunderland (2) 6 * Cracking results like this will suit fine
July 17 Grimsby Town (0) Sunderland (1) 1 *Gooch’s header from Maguire’s cross settles matters
July 14 Hartlepool United (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 1 Yet to see anything to inspire confidence
July 10 Darlington (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 0 Embarrassing
Just been for a quick look at News Now to find out if we have finally got the two over paid want aways with their overvaluations of their own worth off the books and I see once again that social media comments are masquerading as news on some sites.
Some fans apparently are telling Jack Ross how to do his job and that he should have started Bryan Oviedo yesterday.
This of course is the kind of discussion we might all have in the ground or down the pub but unlike the manager and his backroom staff, we are not aware of just how fit Oviedo was, how likely he was to last the 90 minutes after the knock he took against Scunthorpe caused him to miss out on the Gillingham game.
I’ll wait for Pete’s report later but earlier reports I’ve read say that Ozturk was actually more suited to deal with the height and strength of the Dons’ centre forwards than Loovens had seemed before he went off with a slight tweak. J.R. has actually said too that Ozturk’s improved performance has given him a psychological boost which is where my reservations about the widespread reporting of social media comments come in.
I said in an earlier article that someone like Lee Cattermole probably has the mental strength to deal with social media criticism but I don’t know what kind of characters Ozturk and Love have. What I do know though is that most people respond better when they feel they have the support of those around them and perform worse when bombarded with criticism and calls to get rid.
I like what I am seeing with this team in terms of attitude and application. I like the team ethos that Jack Ross is trying to develop. I like the way that he, the team and the new owners and executives are relating to the supporters and stressing that we are one club.
I know it’s a forlorn hope to not expect these sites (and the Echo is one) to reproduce these negative comments but I think it would help if more people outlined the positives to counteract these.
Another good result from a great comeback. Let’s not forget that this is virtually a new squad learning on the job about each other , the division and the manager . We will definitely improve and should go up automatically. This will hopefully be a fun season that’s laying that foundation for our rebirth as a serious , competitive club .
At least 728 fans in the ground. I stood behind the goal with the Wimbledon hard core. Fully agree with Pete’s seven. Thought we barely deserved to win but no question about the spirit. Had to keep my mouth shut all afternoon. If I had been able to speak it would have been to praise Cattermole ( and I’m by no means his biggest fan) – he was absolutely superb today. The longer the game went on the better he got …. never mind his goals. At least a 9 out of 10 .performance ….. probably 10 with his goals.
It’s only a couple of weeks ago that there were some on social media, unfortunately picked up by those websites who class people’s simplistic opinions as news, calling for the club to get rid of Lee Cattermole. How many of those will be big enough to admit that perhaps Jack Ross is in a better position than they are to determine how to use his squad.
Similarly Ozturk and Love have suffered on social media recently and while they might not be first choice are still in the squad, did a job today and deserve our support.
I’ve every confidence that JR and his staff will be working on their weaknesses. We are on a roll at the moment but there’s every chance there will be a few hiccups to come.
The start has been fantastic – the least this team deserve is our wholehearted support.
Ha’way the Lads.