John McCormick writes:
Keir Bradwell needed to take a break but now he’s back. And not only is he back, he’s bigger and better. With the help of Opta and the FourFourTwo StatsZone app he’s produced a nice analysis of the game last weekend and has some suggestions to offer
Having spent four years at Sunderland, Connor Wickham could be forgiven for thinking that football fans seldom get behind their own players, but after his first experience in a red and blue shirt at Selhurst Park, the striker was quick to reference the backing he received.
Malcolm Dawson writes…I have seen some dire Sunderland performances in my time but I can’t think of any previous season …
You’ve seen Dick’s rather lame Advochaat. Here’s a reply from Bill Taylor. It’s tough love without the love and there’ll be readers who agree and those who don’t …
Jonh McCormick again:
Not quite half a century ago I spent a Saturday evening in the cellar of Norwich’s Orford Arms, after an overnight coach trip, a long wait until the 3pm kickoff and a defeat. By then I was knackered and only wanted to drink but some of the others who’d made it – possibly the pensioners you read on this site these days – weren’t going to let trivialities such as a loss stop them dancing on the table. After all, we were Sunderland and they were just Norwich. Then came 1985, 2013, and so on, and, maybe, we should acknowledge that the Canaries, upstarts who only reached the top rank just before we won our second FA cup, deserve their Premiership status and are entitled to dance on our grave.
As if, as my PE teacher friend once used to say.
I hope we can come back from this; I’m not sure that back four can but what about the manager? What does he think?
Find out for yourself as Colin shares the (very short) post-match e-mail Dick sent to him, and perhaps to two or three others.
What can we say? Cannot defend. Cannot get a grip on midfield. Cannot create. Cannot attack. So is it any wonder that Norwich City, who scraped up last season, did an Aston Villa and Crystal Palace on us, smartly dismissing any fond notion that the shambles at Leicester was a blip. From the East Stand, poor Pete Sixsmith had a much better view of the latest Sunderland debacle than anyone might have wanted.
His seven-word verdict went through various changes: ‘And we thought last week was bad’, ‘Turned over by Championship’s fourth best side’ and, finally but way over the word limit, ‘a performance as indept and clueless as anything in the 15-point season’. Monsieur Salut settled for the simple, despairing version you see below. Over to you Messieurs Advocaat and the much sung-about Short (as in ‘Are you watching, Ellis Short?’). Bravo, young Duncan Watmore on his bright play and consolation goal – ‘I’ve seen the future,’ Sixer exclaimed – but Sunderland currently are not worthy of the Premier League …
Rumours ????
— Adnan Januzaj (@adnanjanuzaj) August 13, 2015
All may not be going quite to plan in the attempts by Dick Advocaat and SAFC’s sporting director Lee Congerton to tie up the remaining transfer business.
Malcolm Dawson writes…….our Who Are You feature this week is provided by Paddy Davitt who covers Norwich City games for the …
This has happened before, but only once I think. Paddy Davitt* sees Norwich City week in, week out. He feels the emotion when they win, was thrilled by the Wembley playoff win and ‘cares a great deal about Norwich’s fortunes’. But he is not a fan. Paddy is the chief Norwich City writer for the Archant media group that includes the Eastern Daily Press. But he supports that infamous bête noire for Sunderland supporters, Coventry City. I think we had a WBA ‘Who are You? interviewee who was in a similar position (reporting on Albion, not being a supporter), though he didn’t declare his true allegiance. See what Paddy made of our questions (posed before we knew of his footballing preference) ahead of a match he predicts the Canaries will win, leaving us pointless and – he believes – doomed along with Watford and Bournemouth …