Pure Poyetry Sunderland 0 West Brom 0: Gus happy with the players’ response

Jake: 'better, but no cigar'
Jake: ‘better, but no cigar’
Malcolm Dawson writes….Well it was either the Stadium of Light or Ironworks Road, Tow Law for me today. £25 v £2 a probable 0-0 draw or the certainty of goals. No contest in the end and here I am grabbing a quick cuppa just back from the match, about to set off for an evening of curry and naan bread in the company of M Salut, up for the game today and Lord Peter Sixsmith who as ever was in his place in the East Stand. I’ve seen worse 0-0 draws. The crowd was definitely behind the team and those who were disgruntled kept their counsel. The starting line up looked more solid defensively which allowed Johnson and Alvarez to hug the touchlines. It looked to me from the other end of the ground that Lescott should have seen red and Johnno’s goal didn’t look offside either. The ref was again poor all over the pitch and Defoe was hauled down near the end for what should have been a penalty, but I shall wait until after I’ve seen a recorded MOTD on my return from the Garden of India before I decide he was totally inept. Gus as ever was upbeat and probably relieved there were no boos as the team walked off. Here’s his customary post match missive to M Salut and a few others on his e-mail list.

Jake captures the Bard, with thanks to Owen Lennox
Jake captures the Bard, with thanks to Owen Lennox

Dear Colin,

It was a good response from the players; there was great desire and commitment, with lots of pressure and getting forward. We tried to make things happen and I think we did enough to win the game, but it wasn’t to be, I think a couple of decisions cost us today.

It’s always difficult to play against a Tony Pulis side, they have everybody at the back and they make it tough. We needed to concentrate and stay focussed and be strong; we did all of that exceptionally well and stayed in control. They were difficult to break down and we just didn’t get a break.

If a decision had gone our way, maybe that would have changed it for us. There’s nothing to regret, we just need to make sure we can do the same thing week in, week out without any nerves or doubts.

It’s great to have Lee [Cattermole] back; the fans love him and the energy and character he brings into the side; he was part of a very experienced team today. It was an important game and we didn’t want to take any chances; I needed men out there and that’s what we had, it nearly worked, but not quite. Sometimes when you miss a player you’re not sure why you miss him and then when he’s back in the side you know what it is you were missing; it was good to see him back.

Manchester United are going to be a totally different test next week, let’s hope we go there with the belief that we can get something out of the game, because we know we can.

The atmosphere was good, the fans were terrific and I think they understood what I was getting at with my letter and I’m very pleased about that. We need to move forward together and be positive.

Thanks for your support,

Gus Poyet


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7 thoughts on “Pure Poyetry Sunderland 0 West Brom 0: Gus happy with the players’ response”

  1. The highlights on SAFsee show clearly that Graham’s shout for handball in the second half was a good one. Tough for the ref to see but handball it was and a penalty denied.

  2. I think you’ll get your wish. You don’t have Tony Pulis and I think you will get relegated. I thought you would win yesterday but you couldnt pull it off and first you blame the ref and then you blame Pulis. Bad attitude that and to say you’d rather go down than have him as your manager makes no sense to me. He isnt a cheat he’s a better manager than the one you’ve got. And before anybody says it I know Boro lost yesterday but we’re still sitting second and we’ve won 17 and you lot have won 4

    • I have a lot of time for Boro. I think Gibson is one of the best chairmen around and I was really impressed by the statement after relegation that anyone sacked would get their jobs back if you got promoted (albeit it is likely most will be retired by then). However, I have no time for people commenting on things they know nothing about and, sadly, that applies to you and football.
      You cannot understand how hideous a Pulis team is unless you actually see them live, which you obviously haven’t done, at least that you can remember. BBC and Sky like Pulis and so don’t wage a campaign against the holding and it makes for incredibly dull football so the constant fouling never makes it on to a highlights package. I want to enjoy my football and be proud of my team. I could never be proud of a Pulis team. Having said that, I am not exactly enjoying watching Poyet’s incredibly defensive football.
      If you actually bothered to read what I said, I pointed out that the officials were weak and that every Pulis team cheats horrendously but that we were still worryingly bad and dull..

      • You only need to recall the way Stoke played football [ I use that description advisedly ] Pulis is effective in grinding out points to avoid relegation, but few people who see football as a skilful game would be enthusiastic about their team playing his way.

        However, as you say, the same can be said about GP, IMO. Whatever else it is, it is not entertaining.

    • It will all reveal itself at or before the end of the season Smoggie , both of us or neither of us could be in the premier . You could still be sweating on the playoffs after we’ve scraped home . What I know is we’ve being in this situation many times and prevailed , can you say the same ? Not that I’m complacent in any way , this is an underperforming stuttering team .

  3. One thing is clear following yesterday. I would genuinely rather be relegated than have Tony Pulis manage our club. I could not watch my club constantly cheating and support them. Time wasting from the 1st minute. Constant holding from set pieces. Just awful to watch.
    As for the referee, the decision about Lescott was touch and go and Johnson scored a perfectly good goal but the main issue I have with him is that he warned them 5 times about holding from corners but never followed through on the warnings. Just cowardice and, as long as it goes without comment, Pulis will carry on.
    Regarding our manager, it scares the hell out of me that the common view (which I agree with) is that we were set up more positively yesterday, yet we had 1 attempt on target in the second half. A large part of this was the fact that Vergini must play in every game so the excellent Reveillere was switched to left back so his overlapping never resulted in crosses. Van Aanholt should have started and, failing that, the change to bring him on should have happened at half time. Glaringly obvious to all sitting where I was but not apparently those in the dugout.

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