Asamoah Gyan‘s actions are not those of a man easily forgiven.
Ghana
Ghana’s design guru: an Asamoah Gyan fashion statement (and goal)
Back to action on Sunday – see our Manchester City preview by clicking here – but here’s a bit of light relief, including an amateur clip of the Gyan goal vs England, while we wait …
Best of all in Asamoah Gyan’s eulogy to the new top – and no, that’s not him wearing it – is the reference to next season, ie there being a next season (with us).
Darren Bent has taught us not to read too much into what players say about their love for the club, their happiness at feeling so appreciated by fans, their contentment in the area they’ve moved to …
The pride of England, Ghana and Sunderland – and a dodgy French strip
… in which we praise the Sunderland men who graced the Wembley turf last night and introduce you to a new team strip to end arguments over our own …
Before anything else, Salut! Sunderland salutes all the SAFC players who represented their countries in the England v Ghana friendly last night. In particular, bravo Asamoah Gyan for an equaliser to cap what was, by all accounts, an excellent game and Danny Welbeck for making his first England appearance.
At this distance – M Salut is in France – you have to rely on the reports of others.
One Sunderland supporter with Wembley tickets wondered what the England fans in the family enclosure made of his celebration of Gyan’s goal. Another sent a celebratory e-mail: “Gerrin … more of that on Saturday please.”
A third, thinking also of a certain Mr Carroll, added: “Can’t say I’ve enjoyed an England goal less and cheered the opposition scoring more than tonight. Can we have that every week please Gyan!”
While all this was going on, our own Pete Sixsmith sent a text telling me Fraizer Campbell had also scored – on his return from injury in a 1-1 draw for the Reserves v WBA. There’ll be more on that, I imagine, from Pete himself a little later, but Campbell’s recovery and confidence-boosting goal can only be good for the club.
Danny Welbeck’s England chance is Sunderland’s glory, not Manchester United’s
A Sunderland supporter has commented elsewhere today on his unease at having three first-team players in action for Ghana tonight, with an important Premier game coming up, against a seriously below strength England.
“Is it just me, or should we be worried that we have three of our lads playing against a bunch of England B players hoping to make a name for
themselves and actually trying?” was his question, and I knew exactly what he meant.
Gyan, Manchester United and headlines that speak with forked tongues
Q How does a football website make up for being days late with a story?
A Run the story anyway but put a wholly misleading headline on it
Gyan’s Manchester United dream: our nightmare or idle chatter?
How much or how little do we read in today’s offering from our friends at the Ghanasoccernet website?
They quote Asamoah Gyan as saying the following:
“Of course I’m a big fan of Manchester United and will like to play for them if the chance comes my way.”
Goalless and sent off – but you’re a star, Gyan
Image:Someone at SAFC.com may wish to rethink the site’s report of Ghana’s African Cup of Nations match against Sudan.
The Van Bommel snarl that epitomised this rotten finale
In another of our reflective glances at the World Cup, Bill Taylor starts and finishes with the sort of welcome a prisoner gives when told years have been knocked off his sentence. Four years off World Cup football – and the thuggishness, at the end, of a once-refined footballing nation – is maybe the least reward Bill can expect for getting the winners and runners-up spot on …
Ah well, at least we get another four years off before we have to go through this again. And the REAL football starts in five weeks.
There has been some good, some great football played during this World Cup but there have also been far more terrible moments than there should have been. Many of which were crammed into the final’s seemingly interminable 120 minutes.
Image: World Cup Soapbox: keep your head up, Big John Mensah
John Mensah may have adopted the Mickey Gray approach to penalty taking – I draw the line at saying the “Jeff Whitley approach” – but he played his full, lion-hearted part in a thrilling game, and a team display that will have had most of the world saddened by a cruel defeat.
What a game between Uruguay and Ghana. I thought it had everything – pace, skill, vision and the most incredible finish I think I have ever seen in a game of such importance.