Sunderland in America

“Oh, you’re a football fan Robert! Who are you a fan of?” Not surprised by this question, I reply to my new friend quickly, “Sunderland” (as if there could ever be any other option.) The confused face looks blankly at me. “Why the hell are you a fan of Sunderland?” is the inevitable response I receive.

This is the exact conversation I had last week while I was on vacation. I was staying at the beach with my family and while I was at a local pub watching a bit of the build up to the opening weekend of the premier league I met a man who was from somewhere just outside London. We ended up talking for about an hour about Sunderland, the Mags, and the upcoming weekend of matches. Even after all of our conversation the man just couldn’t wrap his mind around someone from America willingly choosing to be a fan of Sunderland. His surprise did not shock me, I’ve come to expect it when I talk to people about Sunderland but it did get me thinking more about how Sunderland could be begin to grow their fan base in America.

For me growing up, and for most fans I believe, we choose our sports teams based on two main factors. The first is: Is there a team close to me? If there is a team nearby they are the easiest to follow because they are in the news, they are more likely to be on local television, and chances are you can get to see them play. The other major factor in choosing a team is: Who does your dad follow? This factor often trumps the location factor because our dad can ingrain in us from a young age who we should follow. Some of my children's first words were "Go Gators" (a cheer for my favorite American college football team). Even now I have my children singing "Wise men say……". Before kids can walk and talk it seems their fate of what team to follow has already been decided, and as a parent, I for one am all for that.

That is all well and good for American fans who are fans of American sports teams, but it doesn't help us in our pursuit of a club in Europe to support. I've chronicled my story of how I came to support Sunderland here, but apparently I am a rare breed of fan because most Americans support clubs with lots of money and who can attract the big name international players. That's likely not going to be something Sunderland can do any time soon, so it's doubtful our American fan base is going to grow because of that. So here are just a couple of suggestions from me as to how Sunderland can begin to get a hold of the hearts and the pocketbooks of the fans in America.

• Bring the club over to play in the pre-season. In July of 2011 The Mags played a small club based in Orlando Florida. It was a team that doesn't even play in the highest division here in the States. The Orlando club beat the Mags and I had a good laugh, however, many of the fans who attended that day became Newcastle fans. At the time nobody had heard of many of the Newcastle players, but because they saw them live they started following them.
• Sign an American player. I know that Americans have played for us in the past, and there have been others we've tried to sign and it didn't work out, but Americans love to support other Americans. Clubs like Fulham and Everton have huge American followings all because of Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey. Now I know that none of those names will be coming to Sunderland, but there is plenty of young talent in the States and I'd love to see us have an American on the senior team.
• Have a player who racks up fantasy football points. I'll admit this is an odd one. However, there are lots of Americans who aren't fans of a particular team but love to play fantasy football. I'm in a league right now with 30 guys, 10 of which don't have a club that they support. These non-partisan guys tend to start to follow the teams who have players who get them lots of points. I actually had a conversation with a guy from the States who follows Sunderland because he had Kevin Phillips on his fantasy team and Phillips helped him win his league. 

Those are my three ideas. Two of which that club has direct control over, one is just my hope that we'll have a player score enough goals to warrant starting for your fantasy team. While gaining fans in America fans does not guarantee us anything in terms of success, it would make my life in the States a little more fun as a fan of our beloved Sunderland. And as a bonus it may help provide a little extra funding to bring in a player or two to help the squad continue to grow.

Thoughts on Arsenal Match

What a start to the new season's campaign. Away at Arsenal is always a tough draw, but it was made slightly easier with the Gunners being down Robin VanPersie and Alex Song. They boasted plenty of firepower with Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla making their debuts for the home side. Sunderland expectedly lined up in a defensive formation, but there were a few surprises from the Black Cats. Seb Larsson played centrally behind Sessegnon who was deployed as a lone striker. Frazier Campbell played out wide right to provide pace and width on the attack. While Sunderland had some good play going forward, they spent much of the match on their heels and putting up a wall around their 18 yard box. Ultimately Martin O'Neills tactics won out and we held on for a 0-0 draw. Here are my quick thoughts following the match.

• Carlos Cuellar looks to be an excellent signing. He played well in the middle with John O'Shea. The two blocked numerous shots and kept things tight and compact in the middle. He slotted in nicely with Wes Brown being injured and Michael Turner off to Norwich.
• I'm not sure how much longer Kieran Richardson will be at the club, but he was excellent at Left Back today. I hope we are able to convince him to stay on with the club. His positioning and his work rate were excellent all day.
• Lots of fans wondered what would become of Seb Larsson this season, and like many predicted he was deployed centrally. However, he did not fare so well. He looked sloppy in possession and a little out of sorts in the middle of the pitch. I'm not ready to give up on the experiment yet though, I think he'll eventually succeed there.
• James McClean, who played with a jersey with his name misspelled, did not have much cutting edge today. I think when we set up so defensively his game is limited. He needs players ahead of him in the box for him to provide service to. We had so many numbers behind the ball today that when he did get the ball in advanced positions he was often the furthest payer forward.
• Frazier Campbell played wide on the right today, and in my opinion he struggled mightily. His pace is excellent but his touch on the ball and his positioning left much to be desired. I thought we looked better when Elmohamady replaced him out wide and gave us a more natural right winger on the pitch. It'll be interesting to see what happens with that position this season

All in all it was a great performance by the lads today. Cattermole and Colback manned the midfield with poise and I think both players are in for break out seasons. I think in the end it was our organization in the middle of the pitch that paid off and helped us earn a tough point against a very strong Arsenal side. 

Ha'way the Lads! 

Looking Into the Crystal Ball

It's that time of year to make predictions for the upcoming season. It's been a long summer with not much news coming out of the Sunderland camp but I for one and really looking forward to the season. Here are my predictions for the season ahead.

Who will be our top scorer?
Of course I want my answer to be Stephen Fletcher, Jermaine Defoe, or maybe even John Guidetti, but as of right now none of those players wear the red and white stripes of Sunderland. With no significant signing to lead our top line it leads a list of players like Connor Wickham, Frazier Campbell, and Ji Dong-Won to choose from. There is always "the little magician" Stephane Sessegnon to consider as a candidate for most goals. Without new signings to choose from I'll go with Sessegnon. Last year he finished with 7 goals, one short of team leader Nicklas Bendtner who is of course gone and Sess will have to be the offensive catalyst if squad changes aren't made.

**I opt to let my vote be changed to Defoe or Fletcher if one of them signs. If both sign I'll fall out of my chair with joy and then choose Defoe for top scorer**

Who will lead the team in assists?
We have much better candidates for who will lead the club in assists over who will score the most goals. Last year Sessegnon led the club in assists but James McLean and Seb Larsson also provided a number of opportunities for teammates and both look to feature heavily in this year's team. We lack a real creative central midfield player but young Jack Colback seems to be coming on strong as more than just a utility player but as a viable creative influence on the match. For this season I expect James McLean to lead the club in assists. He came on so strong in the second half of last year and I expect him to continue to terrorize the left side of the field and swing in crosses for our forwards to latch on to. However, I think that Sess and Seb will be hot on his heals in the assist category.

Who starts the most games in goal?
This might seem like an easy answer. Simon Mignolet was the clear #1 choice last season for Martin O'Neill and not much has happened this summer to change that. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that if he's given another chance to start between the sticks, Keiran Westwood will do just fine. I expect Mignolet to end up getting a majority of the starts, but I suspect Westwood will get 5-10 starts and he'll do just fine.

Breakout player?
This is a tough one to predict, because in order for it to be a breakout player it has to be someone who hasn't featured much in the first team in the past. Options include players like Louis Laing or John Egan who play in the back, or maybe someone like Billy Knott who can play the Sessegnon role in the middle of the pitch. You could also easily consider Ryan Noble as a candidate as he's played decently when given the chance this pre-season. But in the end i'm going to go with a player we are all pretty familiar with but one who hasn't been given much of an opportunity to impress. I think Ji Dong-Won is going to have a fine season and by the end of the year will be pushing for first team minutes. He still needs to beef up a little bit but his versatility as a striker and a player who can do well pushed a little more wide will make him a valuable asset to our attacking core.

Who will disappoint most?
This is a real downer of a category. You certainly don't want to hex a player by predicting him to do poorly, but I think there is likely a player who will perform lower than the fans expectations of him. Players like Sess, McLean, and Colback have such high expectations on them that it would be easy for them to perform less than we expect, but I get the feeling those guys will be alright this season. This may be a bit of a copout answer, but I don't expect Phil Bardsley to do much this year. It was only two seasons ago that he finished as the player of the year for the club but I think his spot in the starting XI is very much in jeopardy and I don't expect to see him start more than 10-15 matches this season.

Where will we finish in the league?
Ah, the question that we love to try and figure out. Will we exceed expectations and sneak in to the top 10 or will we have another mid table finish? Worse than that, will our lack of a dynamic goal scorer leave us stuck in a relegation battle? I think we'll sign a striker or two, improve our midfield and maybe even add another defender by the end of the transfer window and I think we will have a strong side. In the end I expect us to finish right in the middle at 10th but we will give some of the bigger clubs fits this year. Another year with O'Neill leading us and another couple of transfer windows and we'll be pushing for that top 10 finish and maybe even a spot in Europe (fingers crossed on that one).

How many points will we get off the Mags?
I'm going out on a limb, and this may be my lease likely prediction to come true, but i'm going to go with 4 points. We'll take all 3 at home and sneak a draw on the road.
With that said I hate to say that they've had a good summer. They've kept their core players and even added a few. I expect they'll have a decent year again.







 
So those are my predictions. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know on twitter @onlysafc

Pre-Season thoughts so far

I'm back from an extended break since the end of last season and to be honest it doesn't seem like I have missed much news worth writing about. There have been lots of players exiting our squad and only one addition. The addition of Carlos Cuellar does provide us with some cover in the back, but i'm confident that there are more changes coming. I decided to come back before the start of the season and write a post to get a few thoughts that i've had as our pre-season is halfway done and the season is only two weeks away.

Our goal scoring problems are obviously still an issue. In three of our four games we've scored a total of zero goals and it seems our lack of a consistent finisher is still a problem. Granted these games doing count for anything, and we haven't had our primary offensive players in most of the games but you would think that we'd have found the net a few more times. We're obviously linked with a number of attacking players as transfer options and the addition of one or maybe two strikers seems imminent. Martin O'Neill has had a propensity to do his transfer business late and it feels like this off season will be no different. I'm hopeful that changes are coming, but that's not what this blog post is about either. This post is about thinking of the positives of the pre-season so far. I posted a question on my twitter account today about the positives of the pre-season so far. Here are some of the responses I got.

• Ryan Noble has looked better than he had before. He may still need a season on loan, but he's looking more like a first team option for the future.
• We've gotten lots of players some valuable minutes. David Meyler for one has gotten more playing time than he has in years. Martin O'Neill seems to think Meyler may develop into a helpful player.
• Management has seen our weaknesses clearly and it seems very clear where the areas of need are.

Well that's about it for positives. Not many so far. I would add this. I'm confident that O'Neill has a plan. I think he's working hard at finding targets and pursuing them. There will be fresh faces and they will come in and have to contribute right away. As tough as it is to be patient as fans we don't have much of a choice. O'Neill gave us reasons to believe last year, let's hope he can do it again come August 18th at Arsenal.

Ha'way the Lads!

thinking back on the season

One thing I am guilty of as a fan is that I normally see the negative side of most situations. If I were to receive 10 compliments on something and 1 complaint, the only thing I would remember is the complaint. Maybe that's just human nature, or maybe it's a serious flaw in me, but I find myself doing this as a fan all the time.
This past season was a difficult one for most Sunderland fans. We started with such high expectations after our 10th place finish in the 2010/11 season. We also brought in 10 new signings that were supposed to help transform us into a side that could compete and push for a second straight top ten finish. It didn't take long for us to figure out that our new look side wasn't coming together very well, and our manager looked more and more incompetent going forward.
Enter Martin O'Neill-- and our season prospects were transformed. We started winning, scoring cracking goals, and made a great FA Cup run. Even the most negative of fans seemed to be turning to the positive side.
Unfortunately we ran in to a very in form Everton side and crashed out of the cup and our season took a dip. We struggled to score again and it looked like we were coasting to the finish line.

My tendency is to look towards the summer with a negative spin on things. We ended on a down, our form was poor, we couldn't score, and we looked lethargic. However, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and look at some positives as we head toward the summer and next season. So here are some things I'm excited about, and let me know if I've missed something I should have included. Tweet me @onlysafc

• We have a manager with a plan. He has a system and knows the types of players he needs to get to fit his system. 
• Frazier Campbell showed some promise and after a summer to continue rehab he should be fully fit and ready for next season.
• Jack Colback has emerged as a marvelous midfielder and his upside seems very big.
• James McClean should only continue to get better, especially with the experience of being in the Euro's this summer.
• Simon Mignolet looked fantastic at times this season. He is developing in to a top class goal keeper.
• Wes Brown should be back and fit and hopefully can remain injury free to help anchor our defense.

So there are a lot of positives. Here are a few things I'd love to see Martin O'Neill address this summer.

• we need a proven goal scoring striker.
• We need a right winger with pace and power
• We need both a left back and a right back

I think all these needs will be addressed, and I can't wait to see how our squad looks in August.
Ha'way the lads!

Players from relegated clubs

Here is my short list of players who are from relegated clubs worth pursuing. Each one fills a need of ours. Some are very unlikely to come, but I'd be happy to see any of these players join Sunderland.
Check our Roker Report's article on why we don't have to fear players from relegated squads if you're worried that we don't need players who starred for bottom 3 sides.

Grant Hanley, Blackburn-CB
Mark Davies, Bolton-MF
Steven Fletcher, Wolves-F
Yakubu, Blackburn-F
Stuart Holden, Bolton-MF
Junior Hoilett, Blackburn, Winger
Matt Jarvis, Wolves-Winger

What do you think of my list? Send me a tweet if you agree/disagree. @onlysafc

Ha'way the Lads

Season Summary

Here are my thoughts from this past season. I'll be doing a few more posts throughout the summer, but i'm already looking forward to the 2012-13 season!
Ha'way the Lads

Player of the season

For me it's not much of a debate. Stephane Sessegnon has to be the winner. He's obviously our offensive catalyst, and as his game goes so does our offensive production it seems. He hasn't always been consistent this year, but he has had some magical moments and keeping him around is essential for us to continue to move up the table next season.

Young player of the season

This is a tough call for me. There are two main options. It's either James McClean or Jack Colback. Both have been fantastic, but for me, it has to be Colback. His consistency in the middle of the pitch has been outstanding, and he's even filled in as an emergency left back. O'Neill seems to rate him and it's likely you'll see young Colback in the middle of the pitch for some time to come.

Best signing of last summer

This again is a two horse race for me. Is it John O'Shea or Seb Larsson? Both have been vital to our success this year, but the edge for me goes to O'Shea. Maybe it's because as a player i'm more defensive minded, or because Seb seemed to slip in form late in the season, but O'Shea has been such an important player when he's been fit enough to play. JOS's ability to play fullback or center half also gives him an edge. His versatility and consistency make him my top signing of last summer.

Most disappointing signing of last summer

I'm tempted to say Connor Wickham here. The young lad certainly hasn't produced much, but he also hasn't played much either. He was bought with an eye on his future so I'll give him a pass. I'm going to go with Craig Gardner. This isn't to say that I don't think Gardner was good at times, or that he may not end up being a solid player for us, but he cost us more money than any other signings besides Wickham and he didn't settle in and produce like I hoped he would.

Goal of the season

There are many to choose from. Frazier Campbell's volley against Norwich was superb, but I'm going to go with Sessegnon's goal against Swansea. He had the tightest of window's to get the ball in and it was at such a narrow angle. He really is a magician with the ball sometimes.

Game of the season

It's a tossup between Arsenal in the cup or Man City at home. A case can be made for both games so i'll pick one out of the hat and I came up with…….…Arsenal at home. I did love that match. We played them right out of it and although they had the possession we always looked like we were going to win. Too bad we rolled over against Everton, ugh.

Who should we sign?

My votes are for Fletcher, Moses, Hoilett (i'm dreaming here), Ryan Bertrand.

Who might surprisingly be on the way out?

I think Craig Gardner or David Meyler may end up being sold this summer. I'd love to see both stay, but Gardner still doesn't seem settled and I'm not sure O'Neill rates Meyler. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Way too early predicted finish for next season

I'll say we are on our way up, but not quite there. 9th place.

Bolton match thoughts

I'm not going to do much of a match summary today, I'm more going to focus on my reactions to the match today. I certainly expected more out of Sunderland today but I'm glad we at least found the back of the net and showed some fighting spirit after going down 1-0 early. For a proper match summary check out www.rokerreport.com, they always have a cracking article up soon after the match. So here are my initial match reactions...

• Very interesting to see Craig Gordon start in goal. Is O'Neill considering resigning the veteran keeper? Still seems unlikely, but it's hard to determine O'Neills reason for starting Gordon today.
• Speaking of new starters, I expected to see Elmohammady get the start on the right wing today but instead it went to Frazier Campbell. You could tell Campbell isn't quite comfortable out on the wing but he showed flashes of ability and can be dangerous when he has space to run in to.
• I feel like I say this every week, but we miss John O'Shea when he's not playing center back. Matt Kilgallon was beat in the air on a number of occasions today, and I have a hard time seeing O'Shea losing out in the air like Kilgallon did all day.
• It was a disappointing start to the match today. It felt as though the lads didn't really start playing until after we went down a goal.
• Sessegnon had an uncharacteristic poor match, but James McClean played excellent on the left wing and wreaked havoc all afternoon.
• Jack Colback has quietly become one of our best players. No matter where he is played on the pitch he puts in a good shift and does he job well. Hopefully he'll be with the club for a long time to come.

There is still a lot to play for this season. A top 10 finish is still a possibility. We have Fulham next week and they looked pretty poor today against Everton. Hopefully we can go down to London and take home 3 points.
Ha'way the Lads!

Sputtering to the finish

I was hoping to see a clash of brother vs brother.
I was hoping to see Martin O'Neill punish his former club.
I was hoping to see us score a goal (that wasn't wrongly disallowed)
All that I was hoping for wasn't to be.

If you've ever been in a car that is running out of fuel then you know what Sunderland's finish to the season looks like. The car slowly loses power and comes to a stop. Every now and then it might catch a whiff of the gasoline fumes and speed up, but that is momentary and short lived. So it is with Sunderland right now.
Sunderland failed to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities today and had to settle for a goal less draw with an Aston Villa side who are equally as unimpressive to watch right now. The magic of Martin O'Neill seems to have worn off a bit, and that's not to say he's not the right man for the job, but it seems like he is unable to capture that same magic we had for his first 3.5 months in charge.
Here are my initial match reactions...

• It was good to have John O'Shea back. While he did a good job at RB, I believe he's more valuable in the middle of the pitch. We seemed most vulnerable to long through balls going directly at our CB's.
• Sessegnon was creative and clever today. He just seemed to lack the right touch with his final pass or the touch to set up a shot at goal.
• McClean put in a great effort, sent some great crosses in, and worked the left side of the pitch well. He is a marked man by the opposition now but I thought he played well all day.
• Jack Colback is a fine footballer. No matter where he is on the pitch, not matter if he's defending or attacking, he rarely puts a foot in wrongly. 
• It was unfortunate our goal wasn't allowed, Bendtner timed his run well and the delivery was superb. We deserved the game winner there.
• Larsson has been great for us all year, but he's not been his best the last few matches. He may be tired or it may be that he's not fitting in to the O'Neill mold of a winger. I wonder what his future with the club looks like.

We still have a few matches to secure a top 10 finish. It will be a tough road in but we can't give up on the lads just yet.  Hopefully we'll see a rejuvenated squad come out for the last few matches.
Ha'way the lads!

summer speculation

The summer speculation has officially begun. Granted, we have been linked with players coming in and have had players linked to be going out all season, but this week there seems to be a steady stream of the speculation pouring in.

On the news of players going out, it seems like O'Neill is confident that Sessegnon will remain with the club. It seems like he's a wanted player by a few clubs, but I think he's at his best at a club like Sunderland where we will revolve our entire attack around him. One player who Steve Bruce rated but O'Neill doesn't seem to is Ahmed Elmohamady. Elmo seems likely to leave, maybe to another EPL team, but I think he'll end up out of the league. The links to Craig Gardner leaving seemed to have slowed down, but I expect he'll be linked all over the midlands this summer. Former first team keeper Craig Gordon also seems likely to be gone. He's out of contract this summer so he'll be going on a free somewhere, possibly to Celtic. He's one I wish we had for another year to see if he can regain his impressive form after an injury riddled two years.

A couple players linked in recently are Steven Fletcher and Karl Henry. I can't imagine that we'll bring in another central midfield player unless we have one or two of ours move out, and Henry's game resembles Lee Cattermole's too much for me to take that link seriously. Fletcher on the other hand would be a great signing. He scores goals, is impressive in the air, and all in all seems like a perfect fit for the Martin O'Neill system. He's unlikely to go to a top tier team, and Sunderland seems just about perfect for him.

With the season winding down I'm hopeful we can finish with a few more wins and secure a top 10 finish. Being a top half club has its financial benefits and also makes us a more attractive destination for incoming talent.

Ha'way the lads

not much to see today...

Well I'm back from my travels in Hong Kong, and after missing the Tottenham and Everton matches I was excited to see the lads play today. After a dull but point producing match with Tottenham, and a lopsided loss against Everton I thought we'd come out firing today. I couldn't have been more wrong. Here are some of my thoughts today.

• Today seemed like a good match to get some younger players more minutes. I know we are dealing with various injuries and are still fighting for points, but I thought Ji, Wickham, or Meyler might make an appearance. 
• After allowing 4 against Everton Mignolet responded with a good shutout today. He didn't have a lot to do, but he did make a few fine saves that preserved the draw.
• Outside of Sessegnon we lacked much creativity. McClean did produce some decent runs, and he probably should have scored, but Sess was about our only offensive catalyst today.
• I do like Bendtner, and I think he does a lot of things that go unnoticed, but I think Martin O'Neill wants a more direct forward to pair up with Sess. Someone who will lean heavily against the opposing center backs and push the line nice and high.
• Seb Larsson had his poorest outing as a black cat today. I think if we have any other option to play on the right wing MoN would have used it. I was surprised he didn't bring on Campbell to play on the wing, or bring on a central midfield player and push Gardner out there.
• My last observation is that maybe the Man City comeback has eliminated some of our desire. We seem a little content to just collect a point or two and coast to a mid table finish. I know O'Neill doesn't want that, and I'm sure he'll do all he can to get a few more wins as we finish out, but the lads just didn't seem to play with much urgency today.

All that being said, we used to play matches like this and end up with a loss so I'll take the point and move forward. Let's just hope we can dust this off, regroup, and finish strong the rest of the way.

Ha'way the Lads!

4 out of 6

If you had told me before the season that we would take 4 points from Manchester City this year I might have believed you. If you had told me that same thing 13 matches in to the year I would have called you crazy! But now with the Steve Bruce era in the distant past it seems nothing is impossible for Martin O'Neill's Sunderland team.

On Saturday, Sunderland pulled off an improbable draw at Manchester City. The draw halted City's near record setting home winning streak, and also put the hosts in danger of falling 5 points behind their neighbors Manchester United in the title race. The amazing thing is, Sunderland should have won the match. It took a flurry inside the final 8 minutes that produced 2 goals for City just to draw level with Sunderland. City had more of the possession, and creating more chances at goal, but Sunderland were crisp with the ball and took their chances well. If not for Craig Gardner and Nicklas Bendtner missing decent chances, City may not have been able to come back and earn a draw. I wish Sunderland had finished the job and got all 3 points, but an away point in the EPL is tough to complain about. Seb Larsson admitted after the game that the team was disappointment, but also acknowledged that a draw at City is a fine achievement. With Everton winning Sunderland dropped to 9th in the table, but all in all it was a good Saturday for the lads. Here are a few of my initial impressions of the match.

• With a very injury depleted back 4, Sunderland's back line of Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, and Colback did a fine job. Young Colback is proving his value by being able to play well in a number of positions. The only disappointments here are that Kilgallon ran out of gas and had to be subbed out. Bardsley also let Balotelli inside allowing the Italian to score his second goal and bring City back to within one.
• James McClean was outstanding all day today.  I thought he was a bit disappointing against Everton, but he was excellent against City.
• Cattermole looked to be back to his excellent form today. He looked great today and controlled the middle of the pitch.
• Sessegnon and Bendtner both played great today. They worked off each other, created space for one another, and caused havoc for the City backline all day.
• I'm not sure where Seb Larsson fits in to O'Neill's long term plan for Sunderland, but he was outstanding today. He may not be the fastest or most direct winger, but he is often very effective. He drifted more centrally today and I thought did an outstanding job.
• It's hard to watch Sunderland play as well as they did today and then remember how poorly we played against Everton. I know that's how football goes sometimes, but we were so sharp at times today, and Tuesday it looked like non-league competition could beat us.

There were lots of positives to take from today. Hopefully the sting of allowing the late equalizing goals doesn't overshadow the joy of playing well on the road in the EPL. We should be full of confidence as we host Tottenham next weekend. Here's hoping to another bit of Martin O'Neill magic and a win over a top side!

Ha'way the lads!

A few pre-Everton thoughts...

After a crazy weekend of traveling all across the southern and Midwestern United States I am happily back at home and looking forward to a normal work week, and also of course looking forward to the FA Cup clash against Everton tomorrow afternoon. It was a great team performance against QPR last Saturday and I'm expectant that the team will be ready for the replay against Everton. Here are a few of my thoughts from the QPR match and some looking forward Everton...

• Colback was fantastic against QPR. He really has been wonderful this year, and if more people were paying attention to the football in the Northeast he'd be mentioned as a player competing for young player of the year. His performance in midfield was most noticed when he moved to LB, because we sorely missed his presence in the middle.
• With O'Shea playing RB it was clear that our central defense isn't as strong. With O'Shea picking up an injury and being out for the Everton match it will take a cleaner performance by our back 4 to keep Everton from the score sheet.
• I really liked the way Gardner played on the right wing and also at right back. He mirrors McClean's direct play and looked very comfortable out wide. I'm still not sure where he fits best on the field, but he's a good headache for the manager to have.
• I thought McClean was back at his best again against QPR, and we'll need him to be strong against Everton. 
• Everton's 5 man midfield gave us problems 10 days ago, and I wonder if O'Neill will adjust any to counter act their tactics. Will he play 3 in the middle and only 1 striker? If he does that who sits? Lots of tactical questions to be asked and answered, and it will be interesting to see how we lineup tomorrow afternoon.
• Here is my expected lineup, in a 4-4-1-1. Mignolet, Bardsley, the Greek, Turner, Bridge, McLean, Cattermole, Vaughan, Larsson, Sessegnon, Bendtner

It should be a great match tomorrow. I expect both teams to throw all they have at this game. Both sides will be coming in with a bit of confidence and I expect a goal less first half and the match to be decided in the last 30 minutes. I'm backing a 1-0 Sunderland win. Bendtner to get the game winner.

Ha'way the Lads!

Keeping perspective

One of the most difficult things to do as a fan is to not over react. Knowing that Martin O'Neills Sunderland squad has beaten sides like Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool you might think to yourself "he has made us in to a side that can challenge for Europe". But then if you watched the match against West Brom or Blackburn you would think we are a side destined for relegation. I'm trying to convince myself not to over react to either thought. Let's look at some positives.

• We play much more organized, and we are getting the most out of players who looked dead to rights under Steve Bruce. 
• Our form at home has dramatically improved. The Stadium of Light has become a difficult place to take points (now if only our grounds crew could get the pitch looking better).
• James McClean has emerged as a real talent and solidified the left side midfield position.
• Jack Colback has continued to develop and looks like he'll be a great player for Sunderland for years to come. Lee Cattermole also seems to have regained his good form but unfortunately hasn't improved all of his decision making (see the sending off after Newcastle). 

Now some of the frustrations...

• We still look like a side who struggles to create lots of goal scoring chances. 
• Stephane Sessegnon is a great talent, but without him in the lineup we look much more pedestrian up front.
• After a spell of good results we have struggled to keep our good form against teams we should beat (West Brom and Blackburn).
• I'm not sure we are deep enough to challenge each match in both the league matches and the cup matches. When we go to our bench our organization and form look much poorer. 

So what I take from all of this is that we are improving, and doing it much quicker than we could have originally expected. Now as fans we need to slow down our expectations and let Martin O'Neill continue to build up the squad as we finish the season. We are still alive in the FA Cup (only 6 teams can say that) and a top half finish is certainly within reach in the league. It's ok to be disappointed in the loss today but let's dust it off, get behind the lads, and come out full of enthusiasm for QPR on Saturday.

Ha'way the Lads!

Enjoying O'Neill

Coming in to this past weekends set of EPL fixtures Sunderland were enjoying Champions League form. We are tied with Arsenal for taking the most points since Martin O'Neill was appointed successor to Steve Bruce. When I read that on Sunday morning I was somewhat surprised, overjoyed for our current success, and a little wary of what's going to happen when our form takes a dip.


I think it is safe to say we are beyond the short term lift a club gets when a new manager comes in. QPR didn't seem to get one of those at all when they got Mark Hughes (glad we avoided him this time around). So Martin O'Neill clearly has us playing much better football. We are more organized, purposeful in defense and attack, and don't seem fazed by any opposition (except West Brom apparently). My question is: how far can O'Neill take the club? It's a little late for us to challenge for Europe this year unless we get in to the Europa league through our finish in the FA Cup, but moving forward, how far can we go?
I'm assuming this summer we'll see some turnover in the squad. Sessegnon apparently still isn't settled in England, there was talk of Richardson wanting out, and Kilgallon has been rumored to be on the move as well. O'Neill will get the chance to put his personal mark on the actual personnel of the squad and not just how Steve Bruce's squad plays. With a full season under O'Neill and a slightly revamped squad it will be interesting to see how we do in the league. I'm trying not to get my hopes to high, but I'm optimistic that we have the makings of a team that will no longer be in relegation battles but will be doing battle for spots in Europe instead.

We're coming to America (I wish)

This past weekend I had the misfortune of missing the FA Cup match against Everton because I was at a party. I've now watched most of the match and seen all the highlights of the 1-1 draw. I won't use this post to write a recap or match thoughts because most of what I would want to say has already been said, but I will say that I'm delighted we earned a draw and a match replay at the Stadium of Light.

One thing I did get to do at the party, which I rarely get to do in the States, is have a long conversation about sports that only included talking about the premiere league. Don't get me wrong, I love some American sports too, but none of it compares with watching Sunderland compete in the EPL. As I talked with my cousins and friends about footy I was struck with how big a market there is for footy in America. Unfortunately none of the people I was with were Sunderland fans (I was with Liverpool, Arsenal, and Barca fans) but I believe that Sunderland could really benefit from a growing fan base in the United States. Here is what I noticed in the conversation we had...

-All of us watch matches whether our team is playing or not.
-All of us were aware of major stories in world football whether our team were a part of the story.
-All of us are spending money on footy. We all own shirts, jerseys, scarfs of our teams and all of us pay to watch the matches.
-We are all real fans who passionately support our clubs. My cousin even flew to London to watch Liverpool play in the Carling Cup final.

So what does any of this mean for Sunderland? I believe the club could really tap in to the US market. Fans here in the States follow the big clubs because that is who is most often on TV and in the news. However, smaller clubs like Newcastle are beginning to get a following because they came to the States and played. Americans are now spending money to watch and follow Newcastle, and they do this because they got the chance to see them play live.
Another reason US fans follow teams is because they have Americans on their teams. Everton and Fulham have growing fan bases here, and all because of Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey. I'm not saying Sunderland should sign an American just to get some more fans, but I believe there is a growing number of quality players coming out of the US and some players are worth taking a look at.
Another way Sunderland could connect with the fans in the States would be to get connected to a club here in the States. Similarly to what they are doing in Ghana, I believe Sunderland could partner up with a club and there could be real mutual benefit both for Sunderland their American partners.

Sunderland has an American owner with ties to both Texas and Missouri. Both states have long and rich heritages of producing great talent, so Mr. Short, if you are reading this (and I assume you are), bring the club over to America for a pre-season tour, connect with a city and a club here in the States, and get ready for the support to pour in!

Who needs to play well?

If Sunderland are going to advance past Everton this weekend it is surely going to take one of our best matches of the season. Everton are enjoying a great run right now as they haven't lost in their last ten matches. They are playing full of confidence and don't fear any side right now. They have gone in to matches against the top teams and come away with some deserved wins. With that being said, I like our chances against anyone and I feel we have the ability to come away with a win. In all fairness, Sunderland can play for the draw and earn a home replay against the Toffees, but I think we have the side that can go in and win outright. Here are three players that I think have to be at their very best in order for us to win on Saturday.

1. John O'Shea- O'Shea will be wearing the captains arm band on Saturday, and he's the first player I think we need to play well in order to lead us to a win. He's been splendid playing center half filling in for the injured Wes Brown, Matt Kilgallon, and Titus Bramble. He and Michael Turner are playing excellent together, but I believe it is O'Shea who has given Turner the confidence he is playing with. 
2. Frazier Campbell- With Nicklas Bendtner's health status still unclear it will be up to Campbell to lead our attacking unit this weekend. I believe he has the pace and skill to give the Everton defenders fits, and without Sessegnon creating space for our attack it will be up to Campbell to lead the way. Whoever he is paired with (Bendtner, Wickham, Ji, Gardner), Campbell will have to be at his best in order for us to create goal scoring opportunities.
3. James McLean- Our young Irish winger has played splendid under Martin O'Neill, but the last few matches he has disappeared for stretches of time. He'll have to be very active in driving the play down the left wing and keeping the Everton defense stretched. 

Obviously it's not just these three that need to play well. But I believe if these three play at their best we stand a great shot of beating Everton and advancing to the last four in the FA Cup.

Ha'way the Lads

5 out of 55

Coming in to today's match, Sunderland had only won 4 out of the previous 54 matches against Liverpool. In the build up to the game it was expected that Sunderland would play a defensive minded match. Without Sessegnon, our main offensive catalyst, and also without Cattermole, our defensive force in the midfield, it was expected that Sunderland may struggle to get going in the match.

The first half went on as many expected it would. Lots of possession for Liverpool with neither team really threatening to score. It was in the second half when Sunderland looked to be settled in and began to take it to Liverpool. After a few spells of good possession Frazier Campbell's shot from outside the area looked headed to the bottom right corner but struck the post. The ball then hit off the head of Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and fell to the foot of the crashing Nicklas Bendtner who tucked the ball nicely in for the goal.

Liverpool enjoyed plenty of possession after the goal but never looked too dangerous to score. They had a decent chance in the 2nd minute of stoppage time where the ball was ping ponging around in the box but was eventually cleared and Sunderland emerged with a 1-0 home victory.

Here are my initial match thoughts...

• John O'Shea and Michael Turner are turning in to quite the defensive pair in the middle of the pitch. They dominated the Liverpool forwards and kept the Liverpool forwards far from goal for most of the match.
• Wayne Bridge filled in nicely for Kieran Richarson. He looked rusty in a few moments but for the most part he was in good positions to defend well.
• Jack Colback had a good match in the center of the pitch. I thought he was sloppy in possession a few times but he filled in for Cattermole really well.
• McLean looked dangerous a few times but I also thought he gave away possession too easily while we were trying to drain the clock. His youth showed there, but his attacking runs down the flank were dangerous.
• Bendtner and Campbell linked up well today, held up possession, and eventually combined for the game winner. I think we'll be just fine up top without Sessegnon.

All in all it was an excellent team performance. Martin O'Neill was at his managerial best as he shifted the lineup around, gave his players a job, trusted them to do it, and led the lads to another premier league win. All in all it's an excellent way to prepare the team for the FA Cup match at Everton next week.

Ha'way the Lads!