Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley says a top 10 Premier League finish would be a "massive achievement", regardless of expectations at the Stadium of Light. The Wearsiders ended last season in the top half, but despite a summer of squad strengthening have started the season with one win in eight games. "People have to be realistic, we're not going to finish in the Champions League," Bardsley told BBC Newcastle. "Let's just finish in the top 10 again. That would be a massive achievement." ****ing twat obviously Bruce has told him to say this he'll be getting some boos at bolton thats for sure http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15388078.stm:mad:
Don't know what the hell he's on about!?!?! Champions league football, not even the most optomistic of Sunderland fans expects finishing in the top 4. Finishing in the Premier League come May will be an achievement at the moment. They's something sadly wrong at the club and has been since last xmas, and what annoys me the most is that we are the one's who have to put up with it and we are the one's that also get blamed. Bar stewards!
+ What the hell are the chances of a team with left wingers playing left back, midfielders playing up front on their own and Elmo playing in a first 11 making the top 10! .....
I think your all looking too far into it. I again would be happy with a top 10 finish. I think he realises our squad is S**T so top 10 would be an achievment. You guys are too fast jumping on players backs, after all Bardsley was Player of the Season.
i'm jumping on his back because of his obvious defence of Bruce he's basically just repeating what Bruce said!
I don't think any fan expects Champions League - we haven't the squad size to get there and maintain a decent league effort and every fan knows it. But what fans do expect sometime soon is not to scrape 10th in the last minute of the season, courtesy of West Bromwich Albion and a strong start to the season - principally because we haven't had a strong start this season. What we all want, I think, is a steady season where we can look at 7th., 8th. or 9th. And with the money we've laid out, I don't think that's unreasonable. Bruce and his spokesmen have tended to drop the 'since the Newcastle game' bit recently because fans remembered shouting for his head in May - three months before the Newcastle game. It didn't cut any ice. So now it's fans' expecting us in the Champion's League - another daft excuse for 17th place.
Bad start, only got in the top 10 about 3 times in 50 years, half empty stadium, practically a new team trying to find some rhythm, I think a top 10 finish would be a massive achievement, thats why we were so pleased with it last year. Can't believe you're talking of booing Bardsley, the lad epitomises everything most people on here claim to ask from their footballers, lets drop the negativity and get behind them eh? He's been brilliant for the last 12 months so I don't think you should be giving him so much flak. I see a group of lads giving everything to try and a manger who cares a lot and is desperate to turn it round at the minute, that's all I ask
Pat and MrRAW. I'm with you in not blaming Bardo for saying it. It's just PR work. Bent went to Villa when Houllier was in trouble and said he was a brilliant manager. Gardner and Vaughan came here and said the same thing for Bruce. Gyan said he was "proud" to play for a club like Al-Ain when, in fact, he'd probably never heard of them a fortnight earlier. Today's footballers are a different breed to Shack or Milburn. They're celebrities and it's part of the job to say the right thing at the right time and be seen in the right light. Bardo just said what he had to say. We all know the effort he's put in on the field and I think he deserved to be player of the season.
I've seen sunderland finish in the top 10 3 times in the 35 years i've supported them so a top 10 finish is an achievement, but not a massive achievement. A massive achievement for me would be winning a cup or qualifying for Europe, however it's not going to happen this season imo or any other season with this clueless **** in charge
To the author of this thread - it is fans like you who make me consider not wanting to support Sunderland, and instead make me consider putting my head in an oven! Seriously though, top 10 is an achievement...but I agree we make it very difficult for ourselves.
so lets get this straight, you are expecting your own player to booed on the field while playing for your club, all because he made the perfectly reasonable statement that a top ten finish would be a great achievement?
to be honest a top ten finish in the entire league is great position for any club pretty much, especially when there about fifteen trying for the few spaces outside the top four.
