I was going to post this in the awards thread but that should probably be kept to celebrate Riggy and Jobes wins. here’s a few comments on Sunderland post by our own fans on the award threads posted by the club themselves “really I don’t see this and I’ve watched every match” “this is adding fuel to the fire” “Really? I like him but not really set league on fire to honest 2 more years In Championship and then ready for step up when about 21 or 22.” On Haway the podcast they were talking about people piping up watching the match just after the game had started saying he’s sh!te, he’s sh!te we are going to lose him. It looks like the club know about the negative feeling and they are going to try and address with a campaign but even then I think the “fans fault flaxon” brigade will just dismiss this and lay the fault squarely with the club My question is do we the fans have a negativity problem, are we more likely to point out the negative than the positives when talking about Sunderland ?
Think some do in some aspects, and no matter what the club does or level of success we get, they wont be happy, recall when I was at Wembley for the L1 PO, person near me was saying that the final was his first game of that season, didnt know any of the current squad. some arent happy that we're not in the PL, and wasting away in the lower leagues, which is beneath us. some wont be happy untill we spend 10m on each player I dont know how or what can be done to improve it, please log in to view this image
I think that venting off on Social media doesn't help. When I first started going you had a moan for a few moments after the game but moved on. Saying this and not defending anyone we have as a club underachieved for so long this creates a negativity. The problem is some people will not realise the value of some of the team til they are gone. I mean I am an eternal optimist but it has been a tough watch over both finishes to the last two seasons and it's weird as this has been a successful season in the main.
For some expecting the worst becomes a habit and their favorite comfort blanket. I think a lot of it is just human nature and the world we live in. Negative voices always sound louder, particularly online. It doesn’t mean most fans are negative, frustration just shouts louder than quiet optimism. I'm pretty certain it's no different at most clubs.
Definitely, I don’t hear so much negative noise where I sit, it does feel like a clean slate at the start of every match and I’ll bet it’s probably like that most places in the crowd.
honestly no they will just say they are keeping it real, being realistic etc and as we dont agree happy clappers, need to take the rose tinted glasses off not sure what can be done to improve it or how it can, it feels at times like being in the gladdiator ring, waiting to be entertain
I don't think we have a "negativity problem" any more than fans of other clubs. I think Sunderland fans are extremely passionate about their club, which means when they have a "negative" point of view it can often be delivered with verbosity which makes it seem extreme. But all clubs will have fans that are negative, pessimistic, never happy etc. Its a reflection on society as a whole, not on Sunderland / the north east as a region.
I remember the bloke next to me at the L1 playoff against Charlton, he must have been the most negative fan I have met at a game. He just kept going on about how we always lose at Wembley, even when we got that lucky own goal it was as if he wanted Charlton to score - just so that he could be right with his prediction The atmosphere is always different for me at the SoL and in my experience is poor in comparison to an away game. After 25 years I've still never been in the North stand. I think the 10 years or so in the Premiership had a negative impact on our support with a lot turning up to be entertained without creating any atmosphere by singing, cheering or even clapping. As said before, some seem to treat it as a piss up and would prefer to be in the pub rather than provide some support to their club. If we do go up this season it could be one very long moan fest for the vocal minority on here as we get stuffed most weeks.
I also think negativity is often a pre-emptive mental approach to self preservation. Fans are desperate for us to succeed but if they think and act like we won't, they won't be as disappointed when we don't. The answer to the whole "its the hope that kills you" mentality. If you don't get hopeful it can never kill you.
I don’t understand why anybody wants to go to the premiership at the moment, it’s absolutely ****. Is it just they can say look we are in the premiership and have been given all this money, neglecting the fact teams pay that for one player now and they’ll be expecting to buy a whole team
I don't think they do it intentionally - its all subconscious. They'll believe it to be true the same way "positive" fans believe what they're saying is true.
They might believe it’s true but others still don’t want to hear it. I can’t believe other fans don’t want to hear positive things about the club though.
That's quite true imo although they'd never admit it. There's a common theme on every forum, it's cast in stone. The negative people, who see themselves as realists, can't lose. They relentlessly hammer away at anyone's optimism, blame them for the 'malaise' of the club, tell them they're accepting mediocrity and allowing the players to believe they can do no wrong ... ... but when it goes right and we win/succeed they want to be part of that success so trip out the now famous line, "Yes I've called us worse than shyte, and criticised the supporters, but this isn't the time for arguments, we're all Sunderland together. No one is happier than me to be proved wrong" IMO the negativity is psychological and insecurity. Not wishing to be associated with failure is natural, if illogical in football, while wanting to be part of any success inevitable. Beating Wycombe, at Wembley, doesn't actually represent any real success, for a club the size of Sunderland, but even the most negative supporters would've celebrated with the rest. Did the victory mean we suddenly had a great squad and all the problematic issues had vanished ... ... of course not but the negative will never show their faces when things are going well. They hide until they can sense any weakness and start to chip away again. That's the reason they never start threads of their own because there's no longer a hiding place. So they cuckoo onto match threads where they can slip away easily if we win. It's laughable when we go behind and the 'game over' comments are instantaneously posted only for their internet to go down if we turn it round, Swansea for example. They'll claim they always post as much after a win as a defeat when it's blatantly clear they don't If you're expecting any of the negative posters to post on here you're barking up the wrong tree. They only leap out when we've conceded a goal, lost a match or failed to sign their suggested player ... ... posting on this thread would put them under the spotlight they only crave when they're proved right. Lose the playoffs and the 'I told you so' posts will be pasted in seconds* ... I suspect they're already prepared. *Bookmarked.
I love the comfort blanket think, mine is probably that “we can’t play as badly as last time surely” or “we’ll play better this time with x, y and z playing”
