About 6000 tickets became available from season ticket holders, we had sold 31k out of 36k before the general sale. Currently at 4340 left last updated (11:10am) https://safcticketing.azurewebsites.net/api/tickets
I got an extra one for my boy. Luckily the guy next to me hasn’t bought his (he’s in Tenerife next week). My brother got a half season ticket but is in Turkey. Because he only has a half season ticket, he only guarantees Wembley by buying a ticket for the playoff semi! So he’s got a spare seat for next Friday
Class read “Teams try to bully me all the time,” Rigg explains. “Every game, physically and mentally. You would, wouldn’t you? If you’re playing against a 17-year-old kid – ‘I’m not letting him get one over me’. But they have to put up with it, don’t they…? “The verbal stuff is constant, but I enjoy it, I give it back. I’m not scared. There is a lot of it in the Championship. I’ve been told loads of things, people telling me they’re going to injure me, so I miss the play-offs, told I’m s---, stuff about my mum. People don’t see it, but it’s part of football. “I laugh at it, you’ve got to enjoy it or football isn’t the game for you. There was this one time, we were playing Southampton and I was shoving one of their defenders. I was marking him and he just said: ‘You’re still getting breastfed, aren’t you?’ That was a good one, but it doesn’t knock me out of my stride. They are testing me mentally as well as physically.” Rigg has passed those tests. He is an all-action, multifaceted midfielder, which makes him an intriguing option for a variety of positions, even as he continues to grow and strengthen. ‘My first training session at 15, I absolutely smashed Jay Matete’ “I remember travelling with the first team to Birmingham when I was 15,” he recalls. “The club had to write to my school, Hebburn Comprehensive, and get a permission letter to ask for me to come out of lessons for the day. “They had to say I wasn’t skiving or anything. I didn’t actually make the match-day squad but I was on the bench against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup and came on for my debut about two weeks later. “The lads were really good with me. I just settled in straight away. I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t feel like a boy playing with men, I was already kicking them all over in training. “I knew I was there for a reason, it wasn’t a token gesture. I wanted to show everyone that. Some kids might have been daunted, but I’d been here for so long, it just felt like a natural progression. I’d come through all the age groups quickly, it just felt like a continuation of that. My first training session, I went in for a tackle with Jay Matete and I absolutely smashed him. It was a good tackle, but I absolutely smashed him. The lads were like: ‘Woah… who is this kid?’ “When I next got the ball, he charged in, completely wiped me out. I got up and said: ‘Fair enough.’ I think the lads loved that.” There is, however, an elephant in the room. Given where he is from, there have always been questions about Rigg’s background. In short, is he a Newcastle fan playing for their biggest rivals? It is not a question Rigg has answered publicly before. Initially, he is reluctant to do so, knowing the potential risks attached. After a moment’s reflection, he decides it is time to tackle it. ‘I think my dad’s a secret Mackem now’ “The best decision I made was coming to Sunderland,” he replies. “For them to put me in the team at 15, I don’t think many would take that risk. It’s been so important for me. I could have signed for Premier League clubs and not played anywhere near the number of games. “If you look at the England squad, virtually all of them have played in the EFL at some point, whether that was on loan or starting their career in the lower leagues. It’s sped up my progress undoubtedly. “Sunderland are my club, I’ve been here my whole life. I come from a family of Newcastle fans, there is no point hiding that, but it changes when you play for Sunderland in front of those fans. “My family being Newcastle fans has no impact on me, it doesn’t change the way I feel about Sunderland. The fans have been unbelievable. They could have thought, ‘Nah, he’s a Newcastle fan’ or whatever, but I think I’ve shown what this club means to me. It’s not really a debate. “My dad gives me a little bit of stick, but he comes to all Sunderland’s games. I think he is a secret Mackem now. He puts his son above everything, he loves watching me and he absolutely loves coming to our games.” How long Rigg will stay at Sunderland remains to be seen. He has already been linked with moves to Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur, and, yes, Newcastle too. “I don’t listen to any of the speculation,” he replies. “I’ve got far more important things to worry about, like trying to get Sunderland promoted.”
His dad is gonna love him for calling him a secret Mackem! He'll probably get so much stick from his family and mates
Brilliant interview...for a mag Very similar to Jobe in maturity for such a young age, you can see the kid gives his all for the club and sounds very grateful for the opportunities he has been given. And as we all know, this club gets under your skin.
I've managed to repeat this on hear, and to a WhatsApp group, and as Heron lad pointed out, it's untrue...
Really good post mate pretty much sums up exactly where I’m at. Said for a while I don’t think there’s much in the form of leadership on the pitch for all the talent there is but time for both players and RLB to show what they’re about now. We’ve proven we are more than good enough earlier in the season.
They lost 3, one of which was away Leicester. Then only lost 1 of the 8 before that which was away to Ipswich. Leading up to those 8 games they lost a couple but that was off the back of not losing a single game from September to February.
Sorry to be pedantic ... (Like f*ck I am.) ... but we're not Southampton and Coventry aren't West Brom. It's all totally irrelevant and what Southampton did has no bearing on what Sunderland will do. We need to forget about all this shyte about bogey teams, switching on/off and past results. Were Coventry switched on when they lost to Plymouth and Luton, were they f*ck. Lampard has been heavily backed at his clubs but won nothing ... ... in his second spell at Chelsea he managed to do worse than Potter, in fact the worst run of any Chelsea manager ever. Coventry scraped into the playoffs despite losing their nerve against two relegated teams and Hull who only just stayed up. Yes, they've had some good results but they're a long way from being consistent or nailed on to beat us.
