As much as I like Sunderland (believe it or not I do quite like you lot) I highly doubt you would get 4th! You could over take Liverpool though which would make me laugh uncontrollably throughout the entire summer.
Its possible just very unlikely, never say never and all that. I think like most I am expecting a top half finish with 8th place being the target. Having said that the run in of fixtures does look interesting, its not to easy for the sides above us because a lot of them still have to play each other, most of the games we have got against them are at home: (Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man U). Our 2 tricky away fixtures are (Mags and M'City). I think the Mags game will be what decides our season, win that and the confidence will be through the roof, I think a loss or draw is the likely result. The Man U home game could be very interesting. It could be the game they need to win the league so the pressure could really be on them. On the other hand they might have won it by then and we might be playing for 7th place or higher you just never know. The 4 home games (Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man U) will define what is possible, win those 4 games and you just never know what might happen. I predict we will finish the season with 51 points, last season that would have put us 8th
Do you think you're not in a honeymoon period? Do you expect this run of form to just be the standard ability of the side? If you guys continued like this from day one, you would literally be battling it out with Man City for the title. MoN is a cracking manager but he's not Jesus, although some people probably think he is.
TBH after the start we had I'd be deliriously happy with 8th, any more than that is a pipe dream (unless the skunks have their annual meltdown early enough)
I honestly think we're out of our honeymoon period. We're just in good form; everyone has good form in a season. Nobody continues with their top-form for the the whole of the season, look at Man City.
I thi k we are on a good run brought about by the confidence given by a good man manager. We've lost 2, and we've played a couple of team at the right time. Honeymoon period? No.
I think it's a mixture of the two. The good form associated with the buzz of a new manager like O'Neill. By the players experiencing Bruce and then O'Neill, they've been able to have a very direct comparison, so O'Neill's clearly much-improved management style would be like a breath of fresh air and a real lift. It's more profound when you have something to compare it with. I wouldn't even be so surprised if Sunderland could maintain a points record similar to ours over the long-term, but really, the current record is what you would expect of title contenders with world class players from top to bottom. In fact, to make up for the bad start under Bruce, you would have to have a record better than Man Utd and Man City up until the end of the season to slip into the top 4.
I understand that it's virtually impossible for us to get into the top 4. Top ten will be extremely satisfying! As long as we finish above Aston Villa, Stoke & QPR I'll be collecting some money from some stupid lads It'll be interesting how we perform next season; Woy had a great start at WBA... Obviously less games than MON but still. Next year I think both of us will be comfortably in the top half.
No one is expecting a top 4 ffs! However, it's good to aim high, of the teams above us, I think Liverpool are there for the taking and 7th is very realistic Yewrope anyone?
Chappaz - the artiucle is actually quite good - it's the title that spoils it (i.e. the fact that we're mentioned with the Champions League) We all know it'll never happen but when you read the article it's actually quite spot on
I think it's just a bit daft to be honest. For starters, what is even the point of it? The creator of the article even states that it's highly unlikely. Literally any team in the top 10 COULD finish 4th but would find it highly unlikely, so I don't get it really. And then there are just some ridiculous statements. Like this: So, they've won two of their last six games, not one. You can only have one keeper on the pitch so I don't know what the fuss is about having three, or how that has any major influence over the top 4 battle whatsoever. What kind of a statement is "bar Liverpool's best player, their midfield is weaker". That's like saying "apart from Cabaye and Tiote, Sunderland have a much better midfield partnership". It's just a pointless statement. ...And a complete inability to score many goals. Again, another pointless statement. "Apart from all of these very tough games, Sunderland have an easy set of fixtures". I wouldn't mind so much if the writer of the article put forward some good points and wrote a credible piece, but he just made himself sound like a spanner. PS: May I suggest that the article appears to be so good because it's essentially heaped praise on your team. I'm sure I'd like any article which proverbally noshed off Newcastle United from start to finish. I'm just looking at it from the perspective of the topic it has analysed.
