Just got on the train, 90 minutes and I'll be at wembley. My stomach is churning, I've got the ****s and I'm hungover, but I don't care, in 5 hours I'll be watching my team in a cup final at wembley. This is what being a football fan is all about. Haaaawwwwaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy.
A very good read imo. http://www.footyplace.com/features/...r-pride-history-fans-and-wearside-0302283884?
Class Sunderland’s players will be bidding to write themselves into Wearside folklore when they take on Manchester City in the Capital One Cup final, writes Chris Weatherspoon. 1973. America’s ill-fated stint in Vietnam comes to an inglorious end. General Pinochet takes command in Chile. And, on the first Saturday in May, Sunderland defeat Leeds United to win the FA Cup Final. The latter may not remain particularly clear in the world’s mind but, on Wearside, it is forever etched into the fabric of the community. Forty-one years on, the men who slayed the Leeds beast remain household names in a football-mad city. Montgomery. Malone. Guthrie. Watson. Pitt. Hughes. Tueart. Kerr. Porterfield. Horswill. Halom. For over four decades now, those eleven have been the talk of the town. Jimmy Montgomery, heroic goalkeeper that day in May, remains an ambassador for the club. Bob Stokoe, the manager who masterminded that success, is now deceased, but his memory lives on in the shape of a statue outside the club’s home, the Stadium of Light. Eyes wide and arms outstretched, the bronze figure perfectly replicates Stokoe’s own memorable celebrations at the final whistle. Scarcely a year goes by when Sunderland fans are not reminded of that miracle of ’73; scarcely a year goes by when the current incumbents of the red and white shirt fail to match those lofty successes. Bet on the Cup final at Ladbrokes for up to £50 worth of free bets Sunday offers a chance for fans and players alike to move on. Should Sunderland floor the might of Manchester City at Wembley, their playing squad will not be so revered as their predecessors. Football has changed too much and moved too far away from the working man for that to be the case. But, if they do pull off a victory on that hallowed turf, the achievement of Gus Poyet and his men should not go without grand acknowledgement. The Uruguayan will have transformed this side from one deemed certs for relegation as early as September into trophy winners, not to mention a side that will have beaten the three previous English champions in their route to glory. Just as it may have been difficult to convey to the outside observer what that victory in 1973 meant to the Sunderland footballing public, so the same applies in the run up to this modern day final. In truth, this is everything to Wearside. It is an area that has lived long under the cloud of decline – the city’s famous shipbuilding prowess was dispensed of many decades ago – not to mention a general feeling that their neighbours across the Tyne receive preferential treatment from local government and the media alike. It is a club that has had to put up with ignominy of not just one record-breaking low points total for a league season, but endured the fate twice. A club that for years has seen under-investment hold it back from its dreams and, undoubtedly, its potential. How cruel it would be, then, if the club were now to lurch into yet another period of despair. In Ellis Short, the Texan billionaire, Sunderland finally have a man at the helm willing to plough millions into making the club a success. Yet, regardless of what happens in London, they still find themselves deep in a relegation tussle, the ramifications of which could be huge. In Sunderland, there is no bigger day than this For financial reasons, of course, the club is hoping for glory. Walk into any club merchandise shop in the past week and you would struggle to find much of note, the shelves having been emptied in the cup final frenzy. But, more importantly, this Sunday represents an opportunity for an entire city – and beyond, into the Mackem strongholds of County Durham, Washington and so on – to take pride once more in its beloved football team. Around Sunderland right now, road signs are bedecked in red and white, public plant pots and ornaments likewise while, high upon the iconic Wearmouth Bridge, an enormous set of banners proclaim the club’s rallying call, ‘Ha’way the Lads’. For many, victory may just be the cherry on top of the cake. Last month, 9,000 hardy souls made the journey to Manchester and Old Trafford, home of the champions, to witness a night beyond their wildest dreams. That evening, full of spectacular drama and emotion, will live long in the memory of those who were there. A scouring of the away end at the final whistle would have unveiled joy untold amongst that huge throng of travelling support. While it was the boastful ‘We’re going to Wembley’ chant that caught the ears and eyes of those watching on television, a closer inspection would have shown far more raw emotion: fathers and sons and friends in rapturous embrace, floods of tears flowing from men who perhaps did not know football could bring such feeling out of them. If Old Trafford offered the shock of the unexpected, Wembley offers the chance to make history. Over 30,000 will be there this time, not to mention countless more making the journey to the capital without a ticket. They will go not in expectation but in hope, their first cup final in twenty-two years, a new experience for an entire generation to savour and gorge upon. And what of those men from ’73? Ten of them will be there. Stokoe and Ian Porterfield, the winning goalscorer, will be watching from on high. While that famous victory has shaped the lives of that team for much the better, there will doubtless be plenty who hope this weekend sees their torch passed on. Their memory and achievements will live on. It is time for new heroes on Wearside.
thank you sunderland you have made so many proud with this cup run and aslong as you give everyting today you will be heros upon your return greeted by thousands with or without the cup now is our time the day is yours you have only but to take it!
I hope they win for all the lads and lasses there today!!!! It's close people, you can almost taste it!
Good luck this afternoon, I may regret this later (and for years to come) but I do actually hope you win today and wish you the best of luck. Aside from the small percentage of arseholes which every club has you're a good bunch of fans who have patiently waited for success in large numbers and are surely more deserving of some silverware than Man City. Now all you need is for your players to go out an earn it - easier said than done but 11 vs 11 there's always a chance. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves anyway, I went down to Wembley in 99 and loved it despite the result - lets see if you can go one better.
My last breath Sunderland XI: Mannone, Bardsley, Alonso, O'Shea (c), Brown, Cattermole, Colback, Ki, Larsson, Johnson, Borini Subs: Ustari, Gardner, Fletcher, Celustka, Giaccherini, Vergini, Scocco Man City XI: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Demichelis, Kolarov, Nasri, Toure, Fernandinho, Silva, Aguero, Dzeko
Good luck for today! I'd much rather see Sunderland lift a trophy than the Man City millionaires...that video of the fans last night was funny as BTW
Midfield looks solid!! COOOOOOMMMMMOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
