We all, or most, accepted this is a season of transition and consolidation, and one the club desperately needs. I'm not gonna **** through my fanny cos we got tanked in a friendly. The last 4 years have been dross it's all about foundations this season. Let's support the team and gaffer even if the owners is a pure bred ****. Pardon the language.
Bad starts are terrible yes. Look how well Newcastle started last season and that momentum kept going... Oh... They lost their first three didn't they? Fixtures after the derby game don't bother me. You obviously think we've already lost them all. I prefer to stay positive and will take each game as it comes rather than write us off before we've kicked a ball Why would one result make a difference to signings? Again ultra negative. I'm not Celtic reserves beat us in a friendly. Not a competitive game. They're also playing competitively so they're fitness will be above ours. One of my major gripes with some of our fans is how negative they can beans how often that negativity manifests itself into a basic slating of the team on a match day. My guess us that you are no exception. Our players need fans behind them rather than pure negativity. If you're there on Friday they'll probably get the latter. I won't apologise for being an optimist
I still maintain we just need a CB. We won't sign one whilst Kone is hear on his 50k a week. As soon as that coward ****s off he will be replaced I'm sure. We turned down £18 million for that ****er and sold Kaboul for 39p. **** sake.
Well sorry if I'm sick of living a groundhog day-esque life in regards to following my team. I'm a very optimistic person, when we were relegated I predicted we'd win the league simply because we always do. However there's optimism and blind faith you fall into the latter category. If you think that result yesterday was acceptable for any club in the championship regardless of them being a magical week ahead of us then that's plain crazy. Also Newcastle lost their first 2 not 3 and spent a shed load of money In 3 transfer windows prior to that. Open your eyes man we are thread bare and the players we have either aren't good enough or don't want to be here, apart from a few exceptions. As for my behaviour at matches I've never booed my team or called for a managers head in the ground. This whole take each game and season as it come malarkey you're clinging too is why we are in such a mess. No forward planning, no correct preparation, no plan b these are the hallmarks of this utterly dreadful period in our history. So don't try and discredit a valid argument by trying to top trump my as some kind of all forgiving super fan and label me a pessimist as I could label you a happy clapper just as easily but I'd rather argue my point than try to discredit yours
Losing Kaboul was huge for us last year I like many at the time thought it was a bad move but not a fatal one, hindsight is 20 20
So your "season's over and were as good as down if we lose to Derby" attitude is a better way to look at it? Whatever. I'm optimistic thus season. I don't expect us to win the league but I expect us to compete. Yesterday's game doesn't change that. Pretty sure I've said pre season is pre season. Means nothing in the grand scheme. Good that you don't boo the team but too many with your attitude do. This is a big reason our players are under so much pressure and struggle so much. I remember season before last Watmore made a great run but messed up the pass. Simple pass and Defoe wove most likely scored. South stand gave him he'll. 10 minutes later roles were reversed and Defoe made the same mistake. Same people applauded him for trying. I hate this. Get behind them all all of the time or don't bother going. Or at least treat them all the same.
I think you're balanced and assessed the situation fine. The Balanced always get it in the neck. Happy clappers make you out to be doom mongers if things are going bad and the doom mongers make you out to be happy clappers when things are going good. They're the ones on a different plant yet the balanced can't win. You never ever ever come across supportive to me fella.
I don't recall saying anything to that effect. I said we're in trouble. All I want is for us to compete and to be able to watch a team that tries every week. Even if it's not a talented one just a committed one. I'd be the most cheerful poster of here if that's was the case. My fear is it seems not alot has changed from last year as far as a lack of team spirit and work ethic is concerned. So we're potentially looking at another season where the players aren't meeting the minimum expectations of them as Sunderland players. Men who don't deserve to wear our shirt doing so distrainfully and getting a kings ransom to do so. Maybe I'm just numb towards modern football and it's greed.
Ive found it hard to get excited when our big picture is so bad. Since Sam left its been pretty clear just how bad it is. I'd always thought if we stayed up we could build but I felt that the state Moyes, Sam, the FA, Ellis Short etc was insurmountable with the tools we had. So even the few wins and decent spells didn't really excite me as much because I had the lingering feeling it was futile. As I've said I'll be much more cheerful a out the place if we can put a competitive squad together but as the days go by that looks and increasingly difficult task. I'd be delighted to be wrong.
Sorry. I paraphrased. You actually said we're in massive trouble if we lose to derby! Never in the history of the game has a season been in massive trouble after one loss.
It's not just one loss though is it? it's a period of rapid decline showing little sign off changing. To balance my point winning would be huge! In front of a good crowd under the floodlights it could be a real catalyst for us.
Same here mate. Our mess ain't going to sort itself out over night is it? How can one get excited about a club that's completely ****ed from top to bottom. It's not doom mongering, it's the truth. I fully expect us to struggle first 3rd of the season at least. It's been 92 days since relegation was confirmed. Where it was widely accepted that we're a shambles on every level. A manager comes in with a few positive media bites, gob ****e garnish basically, and happy clappers who get hung up on media comments are on peoples backs for not being unrealistically positive after a measly 92days. Carry on mate, you've no bias towards negativity, you're just saying how you see it. It's going to take a lot longer than 92 days to turn our fortunes, longer than that to get a capable squad, longer than that for Grayson to even fully asses his squad. Assessing ability takes no time, assessing character takes a lot longer, some bad attitudes are blatant, but more often than not it's subtle and time is needed to snuff out the bad eggs. It takes time, a long time. It will take a long time to fix this club, it's still going to get worse before it gets better even if everything is being done right. We're still a shambles, how a month delay in appointing a manager, under two million spent and a load of people leaving is enough to restore the vigor in some folks views to the club is baffling, it's even more baffling they get on people's backs for not seeing it their far fetched way. Twitter is teaming them. Happy clappers, just as annoying as the doom merchants(who are already talking about league 1 btw )
I agree with him, don't think of it in terms of season, think in terms of situation. I know I moan about Happy clappers and doom mongers, but the fickle are the worst. Lose badly to derby and watch what the fickle do to the all round feeling and the doom merchants will fuel it and we'll have the beginning of another season long fan backlash. social media was sour from the off last season and it was yet another thorn in our side to go with the rest. Could easy be the same this season. And it adds to the poison and it's pointless as the fix is going to be slows and painfull as it is. Think you've taken Giacc a bit out of context fella. Defo think he's think more on the pshoclogical effect of the situation rather than the final places come end of the season.
In hindsight this fixture with Celtic was foolhardy and has done a lot of damage to the mood around the club going into our first game of the season. I hope the players respond in the right way and give the manager the start he needs, and deserves, considering the size of the task he has taken on. I still think we will consolidate this season but its not going to be pretty.
Can see Sunderland's season ending in the bottom half for a few seasons yet....A strongest side possible against Celtic was the right thing to do to see where you are and you got your Answer with a trouncing.......The aim is not to get relegated again and try to build slowly for the next few seasons because lets be honest here Sunderland have been very poor for a number of seasons and the hammering by Celtic shows you are far from good enough to even think about getting back to the premiership yet..
This pragmatic post has put the long running 'my dad's bigger than your dad' 'I am a better supporter' arguments into context. Most on here want Sunderland to win and do well, but our support and encouragement is not the same - some are positive and some negative, but we are all passionate about Sunderland AFC As Clockstander points out it'll not be pretty but its never an easy ride supporting Sunderland - no change there really
I never said I was totally writing him off but I'd hoped to have seen some influence on shape, system work rate, anything really. Unfortunately there was nothing. It could have been Moyes sat with his arms folded in the dug out for all we knew. Striker playing on the wing. 2 mile gaps between midfield and attack, no clear ideas or pattern of play. Can't remember 3 passes being strung together. Just lumping it from the back, misplaced passes or just giving it back to Celtic.
You were talking about promotion and how the squad was good enough and big enough as it is a week ago, make your mind up. Horrible fan, turn like that off one result. God knows how many have said it's going to take a long time to fix this club yet you bounce around like Tigger from promotion to slagging us off from one result. Maybe you're so angry because you set yourself up for a fall and that's where you frustration really lies, after all you were bigging us up before that game, squad is big enough and good enough you were saying. He's been in the job 93 days you unreasonable man, this club is going to take years to fix. Reality check, there's going to be more days like this, you can't buy committed quality players for nowt and we've got nowt to spend. Shocking fan imo. Always thought that. Wolf in sheep clothing. So impatient, so intolerant, so temperamental and changeable you don't even seem to like the club, you go on about promotions than slag it off. You're Monty with a vocab. 93 ****ing days. Give the bloke a chance. It's going to take years to fix us. It's your reality check, not the clubs or the fans who have the good sense to grasp the situation at our club. Real world Parker. Check it out.
On paper we should be looking at promotion. We have a lot of players who'd walk into most teams in this league. The right manager would get that squad top 6. Is that Grayson? Time will tell. All I meant was that performance was a shambles and it's a huge wake up call. I expected to see some of Grayson's influence, how is that being unreasonable? It's not like it was the first game under
