Match Day Thread Sunderland AFC v Saudi State FC - FA Cup 3rd Round – Saturday 6th January 2024 - KO 12:45

We were playing against a side having spent about 500 million and who played Champions league football this season including smashing PSG 4-1.

Our team cost about 10 million. How on earth do you expect us to compete and go toe to toe with them? That’s not living in the real world.

 

That's what gets me, everything they do nowadays is aimed a deflecting away from the Saudi ownership.

 

The media don't say enough about it for me.

It should be mentioned everytime they play!

 

I thought we were really poor. Mags had it easy unfortunately.

 

Their fans were shocking yesterday but also annoyed me that the bars in town were 10 deep before the match. Was barely anyone out a week beforehand against Preston

 

Official Highlights

Spoiler: Warning not for those of a sensitive nature - or anyone who left just after half time :emoticon-0111-blush

5 minutes:

Extended:

Post match analysis:

Keano:

 

Had to reply

 

Think I'll give this a miss if it's all the same

 

Here is my view...

We were beaten by a PL team and frankly it was EXPECTED.
I was proud of the effort the lads put in but for the majority of the time we were outclassed - that's what money gets you.
I think we should learn valuable lessons from yesterday that sloppy balls and mistakes will get punished. For the rest of the time we put on a good show
I also think it may be a wake up call for the hierarchy that the gulf between Pl and The Championshiphas widened. I remember that even under Reid when we ran away with the championship we quickly needed Steve Bould and S. Scharz to stabilise us after a 4-0 defeat at Chelsea and then to get a 0-0 v Arsenal at home was like winning the title.
The learns we can take from yesterday are huge - the players, the coaching staff, the exec board, the club, and the supporters.

F**** the Saudis

 

I for one, would like KLD to stay and carry on with the progression of a proper club I can feel proud of

 

Are you not ashamed that people can't properly dry their hands mate, it's shameful tbh

 

Spot on take on it I'd say. The main positives are what we can learn from it and I'm sure we will.

I think it'll tighten us up for the rest of the season.

 

If i was a sports reporter, a tv presenter, a pundit, I certainly wouldnt keep raising it. Lets be honest, they have their finger in everything. They will spend, bribe, bully and threaten their way into taking over football eventually. Most of the media will have it in their remits not to mention the unmentionables. And their bosses possibly handed a little bonus whilst doing so. Many in the media, especially the old school, will be disgusted how football is now. But as long as they are getting big fat wage packets they will still sell it as the greatest show on earth. Me, the Premier League now is like WWF. The Premier Leagues presentation whiffs of the over the top stuff i used to watch in the 80s wrestling. Once i realised it was fixed behind the scenes and the same small pool of wrestlers won the titles, i lost interest. Lost interest in the Premier League when we were relegated obviously. But from the outside looking in, it's easier to see how obscene it is. And watching the brainwashed fans lapping it up, makes me sad that football has come to this.

 

Was well pissed off at the time, but find it quite funny and cringeworthy the way they're going on now. A team that's played likes of Dortmund, PSG, Milan etc and yet there crowning moment of the season was beating a championship team.

 

Although under reid we had seasoned players not young kids .

 

I can't disagree with any of that, you're especially right about the media. On MOTD they've actually tackled some serious subjects from racism to knife crime ...

.. but they glaringly avoid the most contentious issue of all.

I remember how Shearer would openly criticise the legitimate owner of a club who'd invested money and kept them in the PL. His name was Mike Ashley and Shearer portrayed him as a corrupt pariah deliberately holding Newcastle back.

He now smugly ignores the facts that the club was taken over by the state of Saudi, it was clearly forced through for political reasons by Boris Johnson and the 'legally binding assurances' aren't worth a giveaway b&w scarf.

The whole thing is like Jordan's tits ...

... totally fake with deep scars and only likely to get bigger.

Hopefully it will all burst wide open but I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

Cheered me up mate.

 

But maybe a ball or two over the top for Rusyn and Clarke to chase might have got something.
Good old fashioned hoof ball.
You are right, we were never going to beat them on the deck.

 

But bloody nice.