Off Topic Non-Sunderland games

My problem with 'finishing 17th', which many said would be success, is that it actually amounts to a season long fight to keep your head above water. It's not like you can just aim for that position and relax, you'd still be sweating during the last couple of weeks of the season ...

... balls to that, we're either here to compete or we're just another Burnley and doomed to bore everyone before you eventually go down.

 

That's AI, getting slightly scary how realistic this stuff is getting tbh...

 

All that matters too. I now believe we’ll finish around 14th and that would be unbelievable. The talk of Europe is crazy imo.

 

Was it crazy at Forest, Palace and West Ham ...

... it may not happen, but then again it might.

 

Decent limbs from the Villa players and fans

 

All 3 had better squads than ours when they qualified. We’ll get there eventually

 

If the owner is talking about it I don't think we can be classed as crazy tbh.

 

Villa going ridiculously well now.

 

Had them on my ACCA to win, unfortunately I also had Leeds to win...close but no cigar

 

Their gaffer has done an unbelievable job like

 

If Everton, who've been pretty poor most of the time I've seen them this season and who we were definitely better than up here, can currently be 5th, there no reason we can't aim to be in the top 8 this season. That probably would get us into the Europa League/Conference. It's an ask, but we'll never know if we don't try and give it a go.

 

Brighton and Crystal Palace wins today, please

 

At this moment we are too weak up front to make a play for Europe imo, and although I think Reg is not using his squad to its maximum, with a fair wind, we will end up near the top of the bottom half, and that would be a huge achievement given the strength of the competition.

 

The window opens soon and KLD is already hinting that business is being lined up …

… I’d hate him to be thinking, ‘What’s the point when people are sitting back thinking survival is all we deserve.’

Seriously, if we can’t get excited and optimistic now I don’t think it’ll ever change. The club had a five year plan, that many people scoffed at, but they’ve done everything they promised and more.

This squad is just getting to know each other but to simply dismiss them as inferior to West Ham, Forest, Everton, etc is unfair in my opinion. I’d put this squad up against the Leicester side that won the title with Morgan, Simpson, that Mexican lad, etc.

If we can’t dream now it’s time to just accept we’ll never achieve anything.

 

We've had that many sides and players at the club who have gone through the motions and picked up wages. We then had players who weren't really good enough when we were in league 1. KLD has come in and changed everything about the club behind the scenes and in the pitch.

Apart from when Beale was in charge, we've had a team that was challenging for the playoffs using young and hungry players and last season we added that little bit of quality in the shape of a certain Enzo Le Fee and we got promoted. Everyone expected us to have our arses handed to us every week in the Prem but KLD, Reggie and Speakman had other ideas - we weren't gonna just be making up the numbers so they did something about it.

In came a player that Simeone really rated, a centre half that was voted into the team of the season in La Liga, a centre midfielder that was voted one of the top players IN THE WORLD, other young and hungry players. But that wasn't really enough for KLD, he went and brought in a Sporting Director that other teams really wanted, including a certain team up the road. We're 7th in the league, playing decent football, only Man City have scored more than 2 goals against us in the league. This team never really knows when it's beat.

The table is tight this season, (well unless you're Wolves) we have a chance of challenging for Europe, our owner has publicly said he wants a top 10 finish! If you can't get excited about how this season is going at the minute after everything we've experienced in the last 20 seasons, when are you?

 

Quite a few people, including some on here, expected us to struggle to finish higher than Wolves …

… I’ll take the club’s opinion over their’s tbf.

 

Ah yes the "realists", waiting for it all to blow up in our faces so they can say "told you so". If they want to get their kicks waiting for the team to **** up, then I'll get my kicks watching the best and most exciting team in the last 20 years

 

Aye. But some pessimism was understandable after decades of ****e!

The article in the Athletic that someone posted the other day said everything to me. Were here, and were staying, and there's not much point unless we have a go.

If we reach high and fall below it fair enough. It's the fact that we are actively competing, on and off the pitch that is different now. And that has probably still not dawned on some of us!

 

Unlucky that been some naughty odds as a pair.

 

Today's Sunday League fixture of choice for the bairn an I was Myres FC v Fatfield Club at the Billy Hardy Sports complex in Castletown. A dominant display from the away side saw them race into a 0-3 lead before HT, in truth it could have easily been 6 or 7. They added another couple shortly after the break to make it 0-5 and ran out 1-8 winners in the end.