Looking at the teams around us, their fixtures and the fight to beat the drop, lots of twists and turns to come. 9th finish for us I predict.. ___________________________________________________________________ Manchester City v Sunderland Saturday April 9 9 Apr, 12:45 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton 9 Apr, 15:00 Manchester United v Fulham 9 Apr, 15:00 Sunderland v West Bromwich Albion 9 Apr, 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City 9 Apr, 15:00 Chelsea v Wigan Athletic 9 Apr, 15:00 Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City 9 Apr, 15:00 Bolton Wanderers v West Ham United _______________________________________________________________ Sunday April 10 10 Apr, 13:30 Blackpool v Arsenal 10 Apr, 16:00 Aston Villa v Newcastle United _________________________________________________________________ Monday April 11 11 Apr, 20:00 Liverpool v Manchester City ________________________________________________________________ Saturday April 16 16 Apr, 15:00 Blackpool v Wigan Athletic 16 Apr, 15:00 West Ham United v Aston Villa 16 Apr, 15:00 West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea 16 Apr, 15:00 Everton v Blackburn Rovers 16 Apr, 15:00 Birmingham City v Sunderland ____________________________________________________________________ Sunday April 17 17 Apr, 16:00 Arsenal v Liverpool __________________________________________________________________ Tuesday April 19 19 Apr, 19:45 Newcastle United v Manchester United ____________________________________________________________________ Wednesday April 20 20 Apr, 19:45 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal 20 Apr, 19:45 Chelsea v Birmingham City ____________________________________________________________________ Saturday April 23 23 Apr, 12:45 Manchester United v Everton 23 Apr, 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion 23 Apr, 15:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Fulham 23 Apr, 15:00 Liverpool v Birmingham City 23 Apr, 15:00 Aston Villa v Stoke City 23 Apr, 15:00 Blackpool v Newcastle United 23 Apr, 15:00 Sunderland v Wigan Athletic 23 Apr, 17:30 Chelsea v West Ham United ______________________________________________________________________ Sunday April 24 24 Apr, 16:00 Bolton Wanderers v Arsenal ______________________________________________________________________ Monday April 25 25 Apr, 20:00 Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City ______________________________________________________________________ Tuesday April 26 26 Apr, 19:45 Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers ______________________________________________________________________ Wednesday April 27 - Day 33 27 Apr, 20:00 Fulham v Bolton Wanderers ________________________________________________________________________ Saturday April 30 30 Apr, 15:00 West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa 30 Apr, 15:00 Sunderland v Fulham 30 Apr, 15:00 Blackpool v Stoke City 30 Apr, 15:00 Wigan Athletic v Everton 30 Apr, 15:00 Blackburn Rovers v Bolton Wanderers 30 Apr, 17:30 Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur _______________________________________________________________________ 1 May, 12:00 Liverpool v Newcastle United 1 May, 12:00 Birmingham City v Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 May, 14:05 Arsenal v Manchester United 1 May, 16:10 Manchester City v West Ham United _______________________________________________________________________ Saturday May 7 7 May, 15:00 Newcastle United v Birmingham City 7 May, 15:00 Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic 7 May, 15:00 Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland 7 May, 15:00 Everton v Manchester City 7 May, 15:00 West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers 7 May, 17:30 Tottenham Hotspur v Blackpool _______________________________________________________________________ Sunday May 8 8 May, 12:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion 8 May, 14:15 Stoke City v Arsenal 8 May, 16:10 Manchester United v Chelsea _____________________________________________________________________ Monday May 9 9 May, 20:00 Fulham v Liverpool __________________________________________________________________ Tuesday May 10 10 May, 19:45 Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur _____________________________________________________________________ Saturday May 14 14 May, 12:45 Sunderland v Wolverhampton Wanderers 14 May, 12:45 Manchester City v Stoke City 14 May, 12:45 Blackpool v Bolton Wanderers 14 May, 12:45 West Bromwich Albion v Everton 14 May, 12:45 Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United _____________________________________________________________________ Sunday May 15 15 May, 13:30 Chelsea v Newcastle United 15 May, 16:00 Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur 15 May, 16:00 Arsenal v Aston Villa 15 May, 16:00 Birmingham City v Fulham 15 May, 16:00 Wigan Athletic v West Ham United ___________________________________________________________________ Sunday May 22 22 May, 16:00 Aston Villa v Liverpool 22 May, 16:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Birmingham City 22 May, 16:00 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers 22 May, 16:00 Stoke City v Wigan Athletic 22 May, 16:00 Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion 22 May, 16:00 Manchester United v Blackpool 22 May, 16:00 Fulham v Arsenal 22 May, 16:00 Everton v Chelsea 22 May, 16:00 Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City 22 May, 16:00 West Ham United v Sunderland ____________________________________________________________________
I reckon 12 points out of the remaining games, don't know where that will leave us but it's realistically achievable.
bill a lady here read your article, since being converted she is a staunch makem now, and told me to tell you she wants your babies.
Personally as a mag I hate Sunderland but have to say that I think Sunderland will be comfortably midtable I don't think you have managed to push on considering your considerable outlay and players brought in. I think NUFC are surviving because of the quality of players in team not so much football wise but more bottle and personality wise Nolan and Barton are not perfect but they are consistent and despite our clown of an owner they will help us stay up. Ellis and Quinn or Ashley and Llambarse no question you are defo winning off the pitch!!!
After supporting Sunderland for nearly half a century I am more than used to the lads not making it easy on me mate. None of us could have foreseen this bad run, but we have the squad and with a little bit more determination I still believe we will finish top ten. Like you say off the pitch we are in the best position we have been in for many a year.
I agree with you that the fighting qualities of Barton (no pun intended) and Nolan are probably what we have been missing, i'm certain with Catts back, the bite will come back into the side, he ain't just the captain, he's chief motivator and dictator, despite not being the most naturally talented in the team. We are 3 players short of being a really, really strong side, i honestly believe 2 of those are already more or less done, without naming names, the 'big man' striker is the only thing that is as yet undecided in my eyes.
I wouldn't even say we needed a"big" man striker BB just some fecker than can attack and head the ball would do me. Watched Bendtner earlier now I like him but he had a couple of good heading chances and didn't even work the goalie and yes I know he is capable of doing it. Here's hoping Brucey has got his scouts looking for Cahill of Evertons taller brother
I dont think theres owt between the 2 sides really. However, Sunderland have struggled due to their squad being too thin when injuries happened and of course the main goalscorer being a knob n leaving them in the lurch. Am still not sure Bruce has any idea on tactics and long term structure of the team. Quinn is obviously in tune with the supporters but short term that doesn't gain any points in the league.
Didnt you notice Newcastle built a new flyover this afternoon to get us to Europe quicker then your boys travelling on the cobblestones
I agree there's little between the 2, i think we've got players who are more technically gifted, but you make up for it because your players seem to play for the badge a bit more. Having Catts and Turner out has hurt us massively in this respect, they are the 2 main men who would run through brick walls for the team, Catts donkey work is what gave the more creative players a bit more time and freedom earlier in the season when we were peforming. I feel Sessegnon is going to be mammouth next season, after a full pre-season in England, Gordon, Turner, Catts, Sessegnon and Gyan i am delighted with, as in they are absolutely good enough in my book. Bardsley, Campbell, Henderson, Bramble, Anton, Steed, Bolo, Elmo and Richardson are good enough, if not untouchable. Hopefully Sulley comes good, and Mensah stays fit, Mignolet is a more than capable second keeper. That's 17 players. Not enough to sustain a european challenge. Add Cook and Noble, who may well step in a bit more next season, that's 19. Wellbeck and Onouha if kept is 21. For me, that leaves us 4 or 5 short to realistically push for Europe. We need a left back, to give the team width, a proper left winger, we need 2 strikers, and we need decent cover for Cattermole. I think Mensah and Anton won't be here next season, so we want a ball playing centre back. That's not a lot of work in the grand scheme, and that's a lot of very capable players we already have, the outlook is very positive, especially with Ellis making clear that funds are available on top of the Bent money. The seasons going to feel like a disappointment, bu we need to remember we're still likely to achieve our target of top 10 given the remaining games. The biggest thing is that the progress is built on strong foundations, young players who will improve, not botching the side with old heads. We're alright.
