March 30th... O'Neil Sacked as Manager......................................... Shock, Surprise and Dismay! March 31st Di Canio Appointed as Sunderland Head Coach............... WHO! WTF!..Hold on Tight and try not to Blink!!!! April 1st (All Fools Day?) Paulo Di Canio introduced to the Fans............. Since then we have only just survived another very close call with the help of others to stay in the premiership (not even an imaginable outcome under the old regime). Had a Fantastic display which gave us a vital 3-0 Win some where or other which caused concerns in the Equestrian World. Put to bed a Scouse Jinx with a 1-0 at home (Thanks Sess!) Took a Battering at Villa (I used to like them more when they only did Pop!)which showed PDC just who the Grafters, Movers and Shakers were. Won a little at the Casino but lost out in the long run and started a back room revolution. In the aftermath of those first few Whirlwind weeks of PDC's appointment who could have foreseen or predicted the excitement and enthusiasm that would be injected in to the club, supporters and area just because of a very controversial and courageous appointment taken by the Clubs OWNER who was then forced to uphold his decisions in the face of the most barbaric and constant criticism by the gutter snipes of the press. Ellis Short deserves an award for his determination and courage in braving these ignorant bigoted excuses for human beings masquerading as Journalists, Politicians and Union officials. (No doubt some will forget their principles next season and return to get their fat noses back into the Hospitality trough!) The ending of the 'Jobs for the Boys' back room staff monopoly and the introduction of bright, eager, driven young coaches and scouts who are showing an appetite for the game and willingness to change all that is wrong at the club rather than proceed with the 'been like this for years' attitude of their predecessors is a long overdue and welcome breath of fresh air. The willingness and approach of Director of Football Roberto Di Fanti has seen our profile rise to an unprecedented level despite all the money spent (Wasted mostly) by recent managers. Since wasting £5M on a Duck Egg Centre forward who has less chance of scoring than Gedward in a knocking shop with Louis Walsh's Credit cards, we spend £6.5M on an Italian International with Champions League experience and 2 serie A medals who is at the right age to become a major player in the Premiership with the likely hood there will be more Marque signings to come in the near future (Rose? Miereles? Mavrias? et al) We are now seen as a serious contender when it comes to signing young foreign talent with a scouting setup and director of football who not only seems to know what he is doing but is being seen to do it. The Season is still 4-5 weeks away and the Transfer Market proper has not started yet but still the excitement is mounting in the area. The Asia cup will give PDC a chance to see his 'Brave New World' in competition for the first time against top class opposition but this time I do not believe we are going there only to 'Make up the Numbers' as in years gone by. I believe PDC really wants to win and believes we can, and will be expecting and demanding the same sort of attitude and commitment from the Lads. After supporting the Lads for Many years I have become accustomed to being let down season after season. .But somehow the Dawn of the coming season sees hope spring up anew and with all the excitement going around it is hard not to be infected. Our unwashed 'neigh'bors point out that we always refer to '73' when we won the cup. the reason is since then we have nothing to cheer about. we had a couple of good seasons under Reidy (if we had bought and strengthened at Christmas when we were in 2nd place they may have been better) but that is all in 40 years. With the ongoing activity and improvements at the club my impression is that that is all about to change dramatically I am writing this as a Balm to try to calm down the gut wrenching hunger for the season to start, having read many posts I think I am not the only one suffering from what SKY reported as FWD (Football Withdrawal Disorder) I was not aware of this but am now and know what I need to cure it.. A Season Ticket, A Full House at the Sol, The Roker Roar returning for every home game in all it's Glory, A top half finish and if it's not too much to hope for a bit of Silver ware would be really appreciated. FORZA SUNDERLAND!!!! VIVA LA REVOLUCION!!!!!!
Great read that Gloetrotter and a nice summary of the whirlwind few months we've had. 'Neigh'bours...love it!!
