In trying to think of a title for this thread, the word SMUG came to mind, I thin k that just about covers it. With one more pre season game to come, kick off jut over a week away and the derby 2 weeks away I am feeling very smug indeed. Now please donât get smug mixed up with complacent or over confident, it is Sunderland we are talking about so smug is as far as I want to go. We have laughed at our neighbours, debated at length how we should use N.Zogbia, questioned the wisdom of buying Defoe, Bellamy and Crouch and wondered why Larssen played on the left, now its nearly time for the talking to stop. Will we get that LW player or that striker, who knows but all we can rely on is what we have and what we see, its seeing what we have and comparing it to what we had that brings that word smug to the forefront of my mind. Pre season friendlies against Hartlepool and Darlington will I guess be a little different to our games against Liverpool and Newcastle but its all we have to go on. The positives outweigh the negatives, in my mind, that I think I and you have every right for a bit of smugness, yes,yes,yes that new LW master will improve things and yes it would have been great if OâShea had enjoyed a full pre season but right now we donât have him and he did not, lets look at what we have and not moan about what we may get, options and good options is what we have. 2 excellent keepers with Gordon in the background to add on. Defence, Bardo,Anton,Bramble,Brown,Turner,OâShea, Richardson, Laing. Solid and experienced with Richardson for back up and the youth of Laing, surely we can get a solid back 4 out of that lot. Midfield, Elmo, Larssen,Catts,Colback,Vaughn,Gardner,Richardson(again),Meyler, Sess and even Ji and Wickham. Larssen and Catts will start but who will join them, choices and good ones. Strikers and here I am at my most smug, Gyan and Sess are starting to click, both will be on fire, IMO, for kick off and we have Ji,Wickham, Richardson(again) ready to step in. Goals, Sess,Gyan,Ji,Wickham,Colback,Gardner, Larssen have all shown they can score. Larssen delivery should see Brown,OâShea,Bramble and Turner chip in. And I have not even mentioned Cooke and Noble. What a smug bastard I am, cant wait for my Saturday trip to Scotland.
Never a truer word spoken I am looking forward to this season, and if we avoid the injuries of last then we should be able to sit in the top 10 throughout I also cannot wait for the academy lads to show what they can bring to the table -> Cooke, Laing, Noble, Liddle etc wont count towards our 25 man squad and would be good for them to play in the cup games. I reckon, if beat the probabilities and qualify for Europe this season, that our squad will be strong enough for us to cope with us playing in both Europe and the league (unlike Fulham) especially as our young lads should have matured somewhat by then.
I agree - I thought heading into last season we looked like we had moved forward but still looked a little brittle and with Bent and Jones just not gelling I wondered if we would be potent enough. Of course both are gone now and although I would have liked to keep Bent I feel much much happier with our potential to get goals from multiple players heading into this season. I also think we have much better depth to the squad and with the experienced lads Bruce has brought in I do not see us leaking late goals the way we did last year. I'm looking forward to this season with far more quite confidence than last - that's not to say I think we'll be getting any easy games but I have to believe we are capable of beating anyone on the day with these players. If we can fix the left as a lot of people are talking about we should be very optimistic.
Cyber-pussy eh...Sounds interesting... However, what immediately come to mind when I read this, was a quote from a Scottish sociologist who I came across a couple of years ago (his name escapes me at the moment), who compared cyber-space to 'Rubber Rita' regarding the formation of meaningful relationships..
They're at the stage where they're insulting each other on the internet, its the virtual equivalent of pulling a lasses pigtails when you were in school. It's quite sweet to watch really.
Cheers mate: I might pop over there sometime for a touch of cyber-voyeurism with Riviera and pet pusscat..
Firstly, I'm not wumming so dont all just turn on me because you have nothing better to do. But have Ji and Wickham really proved they can score goals? Wickham, yes, but in the Championship. Ji by all accounts actually has a pretty poor goalscoring record. That aside, reading through your squad list there, you do have a classy first XI if everyone is fit. This is almost certainly what Agent Bruce will go for IMO Westwood O'Shea Brown ****us Bardsley Larsson Gardner Cattermole Vaughan Sessegnon Gyan
I like how you say that you are not wumming and then refer to our manager as Agent Bruce... In all seriousness the players names that you have mentioned at the beginning of your post are still a bit of an unknown quantity so only time will tell how good/not so good they really are..
We probably have the best looking squad in my time, but I'm still very nervous because of our first 2 fixtures. Liverpool away..... Mags at home. Getting nowt is not an option. Would have preferred Wigan and Norwich to settle the team in.. x
Smug or Fickle? A fairly ****e pre -season and it was,"oh it's pre-season, they mean nowt it's all about fitness and formations" All of a sudden, it's we are looking good on the back of a win. Fact, we will get battered of the scousers. Fact we will beat the mags. All in my opinion like, so maybe not quite fact, but more of a possibility.
I'm smug in the fact, that i support the top team in the NE. Not smug over pre-season, but just content with a lot that is going on, I'm expecting a steady season, no major drama.
