Over the recent past Sunderland have got quite close to winning important games then falling flat at the final hurdle.ie. 1992. Nearly winning the FA Cup. (well we got to the final but never turned up that day, a recurring theme.sadly) 1998. Nearly winning the play off final against Charlton.( we did turn up that day, sadly the defence didnt.) 2004. Nearly reached the FA Cup final, Loosing to Mr Cahills Millwall. (we didnt turn up that day) 2012. Nearly reached the FA Cup semis, I dont need to explain about yesterdays game. Chuck in numerous local derbies against the Crass and you follow what I am getting at. When it comes to the big games, especially at home when we have a practically full house, great atmosphere etc. my beloved team invariably goes missing. So as my heading suggests can Martin ONeill be the man to change all that once he has had the opportunity to bring to the club those players he feels can add to an already (in my opinion) decent squad, or are we to go forever in getting so close to glory only to have it given away by those on the field not turning up when we so desperately needed them. Im sure if I thought long and hard I could have thought up a few more Nearly matches. Discuss
I have just watched his interview on Look North and I have never seen a manager look as gutted as he did. He certainly understands how us fans are feeling. I am certain if anyone can do it he is the man to overcome the 'nearly' syndrome.
Only time will tell mate, the summer is going to be very interesting. There will be no excuses next season, and i dont think itll be long before we see a vast improvement in the pace of the team.
If anyone can its Mon. I too watched that interview and he was crestfallen. Absolutely gutted and he wasn't bothered who knew it. He was hurt along with vhe rest of us and it certainly made me shake off my blues. Can he change a 40 year cycle of abject failure? He will need money, time and huge backing from us as fans if he is to do just that. I hope and trust he gets all 3 in large quantities. Oh, and a massive slice of luck as well.
What I love about MON is that he tells it exactly how it is.... We were second best and Everton deserved to win the game - it’s really disappointing. The second goal was cruel. Although we hadn’t played very well, we were still in the game at that time but even so, I’m not sure that we did enough to warrant that. We built ourselves up for the game, we did very well to force the replay but we came here tonight and didn’t perform well enough in the game. The general performance was disappointing –basic things like being able to control the ball, pass it and hold it – those things were disappointing on a big night. Everton deserved to win it. They are very strong with a lot of experienced players and tonight they were better than us. It was disappointing for the big turnout that we had and we should have done better. There are eight more games to go this season. Unfortunately the cup run has gone, but there’s something to draw from it. The atmosphere tonight was really fantastic – that’s what this football club should be about. I know that cup competitions are a long, long way away right now but nights like tonight are the sort of nights we should have more of. That should be our aim.
That's the funny difference between you guys and us. We usually turn up for the big games but we tend to underestimate the smaller teams and find it very difficult against them. It's equally annoying, believe me.
I think between you the posters above have just about said everything that I'm feeling right now...I think what hurt me the most on Tuesday night was the look of pain and disappointment on my two lads faces at the end of the game, which reminded me of the hurt that I have experienced as a Sunderland fan on many occasions since I saw them win the cup as a young lad in 1973...However, following games like Tuesday, it is often easy to forget that we have had some great days over the years as well, with promotions and great escapes, and we have of course had to win games to get to the cup finals and semi finals mentioned by the OP which many football supporters have never experienced... I suppose what I'm trying to say is that it hasn't been all bad, and all in all I have loved the rollercoaster ride that comes with being a follower of SAFC, and these frequent disappointments just make the rare successes all the more enjoyable..
Mr RAWhite. I understand where your coming from and yes we have had exciting games that some clubs supporters never experience but its just like a Chinese water torture supporting Sunderland at times, the drip, drip drip of big games that have come along since I started supporting the lads in 1959 that we seem unable to turn into glory with the exception of 1973. It dosent stop you supporting the lads but it would be nice that occasionally before I get too old to know where I am that I can sit back and bask in some glory, I am convinced however that MoN IS the man to bring those days too us all.
