Consecutive Clean Sheets Unbeaten in 3 3 Headed goals so far this season, should have been 4 as Dack should have scored 2 Goals scored from outside the Penalty area Some great crosses going into the box The whole of our very young defence have signed extended contracts We have a Plethora of Strikers Anything else?
Mowbray signed an extension Recruitment team doing a cracking job Players showing togetherness and happiness on the pitch Bennette and Ba showing their potential Rigg - no explanation needed. Jobe and Dack tremendous. Pritchard staying for another option. Should only get better with the new strikers.
We have a great stadium, with 40k crowds, and play entertaining football ... so we're regularly chosen for TV games which brings in extra income and makes us attractive to local youngsters. We no longer have to worry about competing with Newcastle since they became the puppet football club of a corrupt state. Ironically they actually fill their ground now which benefits Sunderland ... local kids, wanting to see live football, will go to the SOL. The excellent way the club is being run is overcoming our geographical disadvantage. Players like Amad and Burstow are actually choosing to come to Sunderland. We got Patterson, Neil and Rigg for nowt
Not quite - it was a clause in his original deal that triggered an extra year Still, it's something for us to be happy about
Too much to mention. Finally a smart regime that through investment in the right areas of recruitment and development have built a tremendous squad of young, likeable, skilful, athletic players busting with value who seem happy to be here (albeit with the knowledge it may be a stepping stone). All done in a sustainable manner meaning that we have infrastructure and processes in place that will see us repeat the feat over and over without jeopardising the future of the club. A great academy with renewed focus on offering a pathway to its graduates and retaining the best talent. Etc etc etc
Very good points especially about the players being likeable. Ironically they're educating us, the supporters, to expect and appreciate that. For too long our heroes, bless them, were likely to be sent off or make the papers for random acts of stupidity lke damaging cars, etc. We now admire quietly spoken lads like O'Nien and Ekwah who just seem to love being here, fighting for a place and others like Amad who praise the club when they leave. That's why Stewart going didnt bother me as much as it might ... ... he seemed much more concerned about Ross Stewart than the club and the team spirit. It seemed pretty good on Saturday.
Good post, I don’t agree on Stewart mind, I just accept that he feels it’s a short career and wants to play as high as he can as quickly as he can (the added money will help too I know) and saw that Southampton was a better option than us in that regard (it was pre the 5-0 mind!). If he’d gone to, say, Stoke I’d have had more of an issue. I think that we need to accept that, as likeable and as good a characters as they are, we will likely find ourselves in a similar position with the majority of our players when teams higher up the food chain start making advances. For me, it doesn’t diminish my opinion of them as decent people, in many cases the opportunity to move on to ‘better’ things will have been a selling point to get them here in the first place.
One would’ve been nice last season!!! as would a defender! Agree completely. Not sure if I’m in a minority, but with hindsight, it’s a good thing that we didn’t go up imo.
We have become more professional and slick with our PR (as seen in Rusyn video). Lightyears from where we were with the 2 hour webchats from the chancers (who even managed to contradict themselves two or three times per chat - and don't ever forget the Bus-stop kidnapping).
I don't blame Stewart one bit mate. I was just disappointed with his trudge around the SOL on the lap of honour when he seemed detached from the other lads. Even players who'd barely been given a kick, despite all the injuries, made more of an effort. From memory he was wearing an overcoat ... ... he may as well have been carrying a suitcase
No downer here. As I say, in my opinion, the fact that we didn’t get promoted is a reason to be cheerful
I obviously can't speak for Stewart but I played at a reasonable level and I remember my team winning the league but I had been injured for about three quarters of the season and felt very awkward around the celebrations and removed from it all as I didn't feel I'd contributed enough to deserve it. There's a possibility there was a little bit of embarrassment from Stewart behind the way he was acting that day. I'm speculating though obviously.
I get what you mean, but on that lap of appreciation Stewart was the polar opposite to Danny Batth. Batth struggled around on his crutches with his bairn, stopped for everyone who asked for a selfie or autograph and was last off the pitch. I don't blame Stewart at all for taking a higher wage and longer contract, this may be his last chance at a decent contract and as is life family comes first. However in my opinion his attitude was disrespectful to our fans and to the club and it was obvious to me that he would not be signing a new contract. I also think he continued to show a lack of respect after signing for Southampton when he delayed acknowledging and thanking the fans and club, then only did so after a significant delay. I would guess following a word in his ear from people who read the situation correctly.
Great thread, and enjoyed reading the replies. It really does show the club is going in the right direction, and the fans are on board. What a turnaround it's been since KLD came in, every aspect of the club is on an upward trajectory. Enjoy the ride, I've a feeling it's gonna be a good un.
