Black Cats lack an inch of self respect, Toons were better value
SUNDERLAND are the most pointless club in football. What a complete waste of a Premier League place they are.
In fact, the sport would have been better served if Sunderland had been relegated last season and Newcastle had stayed up instead.
It appears from the outside that they make no effort to stay in the Premier League, let alone bother to try to do anything in the actual thing. Jermain Defoe – the club’s best player by a country mile – must be crying his eyes out every night at the sheer misery of it all. Because that is what it is with Sunderland; complete unadulterated misery. There is not one jot of joy within their DNA.
And before fans get all precious and start whining that you are a big club etc etc and no one appreciates or loves football like those in the north-east, it is you we all feel sorry for. This season alone Sunderland’s average attendance is 41,845. That is the sixth highest in the Premier League.
Tell me why those who run this sad excuse for an organisation deserve such unconditional love, such unrelenting support? It is quite unfathomable.
And how much longer can David Moyes continue as manager? While the dog’s dinner of the Black Cats is hardly his fault, surely he is one of the most overrated managers in existence? Why go for him after Sam Allardyce? What could possibly have been on his CV that stood out? Won nothing with Everton. Sacked when found out of his depth early on at Manchester United. Sacked at Real Sociedad.
You can imagine the Sunderland hierarchy rubbing their hands together at such mediocrity: ‘I know – let’s appoint him’. What goes on in that Sunderland b o a r d r o o m? What standards are they setting t hemselves? What goals? Because from the outside looking in, there does not appear to be anything resembling ambition whatsoever.
They are bottom of the Premier League. They have two points from their 10 games – almost a third of the season – courtesy of two draws against Southampton and West Brom.
Following their 4-1 thrashing by Arsenal on Saturday, book- ies were keen to dish out odds on them to finish the season with less than the record lowest points total of 11, set by Derby in the 2007-08 season. Moyes described that as ‘damning’. Damning? The biggest dose of reality there ever was more like.
You just cannot see where their first victory is going to come from. They face Bournemouth away on Saturday, then Hull. With Mike Phelan’s struggles since taking the job permanently, that might be their best chance of notching a win before next year; their matches after that are Leicester, Swansea, Chelsea, Watford, Manchester United and Burnley.
But let’s be honest, their perennial struggle has become boring. That drab story of will they won’t they survive is tired and stale. No more re-runs please. It must come to an end.
Ne w c a s t l e would at least have competed. Rafa Benitez would have caused a few surprises. But Sunderland?
They appear as if they have no self respect. So who cares any more? So please, just go. Go now and spare us all the boredom. – Express Newspapers Olivier Giroud is finally up and running, over two-and-a-half months into the season. The
The upturn in form at Chelsea appears to be the final nail in the coffin of Cesc Fabregas’s stay at Stamford Bridge. The midfielder is currently sidelined with injury, but he struggled to break into Antonio Conte’s side when there were three midfield slots and, now there are two, he simply doesn’t fit into this side. N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic have strengthened Conte’s defence to over a protective shield, and if Conte is only going to deploy two central midfielders, Fabregas will not get a look-in. The question is does he leave in January or stick it out until the end of the season?
Palace continue to expose Liverpool’s defensive vulnerabilities
For all of Liverpool’s entertainment, they simply cannot defend against the high ball. Twice, Crystal Palace pegged them back in their 4-2 defeat by the Reds through James McArthur headers when they failed to clear their lines, and goalkeeper Loris Sunday was one of those rare days when Ross Barkley looks like the world beater he’s been billed as. Far too much pressure has been put on the young England midfielder, and as a result he too often tries to take on the burden of beating every man on the opposite team that usually ends up with him losing possession. The 2-0 win over West Ham though saw Barkley back at his best, and mainly because he put a bigger emphasis on distributing the ball rather than doing it all himself. The midfielder smartly delayed his run into the box so that Romelu Lukaku could pick him out unmarked to score the second goal with a controlled half-volley, and he was rightly awarded man of the match. The question for Barkley remains can he perform to this level every week? With his dip in form last season ending the rumours of a move to either City or Chelsea, a few more performances like this could grab their attention - and that of other title-chasing clubs - once again.