Black Cats trampled underfoot as life in Prem is ended
EVERY KICK, EVERY GOAL, EVERY GAME
NIALL QUINN excitedly talked about a magic carpet ride 10 years ago.
Right now, Sunderland resemble a battered old mat, trampled on by just about everyone.
Back then, with Quinn in the boardroom and Roy Keane on the touchline, anything seemed possible.
A journey into heaven was the goal but for a decade, it’s been purgatory for Sunderland’s long-suffering fans.
That magic carpet crash-landed a long time ago with only a sequence of unlikely great escapes preserving top-flight status until now.
Boss David Moyes warned of impending disaster after just two league games in charge.
If Sunderland’s Premier League stay had previously been pock-marked by mistakes and under-achievement, between them owner Ellis Short and Moyes cooked up the perfect storm of apathy in the boardroom and defeatism downstairs.
Bournemouth’s Josh King may have hammered the final nail in the coffin but Sunderland had spent the entire season being measured for size.
Moyes played the role of undertaker from the moment he replied to this reporter’s question following a home loss to Middlesbrough on August 22.
“What’s your message for fans fearing another relegation struggle this season?” I asked, anticipating an upbeat declaration of defiance. “Well, they Yp would probably be right,” came his damning reply.
They were words that set the tone for eight joyless months of footballing hell.
Honesty is one thing, negativity quite another. Moyes’ grim prediction not only became a self-fulfilling prophecy, it weighed down like a ball and chain on a squad already light on quality and quantity.
Throughout the trials and tribulations of his first season back in English football since being sacked by Manchester United, the 54-year-old received strong support from managing director Martin Bain.
Stability was the new mantra yet you felt Moyes’ survival owed more to Short having simply grown tired of hiring and firing.
It appeared as if couldn’t be bothered to go through the process all over again.
Sunderland were stable only in the sense that all buoyancy and momentum had gone. Stable as JOSH KING Always a threat STEVEN PIENAAR No impact in anchored to the foot of the table. That it was a club like Bournemouth which delivered the last rites somehow seemed fitting.
While Moyes, if he’s still around next season, faces a massive rebuilding job in the Championship, Eddie Howe’s task is to keep the Cherries upwardly mobile.
“For a club of our size, it will be hard to hang on to players who have performed so well but that is our intention,” said boss Howe.
“That will be our biggest challenge but we have ambitious plans ourselves and they certainly do not include selling our best players.”
Bold, uplifting words. They felt out of place at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night. SUNDERLAND (4-1-3-2): Pickford 6; Love 4, Kone 5, O’Shea 5, Manquillo 5; NDONG 7; Borini 5, Pienaar 4 (Honeyman 55, 6), Khazri 6; Anichebe 5, Defoe 5. Subs: Mannone, Lescott, Djilobodji, Embleton, Januzaj, Gooch. UP NEXT: Hull (a), Premier League, Saturday. BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-1-1): Boruc 6; A Smith 6, Francis 6, Cook 6, Daniels 6 (Gradel 6; Fraser 90), Arter 6, Cook 5, Pugh 5 (Mousset 82); Afobe 5 (Stanislas 57, 5); KING B 7. Subs: Smith, Allsop, Mings, Ibe. UP NEXT: Stoke (h), Premier League, Saturday. Referee: Stuart Attwell 7. YOUR TURN: Which Sunderland sent midfielder was off in their 2-1 win away to Bournemouth earlier this season?