Few Premier as much fun a
Last week I wrote that all was well in Sunderland’s incipient season. Two games and six points later, I have not amended my thoughts.
Being bone idle, I approached the editor and asked if I could cut and paste from seven days ago. He impolitely refused, adding that people like me, who earn enormous salaries, are expected to do something productive in return.
I could name exceptions to this principle.
Oh well. There’s always plenty to write about and after five league games under Jack Ross we have a theme. In a word – fun.
We’re acutely aware that the football is not Premier League standard. But better players don’t necessarily provide better entertainment; as anyone who managed to stay awake throughout Newcastle-Chelsea on Sunday will testify.
Following a thoroughly pleasurable, but flawed victory at Gillingham, the trip to Wimbledon was another lark.
It was a full house at Kingsmeadow, although stadiums where Portakabins suffice for toilets tend not to take much filling.
Wimbledon played to their strengths but missed sitters. It was Sunderland’s worst performance so far under Ross and reiterated that improvements remain necessary.
Nevertheless, there was no resentment or panic among the visiting fans at half-time.
There was a confident murmur that if two goals were required, then Lee Cattermole was surely the man to deliver both. Never in doubt.
When he volleyed home his second, to bring his total at Sunderland to five in just nine years, the home contingent resorted to gallows humour and a stirring rendition of “What’s it like to see a crowd?”
The visitors retorted with the obligatory “My garden shed ...” before following up with a chant about the possible termination of Wimbledon’s percentage lease agreement with Chelsea. That one didn’t really catch on.
But otherwise it was fun in the sun, heaps of picnic and lashings of ginger beer.
Players and supporters are mutually benefitting each other and the atmosphere home and away has been excellent.
The 30,000 average home attendance is unlikely to be bettered at any club subjected to such protracted awfulness on and off the pitch.