We won’t always play well and we will lose games…. yesterday, we didn’t play well and we lost. A teams next game is always it’s most important game, thankfully we have a game on Tuesday to banish the memory of Saturday. 

Prior to looking at Tuesdays game, let’s have a quick look back…..this is only our 5th league meeting, we’ve won the previous 4.

AT HOME….. 3-0 and 4-1, they offered nothing on either occasion.

AWAY….. 2-1 and 2-1, as the score line suggests two much tougher games

That was then, This is now……

Expect another tough game – they have just taken 6 points from 2 away games, so will be bang up for the challenge. That’s ok though, we have enough quality to win.

Them…….

Gutted not to be going, it’s one of my more local games, obviously I’ll watch online – but where’s the fun in that? I’ve only been there 3 times with Sunderland, (there was a tinpot trophy game about 5 years ago in addition to the proper games), I’ve been there about 10 times with York though – it’s a decent trip. The town is much maligned I can only assume the area around the ground is the posh end, (relatively speaking), as it’s ok for a beer and Rochdale Cemetery is equal in both its beauty and poignancy, with it’s fantastically maintained Commonwealth War Graves.

in January they sold 17 year old Luke Matheson to Wolves, he’d followed a similar career path to our very own Bali Mumba, although was a bit behind Bali. They got £1 million up front and him lent back, we got some petty cash for our owner as payment for Bali. I’ve never been in Camp Donald, but the decimation of our Academy talent for short term gain sums up his tenure, (still the new seats look nice?)

Their Gaffer seems quite cool, his dad, (Jimmy Barry Murphy), was a a legend in Hurling, (Irish hockey where you can pick the ball up), with Cork.

Us…….

Saturday was poor, it’s in the past now, however after a poor performance it’s important to bounceback…

Need and must are not terms that I would use in relation to game 8 of a 46 game season having lost just once? But….. this is Sunderland, I accept that being a huge club with a huge fanbase in a shite league heightens expectation. It’s a game of opinions … but I’m pretty happy with our progression. Things aren’t perfect…… notably we lack pace, how do we address that on Tuesday?

• Charlie is doing well, he’s currently the best option of the obvious 3, he has to play Tuesday. Assuming he does we need to compliment this with something different? As the bench options are too similar
• Given it’s a night game, Kimpioka should hopefully be out of bed in time – this team is crying out for pace and aggression
•  Neil and Diamond, (if only for the headline opportunities), must be worth a punt on the bench at least. Most of us grew up watching football where the bench offered cover/a replacement? A 5 man bench offers a genuine opportunity for a plan B…. we are perhaps missing a trick here?
• It just feels like we need something different? Not just up front, the midfielders individually are decent, collectively though they are too similar. For me, Power has offered very little this season, Josh and Grant can do the boring work, let’s chuck someone in with them to ignite things and give Max a rest?

• Luke had a mare yesterday, his suspension means Flanagan will play, hopefully the defence will be back to its best.

So what happens on Tuesday?

SAFCBlog Predicts…… Rochdale 1 vs Sunderland 2

https://youtu.be/N1ZbHvEJtio