Before last week's mauling to Chelsea I was sulking with my house mate because he didn't sort out tickets for Sunderland's trip to Stamford Bridge.

As a London-based season ticket holder, a home game tends to mean an expensive weekend with hours of travelling so any game in the capital I consider easy trip to get to. I can't remember the last time I was in the same city as where Sunderland were playing and not been at the game and I felt guilty at not being there. Thankfully, I was spared from watching the horror show.

I went to last season's 5-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and they played Sunderland off the park with Nicolas Anelka giving our defence the runaround that afternoon as he bagged a hat-trick.

Trying to persuade people to come to the game with me was like trying to persuade a one-legged man to buy a pair of shoes.

'I'm not paying £47 to watch us get [insert expletive] on' was the general response.

I'm usually the pessimist (see previous posts) but in this instance I thought I'd be the optimist to try and get someone to come along to the game with me.

'They've got four players at the African Nations' I proclaimed. 'So? They'll still beat us. Easily.' they replied.

'We can't be embarrassed two years in a year' I said. 'They've been embarrassing us there for years' they replied. A quick look at our record there confirmed this.

'I'll go by myself then' I said. 'You're wasting £50' they replied.

By the time I decided to go by myself it had sold out. I couldn't believe it. Even after a 5-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge last season, a ticket price of £47 (just after Christmas, too) and a round trip of 500 miles, we STILL sold out. Amazing.

I got in touch with my house mate. 'It's sold out. If we get a draw at Stamford or, however unlikely, snatch a famous win, I'll not be happy with you.'

'Don't worry, we'll get our backsides kicked', he said.

I sat down in my living room watching the scores come through with my house mate. I'd no sooner made myself comfortable and we were one-nil down.

'See? Told you not to bother', my flat mate said. As the goals added up, I began thanking my house mate for the advice.

I must give credit to the fans who went to the game (particularly any of them who stayed till the final whistle). It was an embarrassing performance that they shouldn't have had to watch (for the second successive season).

Niall Quinn deserves a pat on the back for making a tv appearance on Sunday morning (Steve Bruce was supposed to join him but I don't think he could show his face after that performance).

Credit must be given to a fantastic Chelsea side - they were fantastic and are well-deserved favourites for the title, which I think they'll win.

After that performance, it can't get any worse. We had a lot of injuries at Chelsea though it's no excuse for such a performance - Bruce decided that he wanted a small squad and has had three weeks to make additions.

Let's hope that we can put it right tomorrow in the cup against Portsmouth. It's a winnable game and a cup run would give the club and fans a lift.

I also should welcome Matthew Kilgallon from Sheffield United. I don't know much about him so I'll reserve judgement for now. I just hope he can make the step up from the Championship and make a similar impression to Phil Jagielka when he moved from The Blades to Everton.

A few more signings wouldn't go a miss. We're currently linked with Habib Beye from Aston Villa. We're in desperate need of a right-back as Phil Bardsley has struggled in my opinion.

I'm also a bit surprised to see Kenwyne Jones linked to Liverpool. Opinion on Wearside is divided about Jones regarding his work rate but, on his day, he is unplayable and I'd like him to stay.

Having to cut back on some of the away day trips as I've just booked up for South Africa 2010! Hope I get to see a few Sunderland players over there, particularly Darren Bent in an England shirt!