http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/ en Copyright 2012 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:48:40 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss the Teessiders will be up for this. ]]> http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/boro_preview_blog_on_the_smog.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/boro_preview_blog_on_the_smog.php Match previews Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:48:40 +0000 All the talk has recently been about Fraizer Campbell's comeback, with two great goals at the Stadium of Light, but this game showed that James McLean is making a strong case not to be overshadowed - he made another massive contribution to the rise of this club and to this 1-0 win over Stoke. Martin O'Neill had called for continued focus ahead of this game, and he was pleased at the end. Sunderland adapted very well to the snowy conditions. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/no_business_like_snow_business.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/no_business_like_snow_business.php Match reaction Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:11:06 +0000 Stoke away is always a difficult game, our 3-2 defeat there against the run of play this time last year set us off on a difficult run which ended up taking us near to the relegation zone before we pulled up to 10th spot. Things are very different at the club now, thanks to the influence of Martin O'Neill, with 6 wins from the last 9, and a real momentum appearing which took us above Stoke City in the Premiership table in midweek. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/confident_at_the_britannia_sto.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/confident_at_the_britannia_sto.php Match previews Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:12:02 +0000 This has been the week when Sunderland fans could celebrate the return of Fraizer Campbell. He was on a good run of scoring when a cruel knee injury intervened in his incipient rise to Premiership superstar status. A friend of mine who is a Hull fan wishes that he rots in hell for walking out on his club, but as a Sunderland fan I am very pleased he was tempted to Wearside to pick up his striking career. For last Sunday’s FA Cup 4th round vs. Boro’ the Black Cats featured 22 Mignolet, 02 Bardsley, 05 Brown (Turner - 60'), 11 Richardson, 16 O'Shea, 07 Larsson, 08 Gardner, 15 Vaughan (Colback - 80'), 23 McClean, 28 Sessegnon, 10 Wickham (Campbell - 46' ). As I mentioned in my preview, this game was not a formality, and Middlesborough soon showed how well they had prepared tactically for this match-up. They were combative in midfield, and showed a fearless attitude throughout. On this display, one would back them for promotion. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/great_week_boro_norwich_and_fr.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/02/great_week_boro_norwich_and_fr.php Match reaction Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:16:54 +0000 So tomorrow the Boro’ fans have to make an early start on Sunday morning and several thousand of them will make the trip to the Stadium of Light. This their biggest Derby game and I for one hope to see our southern neighbours back in the Premiership soon. I loved the BBC write-up for this game: This is only the fifth time they have been drawn to meet in the FA Cup. Sunderland have progressed three times, and Middlesbrough once. The most recent was a 3-1 win by the Teesside club in the fourth round in January 1975 at Ayresome Park. Maths GCSE anybody? http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/boro_preview_not_a_formality.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/boro_preview_not_a_formality.php Match previews Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:26:09 +0000 Swansea put in a refreshing performance at the stadium of Light, but ultimately capitulated after two excellent goals from the home team. Sunderland welcomed back Wes Brown in the following line-up: 22 Mignolet, 02 Bardsley, 05 Brown, 11 Richardson, 16 O'Shea, 06 Cattermole, 07 Larsson (Elmohamady 89), 15 Vaughan (Gardner 78), 23 McClean, 28 Sessegnon, 52 Bendtner (Wickham 12). The visitors fielded 01 Vorm, 02 Williams, 03 Taylor, 04 Caulker, 22 Rangel, 07 Britton (Routledge 78), 11 Sinclair, 12 Dyer, 24 Allen, 42 Sigurdsson (McEachran 66), 10 Graham. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/post_1.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/post_1.php Match reaction Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:03:42 +0000 Sunderland’s 2011 started really well, and then also ended on a high. I will try to explain some of the dross that was served up in between in the paragraphs below, but let me first take you back a year. We entered January 2011 in 6th spot in the league, then in May finished the 2010-11 Premiership season in 10th, and actually also ended the year in 10th spot. So what was the problem? That all sounds fine and dandy, but some total junk was served up in between, with just 6 wins recorded in the best league in the world up from February 1st until Steve Bruce’s departure. The longsuffering home fans had to suffer most, and we went 9 games with just a single home win from early January 2011 until the end of the season. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/post.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/post.php Club news Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:58:07 +0000 This was an exciting but ultimately fruitless visit to the capital where Sunderland matched the home team on all fronts except on the most crucial one, taking our chances. Nicklas Bendtner returned to the Black Cats’ squad at Chelsea, after a knee injury which kept him out of the FA Cup win at Peterborough. Fellow front man Fraizer Campbell is close to full fitness and available for the first time since August 2010 after recovering from two serious knee injuries. Jack Colback, Wes Brown, Titus Bramble and Craig Gordon remain on the casualty list. The visitors’ line-up was 22 Mignolet, 02 Bardsley, 11 Richardson (Wickham 80), 12 Kilgallon (Turner 45+1), 16 O'Shea, 06 Cattermole, 07 Larsson, 15 Vaughan (Gardner 69), 23 McClean, 28 Sessegnon, 52 Bendtner. Subs were 20 Westwood, 04 Turner, 08 Gardner, 18 Meyler, 27 Elmohamady, 10 Wickham, 17 Ji Dong-Won. Florent Malouda dropped to the bench for Chelsea, as he did not train on Wednesday or Thursday. Daniel Sturridge and John Terry were both passed fit but the game came too soon for Michael Essien, Branislav Ivanovic and John Obi Mikel. Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are away on African Nations Cup duty, in the following team: 01 Cech, 03 Cole, 04 David Luiz, 17 Bosingwa, 26 Terry, 06 Romeu, 07 Ramires, 08 Lampard (Essien 73), 16 Meireles, 09 Torres, Mata (Malouda 85). http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/singing_the_blues_unlucky_at_c.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/singing_the_blues_unlucky_at_c.php Match reaction Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:03:23 +0000 Sunderland welcomed back Phil Bardsley in another one-off defensive formation in the following line-up: Mignolet, Gardner, O'Shea, Kilgallon, Bardsley, Larsson, Richardson, Cattermole, Vaughan, McClean, Sessègnon. Subs: Westwood, Turner, Wickham, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady, Noble. Great to see Turner back on the bench, but clearly Bendtner was being “rested” for this key away fixture, with Connor Wickham being on hand for an appearance should his muscle be required upfront.. The Peterborough line up was: Lewis, Alcock, Bennett, Zakuani, Rowe, Tunnicliffe, Wootton, Tomlin, Boyd, Sinclair, Taylor. Subs: Jones, Little, Newell, Thompson, Kearns, Gordon-Hutton, Lawler. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/cool_professionalism_at_peterb.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/cool_professionalism_at_peterb.php Match reaction Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:17:59 +0000 For today’s challenging game at Peterborough United Sunderland will likely miss out on the help of defenders Wes Brown (groin), Titus Bramble (Achilles/calf) and Phil Bardsley (thigh) who are all doubtful as the team chases its third successive win. Aside from long-term casualties Craig Gordon and Fraizer Campbell, 3rd choice keeper Keiren Westwood, Jack Colback (ankle), Connor Wickham (knee) and midfielder Sebastian Larsson are out. Look for O'Neill to include young players such as Meyler and MacLean. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/fa_cup_posh_preview.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/fa_cup_posh_preview.php Match previews Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:53:30 +0000 Another game, another excellent win for Sunderland. This match-up with Wigan provided our second 4-goal haul against them over the past year, and there were some great strikes among these latest goals. But most importantly this win demonstrated the new levels of confidence now running through this admittedly injury-hit squad. Teamwork is at a high, and after a few wins the speculative efforts tried by the Black Cats are ending up as goals – 3 of yesterday’s were unstoppably in the top corner of the goal. As well as long-term injured Craig Gordon and Fraizer Campbell, Sunderland had fitness concerns over Michael Turner, Keiren Westwood, Titus Bramble, Phil Bardsley, Seb Larsson, Kieran Richardson and Jack Colback. The line up was.22 Mignolet, 11 Richardson (Meyler 67), 12 Kilgallon, 16 O'Shea, 06 Cattermole, 08 Gardner (Elmohamady 83), 14 Colback, 15 Vaughan, 23 McClean (Ji Dong-Won 89), 28 Sessègnon, 52 Bendtner. The Wigan line-up was 26 Al Habsi, 02 Gohouri, 03 Alcaraz, 23 Stam (Sammon 58), 31 Figueroa, 04 McCarthy, 07 Crusat (Moses 39), 08 Watson (Diame 86), 14 Gomez, 19 Jones, 20 Rodallega http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/another_game_another_excellent.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/another_game_another_excellent.php Match reaction Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:04:25 +0000 All I can say, with 40000+ at the SSOL, a worldwide audience including the people in the pub where I saw this game, where Spurs fans were cheering Sunderland on, is WOW! This was a compelling, absorbing and astounding game of football. I suspect Martin O’Neill watched the tape from last campaign’s early season win over Manchester City and duplicated the tactics. Hopefully the whole squad saw that game again. Sunderland were again severely hampered by injury and illness, which made this performance so much more immense. Turner, Campbell and Gordon were injured, then Westwood and Richardson reported in sick. Our Belgian keeper was forced back into duty with a Robocop-style mask on, in the following line-up: 22 Mignolet, 05 Brown (Kilgallon 26), 16 O'Shea, 06 Cattermole, 07 Larsson, 08 Gardner, 14 Colback, 15 Vaughan (Elmohamady 82), 23 McClean, 28 Sessegnon, 52 Bendtner (Ji Dong-Won 78). http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/cats_1_man_city_0_amazing_game.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2012/01/cats_1_man_city_0_amazing_game.php Match reaction Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:51:09 +0000 Not winning against Everton has become a bit of a habit for Sunderland. I don’t recall a win over them home and away over the past 10 years, ever since a 1-0 home win with a Claudio Reyna goal in December 2001. The Lads lined up as follows: 20 Westwood, 02 Bardsley (Gardner 46), 05 Brown, 16 O'Shea, 19 Bramble (Colback 21), 06 Cattermole, 07 Larsson, 11 Richardson, 15 Vaughan (McClean 81), 28 Sessegnon, 52 Bendtner. Good to see Catts keeping his place, but injury is still keeping Turner out of the team. The Merseysiders featured 24 Howard, 02 Hibbert, 03 Baines, 05 Heitinga, 06 Jagielka, 15 Distin, 18 Neville, 10 Drenthe (Gueye 75), 17 Cahill (McFadden 87), 21 Osman, 08 Saha (Vellios 84). http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2011/12/everton_report_and_man_city_pr.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2011/12/everton_report_and_man_city_pr.php Match reaction Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:00:19 +0000 Eventually a great win on away soil as the Black Cats attacked on their travels, taking the game to QPR. We took the train to this game, then tube to Wood Lane, followed by a requisite burger at Westfield before entering the QPR ground at the Ellerslie Road stand, and took our seats. I could see little change in the ground since I was last there in 1999; the legroom was poor, but I feel compelled to mention that our comfort and satisfaction were not aided by a large squidgy turd on the cement under my younger son’s seat. We alerted the steward to this slimy piece of excrement 50 min before kick-off, but nothing happened, and we had to find a suitable use for a folded Evening Standard which did not even bother to preview the game… http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2011/12/wes_brown_all_is_forgiven.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2011/12/wes_brown_all_is_forgiven.php Match reaction Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:01:27 +0000 First of all, everybody agreed this was a good game – end to end, with great chances for both teams. Sunderland kept erstwhile captain Lee Cattermole on the bench, but featured Wickham and Sessegnon up front. Spurs are on an amazing home run, 6 wins with 2 goals conceded since that memorable 5-goal disaster versus Manchester City. The Black Cats lined up as follows: 20 Westwood, 02 Bardsley (McClean 69), 05 Brown, 11 Richardson, 16 O'Shea, 19 Bramble, 07 Larsson, 14 Colback (Gardner 75), 15 Vaughan, 28 Sessegnon and 10 Wickham (Bendtner 46). Unused substitutes were 24 Carson, 06 Cattermole, 27 Elmohamady, 17 Ji Dong-Won. Spurs were missing strikers but still had a lot of firepower, although Van der Vaart has been a bit quiet recently: 24 Friedel, 13 Gallas, 26 King, 28 Walker, 32 Assou-Ekotto, 07 Lennon (27), 08 Parker, 11 Van der Vaart (Rose 89), 14 Modric, 30 Sandro (Livermore 82), 10 Adebayor, with unused subs. 23 Cudicini, 19 Bassong, 21 Kranjcar, 29 Livermore, 40 Pienaar. http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2011/12/russian_sub_etc_etc.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/sunderland/archives/2011/12/russian_sub_etc_etc.php Match reaction Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:16:52 +0000