Sunderland: “Why, its tha Playas on tha Pitch….!”

Article by e-Sunderland Correspondent Ben Mummery

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Six.

The number of unanswered goals Sunderland have scored at St. James’ park in the last year.

The number of unanswered points Sunderland have picked up at St. James’ park in the last year.

The total number of points Sunderland have taken from Newcastle United this season.

Saturday was a good day for Black Cats fans everywhere, and I shall spare us all a blow by blow account of the goings on between kick off and final whistle in the hundred and fiftieth Tyne Wear Derby. I would instead, like to begin by saying a few words about our rivals, Newcastle United, and forgive me Sunderland fans for doing so, but I feel it is important – I’ll try to keep this brief:

Newcastle united is a huge football club. Founded 122 years ago in 1892, it is one of the older clubs in English football, and located in the heart of Newcastle, it’s fans flock to St. James’ Park in their legions. To me, the fans are what make the football club, and in the north east, we have what are, among the loyalist fans that can be found anywhere in the world. Fans will pay for their season tickets almost before feeding their families, and Newcastle fans would still turn out in their thousands week in week out, if the club was in the conference! To add to this, it isn’t as though tickets to St. James’ Park come cheap. Such is the love of their club, that fans will risk financial trouble to watch their beloved football club.

I’ll stick my head out here, and say that I personally believe that the way the football club is being run, is unfair to the loyal fans, and is not giving them a chance to see their club achieve it’s maximum potential.

An example - to sell a player like Cabaye, head and shoulders above the rest of the squad in terms of standard, 4 days before the match most fans consider to be the most important in the season, it folly at best, however more accurately demonstrates the sheer greed of the owner, who seems to place profit over sporting achievements.

This said, the players who remain at the club, have a duty to perform for their fans, and I personally felt that were I a supporter of NUFC, I’d have been utterly livid at the lack of desire shown by their players on Saturday. The supporters deserve nothing short of 100% from any professional player they are willing to pay to see, and the club, the players, and all involved have come up way short in the last few weeks in terms of delivering to their fans, the enormous majority of whom are the salt of the earth.

There, I’ve said my part regarding Newcastle – moving on.

It’s very easy to be scathing of Newcastle’s performance, but it is also important to take nothing away from Sunderland’s. We played very, very well. For a club that has spent the entire season in the relegation zone, the first thing to go out of the window is always confidence, and there was no evidence of this on Saturday.

Buoyed by their midweek win on Wednesday night against Stoke, the Sunderland players looked sharp, alive, and most importantly, hungry, with an air of that ruthless streak more often evident in teams accustomed to regular success.

The first to every loose ball was a yellow shirt. The first foot in to every tackle was a Sunderland foot. Every 50-50 became a 60-40 as the Black Cats looked sharper, quicker, and more alive than their Tyneside rivals.

Three excellently taken goals capped off a superior performance in every way, Gus Poyet and his players can hold their heads up and be proud of a very professional and deliberate showing that not only put a smile on the faces of every Sunderland fan, but delivered that most treasured prize off all, another three valuable points!

It’s very easy to get carried away with beating Newcastle, however the feeling among fans is that the points Sunderland have earned this week are way more important, which has almost taken some of the gloss off a fine derby win. I personally was more pleased with the presence of certain aspects of play, which have been completely absent from the side for some of this season.

The common sense to know when to play certain balls, the professional attitude required to achieve a ruthless win. Possession, execution of plans and set pieces. All traits that Premier League clubs need to show every week, and that have not always been present in the Wearsiders this season.

We must now realise that these three points have been enormous, and lifted the club to 14th in the league, however we remain 2 points above safety, such is the nature of the bottom half of the table.

Only consistent performances will do, and we can start by improving our home form against Hull this weekend, but for now, we can enjoy another utter, comprehensive stuffing of the old enemy.

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