Fan's Viewpoint

I thought I would do something a little different as many might want a break (to say the least!) from me posting my opinions of the weekend fixtures and I wanted to do something a little different.

To all those non-football fans out there, you will be solely disappointed! Sorry!

I will start with a little story to get this blog going...

Until two years ago, I never understood why people liked football. To me, it just seemed very overrated as people like Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo were paid large sums of money to kick a ball around a pitch and, at the time, I felt anyone could do it just as easily. While my opinion on football has massively changed, today I still feel that the money being paid to footballers could be better used elsewhere.

My late mother was (and no doubt still is!) a massive Sunderland supporter and she constantly tried to get into football, taking me to the odd match but, still, I remained uninterested. One of the funniest childhood memories I remember having was taunting her by saying 'black and white army' (referring to Sunderland's arch rivals Newcastle United) and she looked at me as if to say: "Say that one more time and I will slap you across the face!"

Her brother, and indeed my uncle, along with his wife and two children (one of whom just turned one year old so she will not understand it yet) are all big SAFC fans. Even after my mother's passing, they tried to get me interested in football but again I still could not enjoy it. Sunderland would be my team, should I support anyone, but I just couldn't get into it.

My foster family who I now live with (one of who is a massive Newcastle fan) and my friends are to take the credit (and in some people's eyes, the blame!) for converting me into a football fan. During the 2010-2011 football season, I really started to get into football as a whole. Watching Sunderland's Halloween horror in 2010 (yeah I'd rather forget about that) and the famous 3-0 win at current European Champions Chelsea were the two first real games I watched as a Sunderland fan.

Since then, I have been a massive Black Cats supporter (with Blackpool also being my second team ironically since their relegation in 2011) and currently have a season ticket to the Stadium of Light. Whether or not that is something to be proud of at the minute leads onto the next topic.

During the 2011-2012 season, I was experiencing my first as a season card holder as I loved the atmosphere of being at a match when I previously went to the Stadium. I loved it, even when Steve Bruce was still manager and we were not doing so well I still loved being at the ground. Although, I admit I was enjoying it more when Martin O'Niell first took charge. That lasted the whole of the season and I could not wait for my second outing the following campaign.

All those who have me as a friend on Facebook have seen me going on rants about Sunderland and how they have played this time around. In this blog, I wanted to go into a little more detail in the hope that people understand where I am coming from and understand my frustration.

After the 0-0 home draw with bottom club QPR, I had decided I'd had enough of seeing this defensive and frail play from my team every time I come to watch them. I even went as far to say I was considering boycotting the next home game. Obviously I was expecting fans to curse me or to try and persuade me to go to the match. To be fair, the response I got was understanding and I appreciated that enormously.

Some people felt they had to remind me that it was part of being a supporter and you have to take the bad, as well as the good. I know that, believe me if I wasn't a loyal supporter I would have switched teams long ago. You don't necassarily have to be at the ground to support your team.

I want you to imagine the following scenario and hopefully this will summarise how I feel:

Your best friend is a chef at a resturant and really wants you to go and try out their food. One day you decide to go and try it out, thinking it will be good. When you get there and your food arrives on your plate, the end product is absolutely shit! It is, in fact, one of the worst things you have ever tasted and you never want to eat it again in your life. You feel incredibly ripped off and feel like asking for your money back, but you can't. Your friend later asks you what you thought of the food, with an enthusiastic smile on their face, almost as if hoping you like it and hoping you will go back again. What do you do?

That is similar to how I feel about Sunderland right now. I have paid £280 for a season card and that figure will rise to £400 or maybe more than that. And so far this season, almost every single time I have come to the ground, I have left feeling disappointed and wanting my money back. This, simply, is not good enough. In the most recent home game against Chelsea, I did see an improvement in the performance and good to see us score at home. The problem, though, was that we had to wait until we were 3-0 down to do it!

For us, that makes our next game against Reading at home a must-win. And below is my prediction for the match.

Sunderland v Reading

In the Black Cats' 3-1 defeat by Chelsea, I felt they were far too slow in closing down Torres and Mata etc. Chelsea looked a very dangerous threat and probably just about deserved the win. Johnson's goal was good but they waited until they were 3-0 down to do it. Martin O'Niell will want to put that loss behind him, however, and look to winning this match, which they simply have to do to climb out of the bottom three. Reading, meanwhile, were outclassed and dominated at Southampton and didn't really create any real scoring chances. They were comfortably beaten and were probably lucky it was only 1-0. This is a must-win game for both teams and I can see a winner in this one.
My Score: 2-1

Man City 2-3 Man Utd

 

Manchester United won at Manchester City to increase their lead at the top of the table thanks to Robin Van Persie's injury time winner at the Etihad Stadium.

 

This was the first Manchester derby since City's injury time comeback against QPR in May to lift their first Premier League silverware in 44 years and, perhaps just as importantly, snatch the title away from United.

 

Wayne Rooney's first half double give United a 2-0 half time lead. After a third from Ashley Young was incorrectly ruled out for outside, City fought back to 2-2 through YaYa Toure and Pablo Zabeleta and looked set to earn a point. But Van Persie's free kick in the second minute of injury time sealed three points for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

 

One of the big talking points before the game was Mario Balotelli starting up front with Argentine striker Sergio Augero rather than the much favoured Carlos Tevez.

 

City made the dominant start, pressing their visitors consistantly and at one point had 76 per cent possession in the opening stages. Knowing the Red Devils' weakness was defending set pieces, as evident in their 4-3 victory at Reading last saturday, corners were easy to come by in the United box early on.

 

After much pressure on the visiting goal, Zabaleta did well to keep the ball going out for a goal kick and found Balotelli who took a horrible first touch and sent the ball blazing over. And that would come back to haunt them just minutes later.

 

On 15 minutes, completely against the run of play, Wayne Rooney ran past three City defenders and produced a cheeky finish which trickled past City keeper Joe Hart and into the bottom left corner.

 

The goal seemed to lift Ferguson's team and started to pressure their hosts, always looking dangerously likely to score a second.

 

Things went from bad to worse for City as Roberto Mancini was forced into making a substitution with 20 minutes gone. Influential captain Vincent Kompany came off with an apparant groin injury and was replaced by Kolo Toure.

 

Augero serged his way past the United defence only to produce a lacklustre shot with De Gea easily saving the attempt.

 

If City fans hoped they could get back into the game, they were to be proven wrong as on the 28 minute United broke forward again. After a good run on the flank, Rafael found Rooney unmarked in the box and was clinical enough to beat Hart again to seemingly give United daylight in the match.

 

City desperately tried to press forward in the last 15 minutes but in reality the majority of the first half was a convincing performance by the visitors.

 

Five mintues into the second half, Mancini took off Balotelli and brought on Tevez, who almost made an istant impact by adding speed to City's weak attack and passed through to frenchman Simar Nasri and David Silva, both of whom were offside.

 

After Ashley Young found the back of the net with an rebounded effort which was deemed offside, the home fans were finally given something to cheer.

 

Just before the hour mark, De Gea made a very good double save and after Tevez was blocked, YaYa Toure kept his cool from inside the penalty area to give City the goal they badly needed.

 

United were then keen to keep possession and try to slow the tempo down in an attempt to see out the game.

 

But on 78 minutes David Silva from extremely close range shot at goal and the ball took a deflection of De Gea and off the crossbar for a corner.

 

With seven minutes of normal time remaining, Mancini brought on Edin Dzeko who has been branded a super substitution and with good reason; he has scored nearly every time he has come off the bench.

 

But despite Dzeko almost making an immediate impact, City had struggled to break through a stubborn and well disciplined United defence and with the clock ticking down the home fans' anxiety grew even more.

 

But the Etihad Stadium then exploded with delight as an 85th minute corner from Tevez was headed away by Van Persie. But the ball found Zabeleta whose finish found its way past a crowded penalty area and into the bottom left corner to get City level.

 

A point was probably what City deserved for their second half display and the match looked set for a draw. However the match was to take another dramatic twist.

 

Tevez brought down Rafael on the edge of the area to set up the freekick. Van Persie, with the help of a slight deflection from Nasri, scored as the ball found its way past the helpless Hart and to break City hearts.

 

It was a conclusion to an outstanding second half which was end-to-end and what gives Sir Alex Ferguson the derby win he craved to give his team a six point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Norwich 2-1 Sunderland

Norwich survived a second half storm from Sunderland at Carrow Road to continue their magnificent run of form of eight games unbeaten in the Barclays Premier League.

 

Chris Hughton's men more or less bossed the first half and were well worth their half time lead but the Black Cats bombarded the hosts' goal for most of the second period.

 

Martin O'Niell will take heart from his side's second half performance but does little to ease the nerves as they are only one point above the relegation zone with a game in hand.

 

The Canaries started brightly and took the lead on eight minutes when former Newcastle centre back Sebastian Bassong got on the end of a free kick and poked the ball home from close range.

 

Sunderland were on the back foot for most of the first half (with their only serious effort a Danny Rose dipping shot straight at Mark Bunn) and barely threatened while the home side constantly pressed forward.

 

The inevitable second goal came eight minutes before half time where after a long ball from Bradley Johnson, Anthony Pilkington did brilliantly to ease past Carlos Cuellar and produced a clinical and composed finish past the massively exposed Simon Mingolet.

 

The visitors struck back just before the interval with a goal that looked extremely unlikely and probably undeserved. Adam Johnson passed to Craig Gardner and the midfielder struck well from just outside the penalty area to give the visiting supporters hope.

 

After what was most likely a much changed team talk at half time, Sunderland's players came out understandably lifted by Gardner's goal and looked a completely different side in the second period.

 

Connor Wickham came on for Steven Fletcher who picked up a knock as O'Niell tried to inject some life in his team.

 

A whole host of chances came their way but the best chance - and arguably one of the misses of the season - came on the hour mark when Gardner's curling free kick hit the right post and the ball fall to centre back Matthew Kilgallon. From about 10 yards, he shot just over the crossbar in front of an empty net with Bunn beaten.

 

The Black Cats did have the ball in the back of the net from Wickham, but the linesman correctly ruled out the goal for offside.

 

Although on the back foot for most of the half, Norwich had a few decent chances to seal the win. Pilkington did well to take curling effort at goal with Mingolet's save keeping it out.

 

And when they had to defend, they got bodies in the way at many opportunites to deny the visitors a second goal their play deserved.

 

Sunderland still had other opportunties to level, one of which was for Stephane Sessegnon when he did well to break past the home defence but could only force a good save from Bunn.

 

Despite their worrying position in the league table, O'Niell will be delighted with his side's second half display. It is the spirit they will need ahead of a tricky December including fixtures against Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham.

Fulham 1-3 Sunderland

Sunderland recorded only their second league victory this season against 10-man Fulham after Brede Hangeland's red card at Craven Cottage.

 

This was an incredible (and vital) win for Martin O'Niell's side, who sat dangerously above the relegation zone with only goal difference keeping them out. Meanwhile Fulham looked to rise up to seventh, just behind Arsenal on goal difference.

 

The game was a dour stalemate for the first 30 mintues with Sunderland mainly keeping out Martin Jol's men. Despite Dimitar Berbatov and Steve Sidwell missing decent chances neither Mark Schwarzer or Simon Mingolet were seriously tested in the opening stages.

 

The match eventually sprang into life with the only talking point of the first half when Hangeland slid into Black Cats captain Lee Cattermole with two feet off the ground. Despite it being an arguably controlled challenge, without a moment of hesitation the referee instantly produced a red card.

 

Even with a man down, Fulham still looked the more dangerous team in the closing moments of a largely forgettable first period.

 

Following half time with the score at 0-0, the game kicked off with an enthralling 45 mintues to follow.

 

After Fulham came incredibly close to scoring themselves by hitting the crossbar, Sunderland provided a perfect counter attack with Adam Johnson setting up Steven Fletcher to score his sixth of the season; having now scored six out of their eight top flight goals .

 

Fulham deservedly levelled on 62 mintues when Mladen Petric fired the ball in past Mingolet from close range just seconds after coming off the bench.

 

However, any Fulham fans' hopes of Petric being an inspiration for a victory were quickly gone. Just minutes later, the visitors hit back with the Cottagers breifly down to nine men as Carlos Cuellar headed the ball in from a corner.

 

And then five mintues afterwards, Stephane Sessegnon scored in spectacular fashion with his first goal in 19 league games with an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty area, coming off the post in the process.

 

To credit Fulham, even with 10-men and at 3-1 they refused to give up and had two really good chances, both of which Mingolet stopped well from close range to preserve his side's lead.

 

But in the end they were unable to break down Sunderland, who will hope this merited victory will kick start their season.

Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle

A brave display from Newcastle earned them a deserved draw against dominant Liverpool in a thrilling encounter at Anfield.

The magpies went ahead on the 43^rd minute through a magnificent strike from French international Yohan Cabaye not long before half time.

Liverpool deservedly got their equaliser midway through the second period when Suarez broke away from Fabricio Coloccini (who had a hard time dealing with him all afternoon) and produced a moment of individual brilliance to give the home fans hope of finding a winner.

But Brendan Rodgers' team could not find the decisive second goal which would have been cruel on the toon as they were outstanding man to man.

The hosts set their intentions right from the first whistle by inflicting bombardment on the visitor’s net, pinning them in their own half.

Gerrard had an ambitious, if not unintentional, effort from near the half way line which was off target. The closest the reds came to a goal was a shot from Suarez from a tight angle which was easily saved by the largely untroubled Tim Krul.

But as we have seen so often this season Liverpool have been very lacklustre in front of goal and are often dominating teams without drawing first blood.

After bravely absorbing their host’s constant pressure, Newcastle, slightly against the run of play, took the lead in fine style just before the interval.

Fellow Frenchman Hatem Ben Arfa twisted and turned around the Liverpool defence with the ball finding Cabaye. From just outside the six yard box, he turned on the spot and fired a wonderful curler past Brad Jones and into the right corner of the goal.

Liverpool started the second half in similar fashion to how they played in the first. But despite their dominance in territory, they struggled to really test the visiting defence.

However on the 65^th minute a long ball from former toon Jose Enrique found the Uruguayan striker Suarez who did well to keep his cool and slot the ball past helpless Krul and into the empty net.

The equaliser had been coming but  afterwards Liverpool were still not creative enough to take the three points.

However they should have gone ahead when after some brilliant skill from Suarez in the penalty area the ball found Jonjo Shelvey who somehow tapped the ball straight into the hands of the Dutch keeper.

Colocini got himself a red card a few minutes from time with a debatably reckless challenge on Suarez, narrowly avoiding contact with his boot held high.

The red card could have inspired the home side who attempted to break down Newcastle. Rahim Sterling took a shot from close range in the closing stages but a heroic block from Steven Taylor sent it out for a corner.

But the terrifically defensive effort from Alan Pardew’s side left them definitely the happier of the two teams at full time.

Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle

A late Demba Ba own goal gave Sunderland a deserved point against 10-man Newcastle in a tense encounter at the Stadium of Light.

The visitors had the perfect start after just three minutes when, after Ba forced black cats keeper Simon Mingolet into a save to set the ball up, Yohan Cabaye produced a clinical finish from close range.

The toon were then reduced to 10 men when Tiote was debatably sent off for foul play on Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher, similar to the 1-1 draw on Tyneside in March but in role reversal.

Despite their numerical advantage, the home side's response was at best average and didn't really threaten the visitor's goal - the most threatening being a Craig Gardner free kick not long before the interval.

Even with one less man on the pitch, the magpies looked far too comfortable in protecting their early lead and could have scored more themselves when Ba tried an acrobatic volley from a few yards out.

Sunderland finally started to build some momentum in the second half and began to dominate terroitory and possession, but still not seriously troubling Tim Krul thanks to some poor finishing in the final third.
 

Even so, Alan Pardew's men deserve great credit for holding out their lead for so long as they limited the pressure piled on them by getting bodies in the way at every opportunity, including an oustanding and inspiring performance from defender Fabricio Coloccini.
 

Martin O'Neill brought on Louis Saha for the poor Stephane Sessegnon, who had the best chances, including a shot which hit the side netting as the game progressed to the final ten minutes, with the home team still pressing for a leveller.

 

But after the home side were held out for so long, there was a sense of inevitability about the equaliser. An 86th minute Sebastian Larsson free kick crossed its way into the penalty box, with defender John O'Shea heading the ball towards Krul, but Ba's deflection decieved the keeper and rolled into the net for 1-1.

The goal came as a big relief for what had been a frustrating 86 mintues for the home crowd, who grew anxious and tense, which was capped off when Steven Taylor was brought on for the injured Coloccini not long before the leveller.

The black cats still pressed for a winner afterwards but the visitors battling defensive work rate easily merited a point and with the home side's intense pressure in the second half the game deservedly ended honours even.

Man City 3-0 Sunderland

Manchester City kept their first clean sheet of the season with an emphatic and fully deserved win over Sunderland.

Aleksander Kolarov opened the scoring with a fine free kick after Sunderland defender Carlos Cuellar needlessly fouled Carlos Tevez just outside the penalty area.

Sergio Aguero, coming back from an injury received in City's 3-2 win over Southampton at the start of the season, scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0. The scoring was complete with James Milner's 89th mintues free kick, with some assistance from black cats midfielder Craig Gardner, coming off his head in the process.

It was City's first clean sheet since beating Newcastle at St James' Park back in May and Roberto Mancini will be delighted with arguably his team's best performance of the season so far as for long periods they were camped in the Sunderland half of the pitch.

It was a perfect start for the Premier League champions on the fourth minute, after Cuellar missed the ball completely and brought down the Argentinian striker, left footed Kolarov stepped up to smash the ball past the helpless Simon Mingolet.

The black cats responded well to going behind initially and had a fair share of the ball along with a few decent chances, including Steven Fletcher's deflected effort which went straight into the hands of City keeper Joe Hart after Stephane Sessegnon's early volley which flew off target.

After half time Sunderland had a good spell where they threatened twice to equalise through Fletcher and once with former City winger Adam Johnson who made a fine run to be one-on-one with Hart but Kolarov, impressive both up front and at the back, put in a professional tackle to remove any danger.

Eventually City settled down and began to dominate possession and territory as they did for much of the first half, with Sunderland struggling to keep up with the host's tempo. It almost seemed inevitable that their breathtaking play, similar to how they played for much of last season, was to be rewarded.

And it came on the 60th minute from Augero after some wonderful build up play involving Kolarov who passed through to the young Argentinian whose fantastic finish was thumped past Mingolet.

By now the game was beyond reach for the visitors, who were the only team to be come away from the Etihad last season with a 3-3 draw after being 3-1 up with minutes remaining, with City surely banking all three points.

But the scoring wasn't over as on the 89th minute Craig Gardner, who had a difficult game in defence dealing with various City players, got his head in the way to try and prevent James Milner's free kick but couldn't stop it summing up Sunderland's afternoon.

City though, will be pleased with this performance as it was the perfect response to the disappointment of the Champions League game midweek and leaves them in great spirits going into the international break.

Introduction

Hello people, I am Michael Bowers and I'm starting a blog to write posts on what I love most - football (I know, typical of lads)! Although strangely enough, three years ago I wasn't into football whatsoever as I felt people were paid ridiculous amounts of money just to kick a ball around a field when I thought anyone could just as easily do it. Whilst I have dramatically changed my view on football, I still feel players wages are outrageous.

 

So what team do I support? I actually have two teams - Sunderland and Blackpool. My family are big black cats fans and my mother particularly loved Sunderland for a long time, so it's in the blood really. As for Blackpool, since they were relegated from the Barclay's Premier League at the end of the 2010-2011 season, I became an enthusiastic follower for two reasons: the manager and the style of their football, particularly when they were playing in the top flight and they looked as though they loved it, an absolute pleasure for me to watch.

 

But I generally love to watch games. But don't you just hate it when you have a boring 0-0 draw and at full time you feel as though you have just completed unpleasant homework?! Games that are tense, exciting and full of drama make me remember why I love football.

 

But I hope you enjoy my posts and feel free to give any constructive criticism on how I can make my posts better for you to view. :D