Sunderland 1-3 Aston Villa
In my report of the Portsmouth match I spoke of the fact that the only thing we had left for this season was hope. However, after watching another performance that was as inept, as gutless, as disgraceful as in that match, it now seems that we are beyond even hope and that the only thing that can alter our plight, in any way, is drastic changes. If we continue in the same vein as we have started, with the same set-up, we are in danger of deeply embarrassing ourselves.
In yet another game the Lads on the pitch, who are obviously not good enough for this division, were once again powerless to stop another second half rout by another very average premiership side. There was a statistic published in one of the nationals this week showing that, on first half performances alone we’d have 15 points and be level with Chelsea. But it just seems that, after battling through the first half, teams see how weak we are and exploit us in every way, far too easily. This happened again today. It began when Phillips nipped in behind the defence and calmly cushioned an Aaron Hughes cross into the back of the net. It continued when Gareth Barry finished off a neat Villa move and was completed just a minute later when Baros sliced through the defence like a knife through butter with the greatest of ease. Whitehead pulled one back but, by then, most of the crowd had left and it did little to hide just how poor we are and the dire situation we now find ourselves in.
Getting out of this situation now looks nigh on impossible but it has been done, only last year in fact. What is needed, however, is a complete change in set-up, a massive overhaul at the club. Obviously, the deep-rooted problems at the club are due to Bob Murray. He has, too many times, made very costly mistakes that have left us in the situation we are now in but he has consistently stated that the club is up for offer, yet there has still been no interest. Also, I refuse to believe that he is directly at fault for the problems we are having to endure at this very moment, at least in terms of the way we are playing. For me, the manager is massively at fault. The 5 million pound that he did spend in the summer could have bought in 3 players of premiership class. These, added to the team we already had, could, quite possibly, have been good enough to stay up, although we will never know. Instead, however, he invested or, indeed, wasted money on several players who have struggled to cope with Premiership football and failed to keep together the side that won the Championship last season. In this game, the substitution he made at 1-0, taking off Nyron, who had coped well throughout the match and bringing on the inexperienced Woods, who he then placed out of position seemed to me to be the last throw of the dice for a desperate man. His record, unfortunately, speaks for itself. He is not equipped to manage in the top flight and has entered this league with a side not equipped to play in the top flight. For me, it is already the right time for changes at management level to be made and it would not surprise me if a man of his pride, walks before he is pushed.
It is often said that desperate times call for desperate measures and, as a Sunderland fan, I’ve never felt that the team’s situation has ever been as desperate as it is now.
Man of the Match: Nyron Nosworthy
Matthew Woolston
