There are so many season previews out there right now and they all follow the same format. So at Eevee we thought we’d try something a bit different and move away from the optimism and bias from fans answering on their own team and instead concentrate on the negativity and hatred that makes football what it is!
Here lifelong Magpie Dan Wilson evaluates the Mackems and the potential sideshow of Di Canio…
Which player do you reluctantly admire?
Last season I really admired Danny Rose. He was solid at the back and a decent threat going forward. Shame he’s no longer there! This season I admire Jack Colback. He has a good work ethic, very neat on the ball and is a born and bred Geordie who grew up in the same area as me.
Which player do you out-and-out despise and why?
It used to be James McClean (those eyes are not natural), so I’ll have to opt for Lee Cattermole. He would be more suited to the MMA circuit than a football pitch. He is playing well above his level. He has no technical ability. Every time I’ve watched him play he seems to give the ball away and then resorts to reckless tackles. His reputation now precedes him (thankfully!). If Di Canio decides to get rid (which has been rumoured) then Seb Larsson can take his place due to being a one trick pony who is also playing above his natural level.
What’s the best-case (ie worst-case) outcome for them this season?
Relegation. If the form of last season carries on into 2013/14 (winning only 2 of their last 15 games) then relegation could be a very distinct possibility. A few Sunderland fans think a top half finish is possible. It isn’t.
How would you assess their transfer activity?
Di Canio has brought in 10 players. The majority of them are completely unknown. Giacherrini could be a very shrewd purchase if he settles in to the pace of the Premier League. Altidore was a major flop the last time he appeared in the Premier League. His return of 2 goals in 30 games for Hull is nothing short of embarrassing for an international striker. His goal tally from last season seems credible but the Eredivisie is a weaker league. He could turn out to be like ‘prolific’ former Middlesbrough striker Afonso Alves. The new squad need to gel. Strikers can work on instinct but midfielders and centre-backs especially need to form partnerships to become successful.
Beneath the bravado are there any lingering concerns?
Major concerns. From the last 10 games of the 2012/13 season Sunderland only picked up 9 points and scored 10 goals. Di Canio came in and turned Newcastle over at their ground which increased the fans expectations and gave him instant ‘hero’ status on Wearside. It has also provided a smokescreen to deep problems.
As mentioned above, Di Canio has been very active in the transfer market but, with the exception of Giacherrini, they could all prove to be risky purchases. It smacks of a desperate attempt to polish a turd.
Do they have the right (ie wrong) man in the hot-seat?
Absolute perfection. A tempermental, hot-headed manager who thinks he is better than he actually is in charge of a club whose fans think they are better than they actually are. If the going gets tough there could be fireworks.
Sunderland have a relatively easy opening 6 fixtures. If they fail to pick up points from these games then it could be a long hard season and Di Canio won’t be around to see the finale.
What would you personally sacrifice to see them relegated?
I would personally sacrifice Niall Quinn to the Footballing Gods and do the resulting time at Her Majesty’s Pleasure. Two birds, one stone!
Typical comments from a typical big-headed Geordie. He says no one has heard of them. He means he and his mates haven’t heard of them. Of course nothing exists outside their little world. He harps on about 2012/13 season. Its over the whole team has changed, why are you comparing then and now. Have you noticed , the team is not the same. You cannot compare. If the team fail to pick up any points from the first six games, then there are fourteen left. Maths not a strong point? Comments about Sir Niall are just beneath contempt. So all in all your revolutionary idea of asking a Geordie to assess the lads was the worst idea you have ever had. If you ask a self respecting mackem to do the same for the barcodes, he would simply refuse. I only have one thing to add…..Joke in Ear…nuff said.
14 gamea left after the first 6? Maths obviously isn’t your strong point. Unless you’re used to Sunderlands season being over by 20 games?
Typical asshole Geordie
arsehole
What an utter waste of time! Its like asking a Turkey to vote for Christmas!
How many points did Newcastle finish above Sunderland again?
What a pile of crap. Yes I am a Sunderland supporter as you’ve probably guessed, but this article is an absolute joke. If you’re going to get a skunk to comment on his fiercest rivals then at least get one that A. has a clue about football and B. isn’t going to threaten to kill our former Chairman. I can tell you now there’ll be one PL team in the North East that the country will be laughing at this season at wont be us. NUFC are a national joke that’s not me being bitter or bias that’s a fact. The so called everyone’s second favourite team of yonder are now a dilapidated ship with no anchor, rudder…Christ they haven’t got a captain and there crew only speak French!! What a mess of a club you have. Do you know what most Sunderland supporters would have said if they’d been asked to take part in a reverse of this interview? “I don’t care what that lot up the road do this season unless they’re playing the lads” That’s the difference between us and them we love our club we don’t take pleasure in campaigning against it because we think the game owes us something. I hope NUFC get a real wake up call this season, not relegated because I like the Derby’s but final day survival might bring you lot back don to Earth!
“I don’t care what that lot up the road do this season unless they’re playing the lads”
*Quickly scans the RTG forum, chuckles, leaves again*
Yes, mate. Yes.
Comment
Wow, what an insight. Typical deluded geordie prick. Is he the General of the man breast army? Won nothing for longer than we have and still they think they are a big club. A genuine John Hall quote “IN FIVE YEARS TIME WE’LL BE BIGGER THAN BARCELONA” lol. I guess that explains why they have just signed a player who would not touch them with a barge pole in January. FTM.
A skunk mongo spewing jealous bile, oh how I larfed. They punch horses don’t they. We shall see who goes down. I suspect the horse punchers will be in the relegation mix while the mackems comfortably top 4 lol. Well mongo started it.
Loving the comments 😀
I personally think that he (the author) is being kind to sunderland. They’ve signed some players but it’s been a scattergun approach by Di Canio and what looks like with little or no thought put into it.
Which brings me on to Di Canio – what’s his track record again? Oh yes, one win over ‘the enemy’ and he (and trust me, I’ve worked in sunderland since that win, is heralded as a hero & the best thing since that Geordie who managed sunderland to an FA Cup win). Seriously, he’s a liability with a terrible track record. No, sunderland will struggle, their fans live in a bubble and are completely blinkered to what their neighbours in Newcastle are doing (said tongue in cheek).
Meanwhile this article gave me a chuckle, I’ll get back to my little club and watch with glee as those on Weirdside implode after about ten games or so.
Brilliant!
Honestly, he’s a mild-mannered Geordie who wrote that article. He was very fair to Newcastle. He didn’t come out with the usual crap. I totally agree about him comments on Di Canio and the Mackem faithful (well the 20,000 that actually turn up to the Stadium of Shite) – one word Overrated and another word: Untested. Fulham proved the delusional tramps wrong – I know we’ll probably get beat off Man City tonight but seeing Sunderland in the shite gives me a little smile.
Much love,
The Capital of the North East in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It has a rat infested suburb named Sunderland.