Gerrin, hawayhawayhawayhaway, and all that. It’s good to be back. There has, as ever, been preseason, and if our moderate showing is anything to go by, we’re in for a good season in the real thing.
After a couple of quick signings in Riveros and Angeleri (which turned out to be very slow signings in reality), things went quiet. In came Mingolet, which is just as well as we’ve sold Fulop and broken both Gordon and Carson, then it went a bit daft in the last week or so. Mensah eventually and thankfully arrived in a deal so complicated that they don’t think it’s safe for us to know the details, then we continued our pursuit of Wellbeck. To be honest, I’d rather finish tenth with the likes of Waghorn or Noble than ninth with a player, however good he may be, who we know fine well will be heading back to his parent club next summer. Fair enough, if we’re short on numbers and are facing a promotion or relegation battle, but we’re not. However, it became apparent that Brucie had joined the glass half empty brigade regarding Jones, and Ken’s departure to Stoke followed. Surely not a place you’d go to win trophies (no disrespect to their club) or to enjoy the metropolis (no apology offered), but a fresh start. I wouldn’t have minded him staying, but, as Rossy explained, how often last season did we say “Jonesy’s due a big game.” Brucie’s patience obviously ran out. Maybe we should have cashed in on him in January when Spurs offered £16million, but I’d sooner take half that from Stoke than do anything to make Harry Redknapp happy. We also got the unpronounceable Onuoah (Chenidum, Chenidum, Chenidum-dumdum, Chenidum, Ono-uah) to precipitate Ferdy’s departure to somewhere Mediterranean, and the Egyptian Beckham. Also in through the out door was Lorik Cana, apparently after arranging himself a bit of a sneaky move to Galatasary. Personally, I was a bit surprised, initially, at my lack of disappointment at this, but then realised that after a start to his Sunderland days that looked to have him destined for legendary status, he’d hit his own ceiling and wasn’t going to get any better. I also reckon that to play in Turkey, you have to one or more of three things: Mad, Turkish, or Greedy. As Turkey is a lot closer to his hometown of Pristina, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt at go for the first of those in Lorik’s case.
The tabloid papers yesterday were full of the usual guff about the coming season – the Sun managed to pack their Big Kick Off supplement with at least one article about each of the Premiership clubs – well, nineteen of them anyway. Guess who didn’t get a mention? Maybe it’s because the biggest member (physically) of their beloved Tory Party didn’t like a Sunderland constituency gaining a sculpture in tribute to the area’s miners, and the locals rightly kicked up a fuss about his shocking comments. The Star (it was in the hairdressers while I was waiting, honest) ran a feature on the “real heroes” of the Prem – four fans with lots of their memorabilia, basically. Mr Lazenby from Whitley Bay, the token mag, boasted that he wanted to name his children after his heroes- including Kevin Scott. Presumably the same Kevin Scott who I stood next to at Palace a few years back, supporting Sunderland.
Yesterday tea time, I could only really name three players who’d be in the side for sure – Mignolet, Captain Cattermole (Captermole?), and Henderson. The rest, due to injury, lack of fitness, or lack of knowledge on my part, could be any eight from eighteen or so.
Brum arrived off the back of an impressive 2009-2010 season, and, with new boy Nikola Zidic up front standing head and shoulders above even Peter Crouch, their tactics should have been obvious.
Obviously, then, they left him on the bench. We started with a straightforward 4-4-2..
Mingolet
Onuoah Titus Mensah Richo
Al Muhummadi Hendo Catts Steed
Bent Campbell
It was a fairly bright day, and fairly bright start as we pinged the ball about and looked generally impressive. A defence with three solid chaps and once fancy-dan proved to be a good combination, and the midfield looked productive, with the wide men either zipping or burrowing forward, depending on whether they were Egyptian or Belgian, and the front two dancing around the toes of a rather statuesque visiting defence. We had time for Hendo to waste a free kick by playing it short to Steed, who’d done his trick of the day and come inside to allow Richo space to race forward. Bent put a header wide, Titus Bigshorts put in a couple of really good tackles, then Steed hit one in low and hard from the left which pinged about and ended up in the side netting. Al (the Egyptian lad, I can’t be expected to type his whole name every time, so he’s Al from now on, OK?) looked sharp down the right. There was a lengthy stoppage for treatment to their number 11, who could have walked off to get his head stuck back together after Catts won a header, then it became all about decisions. The ref decided to allow play on when Bent was fouled, allowing Brum to bring down Campbell in the corner of the box, and decided it was a penalty. Benet stuck it in off Foster’s right hand, and we felt very happy after 22 minuutes. Then Catts decided to clatter their man on the centre spot when he was going backover, and got booked. Then the ref decided that Richo’s mistimed and fairly harmless tackle way up the line was worthy of a yellow, and Bent dragged a shot wide with his right. Foster was alert enough to save well from a slice to prevent an OG, then Catts decided that it would be a good idea to behave like a Sunday morning hangover-sufferer, and fly in again. Off, with two minutes to go to the break.
We were worth the lead, and wondered how Bruce would arrange the second half team. He left it as it was, and it did quite well with three in the middle and Campbell up with Bent most of the time. They’d brought on McFadden, who worked his wing well, and we had to produce some desperate defending early in the half. We managed a shot deflected for a corner, then Hendo tried to float one over the top to Bent, and little baldy ex-mag Steven Carr got there first to make it 2-0 on 56 minutes. Hahahahahahahahah!
Steed made way for Riveros, for once the victim of tactics and not fitness, and our latest Paraguayan watched in disbelief as Lee Boyer hit the deck screaming at every opportunity. Oh, for the chance to share a post-match pint with that little cheat. Bent was booked for pointing out the little bugger’s latest dive, then was chopped off at the knees for what should have been a straight red, but turned only yellow. The keeper dropped the ball under Darren’s challenge, but recovered to collect the ball. A cross from their left after a corner, and Mignolet seemed rooted to the line as Scott Dann (or Dan Scott) made it 2-1. Wellbeckcame on for a knackered Bent with 8 to go in a straight swap, then Riveros misplaced a pass with 88 on the clock, we gave away a free kick on our left, and they hoyed in another high ball. 2-2, with Mignolet again seeming to stay rather than make the ball his.
Another 4 added, as in the first half, and time for Waghorn to get his shirt dirty in place of Al, but a draw it was, and disappointing it was. Even with a man short, we looked to be better than Brum, but lost out to a more direct approach that put depleted numbers couldn’t cope with for 98 minutes. “2-0, and you F***ked it up” sang the Brummies, which wasn’t quite true, as the ref and his assistants had done a great deal to help the point their way with a lopsided game.
Cattermole, our new captain? I’d get shot now if we were offered any money. He says he’s matures, but on today’s showing he has certainly not. He saw what the ref was like, he got booked, and he did it again.
Man of the Match? Mensah, as we’d expected, was immense, with some unvbelievabel challenges, and Titus did little wrong. Hendo put in a great shift, as did Campbell, and Bent carried on from last year. Al looks like he can be a real asset, and Richo can do the left back job, but for me it was Onuoah who deserved a lap on Onouah, being strong in defence and bright in attack.
Keep the faith
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