BOUNCE BACK ABILITY

Ian Dowie once called it Bounce Back Ability, and if he’d been in the ground today watching Sunderland against Crystal Palace, he’d have been nodding away like a man proven right all over

again.

We never give up. Not ever. Not when it’s scrappy, not when it’s tense, and certainly not when we go a goal down.

Talk about panic? Not a sniff. We didn’t flap, didn’t lose shape, didn’t start lumping it hopeful. We just kept playing. Calm. Brave. Belief pouring out of every red and white shirt. Every inch a proper Premier League side, trusting the system, trusting each other, trusting that if you keep knocking on the door, it will open.

And gel? This squad’s got more gel than Nicky Clark’s chain of hairdressers. Togetherness everywhere you looked. Blocks, presses, second balls, little pats on the back, big shouts of encouragement. A team pulling in one direction and dragging the crowd with them.

We were the better side. Simple as that. More intent, more hunger, more courage. We deserved the three points, no debate needed. Even when we were behind, it felt inevitable, not hopeful, inevitable. That’s the difference now. That’s maturity. That’s belief.

This is Sunderland. We fight, we graft, we play, and we go again. Heads never drop, standards never slip, and the message is loud and clear: this team has steel, style, and serious heart. Till the end... just the start.