It’s rare that I quote Chris Martin but, hey, when it comes to Sunderland, ‘nobody said it was easy’ seems to be the perfect line.
Last night’s defeat to Wigan felt strangely predictable. That impending doom that the next game will be the one where we screw it up has been proved right and we can all get back to the core Sunderland belief that someone up there doesn’t like us and good things don’t happen to people like us…
But, do you know what…
It isn’t over…
For three reasons, this season still has the potential to be magical and it’s time for us to throw down a line in the sand and say that the Louis Dreyfus era of Sunderland AFC doesn’t get dumped on, doesn’t give up at the first sign of things going south but rather picks itself up, dusts itself off and starts all over again.
The first reason is that this season remains the start of the journey. Wherever we finish in the table, whatever any play off results might be, the KLD era has begun and everything I’ve seen so far is promising greater things just around the corner. The club has shown a professionalism in the last few months that has been lacking since Niall Quinn left the boardroom. A plan and a structure from the first team to the academy that fans can get behind and support, a business plan and sensible approach to the fans and wider community we can all get behind.
And, maybe going up isn’t such a great idea right now. In some ways, this season reminds me of 97-98. Started badly, got better, fell just short of the top two. Yes, I admit, the play off final that followed saw me needing counselling for years to come and an irrational hatred of Charlton Athletic but let’s remember the season after – 105 points, international call ups and a season I’ll never forget. That year, Charlton had a dreadful season because they just weren’t ready to go up, looking back, we got the better next five years.
It could be argued that a team who can’t defend corners against Wigan shouldn’t be rushing to play Sheffield United and West Brom. If it isn’t meant to be this year, remember that the journey is only just beginning.
The second reason, and I think this is worth a mention, is that this feels like the season we put a lot of hoodoos to bed. We’ve won at Wembley, we’ve won at Fratton Park and, if it has to be the play offs, maybe we get to put that one to bed as well. Whether my heart can take it if it’s Charlton is a different matter but, I genuinely believe that there’s no team we couldn’t beat (on our day) in this division so, if it has to be the play offs, lets’ have no fear and deal with it.
And, finally, let’s not write off automatic. Look at Hull’s fixtures. They have to play Charlton and Lincoln. They have to play Wigan who are a fantastic side who are incredibly good at corners and they also have to play us. If we could get back to winning ways (and I see no reason that we couldn’t), I still think 89 points would be enough. Win the next six and I think we win the league. What about Peterborough? Well, they also face a resurgent Lincoln and Charlton away.
We’ve had a set back but I’m not sure the fat lady is even warming up quite yet.
Where Chris Martin concludes he wants to go back to the start, my conclusion is onwards and upwards. Whether it happens this season or next season, I’ve no doubt that the future is bright and, if we have to wait for it, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.
