League 1 (3 Viewers)

[Brighton Sky Blue]

I might have agreed, had they not got a defence that seems totally inept. They have a few youngsters playing - including a lad called Doyle from Man City, who by all accounts has had his confidence shattered, yet they either won't or can't drop him (don't know if they take a financial hit from Man City?) Also a left back called Cirkin, plus Corry Evans who get absolute pelters on their forum (Shippers x 10)

I’ve seen a few of them wanting 5 at the back because their defence isn’t good enough with 4. I mean if the problem is the players themselves aren’t up to it then just having more of them isn’t the answer surely?

 

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[Travs]

Sunderland really seem to have hit the self-destruct button.

Can argue the rights and wrongs of sacking their previous manager... reading their forum it seems that losing 6-0 to Bolton was "unacceptable" and was the final straw for many... but from the outside, they were around 3rd place and i think he would have kept them in the playoffs at least.

Now that is looking by no means guaranteed, and automatic has gone.

When we dropped down, it took a number of years before the fans realised that being a bigger name in the lower divisions doesn't actually mean anything, nor guarantee you the right to be fighting for promotion... i don't think the majority of Sunderland fans have reached that understanding yet.... "tinpot", "shit league" "shit clubs" pervades all over their forum.

They'll get up when their performances deserve it, and on that basis only.

 

[sylus]

i always take great delight in seeing Sunderland fuckin up there promotion chances season after season, long may that continue.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Sunderland really seem to have hit the self-destruct button.

Can argue the rights and wrongs of sacking their previous manager... reading their forum it seems that losing 6-0 to Bolton was "unacceptable" and was the final straw for many... but from the outside, they were around 3rd place and i think he would have kept them in the playoffs at least.

Now that is looking by no means guaranteed, and automatic has gone.

When we dropped down, it took a number of years before the fans realised that being a bigger name in the lower divisions doesn't actually mean anything, nor guarantee you the right to be fighting for promotion... i don't think the majority of Sunderland fans have reached that understanding yet.... "tinpot", "shit league" "shit clubs" pervades all over their forum.

They'll get up when their performances deserve it, and on that basis only.

Which is true, but the quality of the league is genuinely poor.

 

[SkyblueDad]

I know we take the piss but what a frustrating basket case of a football club Sunderland have become must be driving their fans bonkers, they remind me of us as we descended in to division 2 procession of crap managers big ideas all talk but no action, I’m not sure if their latest one is any good. Whatever happens this season they need to start a fresh as we did, luckily we got Mark Robins back and he has slowly but surely, built, re-built, two or three times. Their fans need to step back, & be patient and forget what’s happening up the road at Newcastle and that’s half their problem.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

I’ve seen a few of them wanting 5 at the back because their defence isn’t good enough with 4. I mean if the problem is the players themselves aren’t up to it then just having more of them isn’t the answer surely?

I think their record when playing 4 at the back is statistically dreadful this season, versus 5 at the back. The highlights (goals conceded) of their MK defeat showed the lack of pace at the centre of their defence.

 

[Deleted member 5849]

The league is the league, it's not abnormal for there to be an ebb and flow of clubs of a certain size dipping down. That doesn't automatically make them better.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

I might have agreed, had they not got a defence that seems totally inept. They have a few youngsters playing - including a lad called Doyle from Man City, who by all accounts has had his confidence shattered, yet they either won't or can't drop him (don't know if they take a financial hit from Man City?) Also a left back called Cirkin, plus Corry Evans who get absolute pelters on their forum (Shippers x 10)

As a proud N.Irishman, I'll defend Corry Evans to the hilt!

Met Alex Neil just over a week ago. Nice bloke. Hoping he does well.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Their fans need to step back, & be patient and forget what’s happening up the road at Newcastle and that’s their problem.

To be fair, most of their fans don't obsess over Newcastle, it's more a case of having crowds in the high 20k to low 30ks, have supposed rich owners, yet season after season managing to have teams with much lower budgets / fans attending / income finishing above them. We'd feel exactly the same. I remember when Burton got promoted above us, and wondering how they were outperforming us as a club, given their minimal resources.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Met Alex Neil just over a week ago. Nice bloke. Hoping he does well.

So do I.................................after he's left Sunderland.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

To be fair, most of their fans don't obsess over Newcastle, it's more a case of having crowds in the high 20k to low 30ks, have supposed rich owners, yet season after season managing to have teams with much lower budgets / fans attending / income finishing above them. We'd feel exactly the same. I remember when Burton got promoted above us, and wondering how they were outperforming us as a club, given their minimal resources.

In our first L1 season Yeovil got promoted. Now back among the non league also rans. Funny old game

 

[Travs]

I was at the first L1 game, Yeovil away... our fans singing "we'll never play you again" after we went a goal up inside 10mins... i did think that song was a little premature!

 

[Gynnsthetonic]

In our first L1 season Yeovil got promoted. Now back among the non league also rans. Funny old game

I think that about Stoke City when we played them in the FA cup 2018 we were league 2 and they were in the Prem and I thought then how far away in terms of stature we were, but they then got relegated we got promoted twice and now we sit above them in the table, funny old game!

 

[HuckerbyDublinWhelan]

I was at the first L1 game, Yeovil away... our fans singing "we'll never play you again" after we went a goal up inside 10mins... i did think that song was a little premature!

I Come out of that game thinking, once we’re up to full fitness we’ll piss this league

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

I think that about Stoke City when we played them in the FA cup 2018 we were league 2 and they were in the Prem and I thought then how far away in terms of stature we were, but they then got relegated we got promoted twice and now we sit above them in the table, funny old game!

That FA Cup game was one of my favourites. As Robins put it at the time ‘we’ve reminded the footballing world that we exist’. Not as significant as the playoffs that season but one where the fans really rallied behind the team.

That’s needed at Sunderland which looks a very unhappy place to be and has been for a long time now.

 

[Alan Dugdales Moustache]

Bigger clubs have fallen further than that lot…can you think of any?

Dirty Leeds

 

[Liquid Gold]

Sunderland sacking Johnson because he lost to Bolton would have been like us pulling the plug on Robins after Yeovil spanked us.

Completely short sighted at a time when they can't bring in any fresh blood. They need a long term plan and to stick with it for 3 seasons at least.

Going from Ross to Parkinson to Johnson to Neil shows that they haven't got any overarching philosophy and are just plucking the best 'name' they can get. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how they went about player recruitment too and they end up in a reasonable position because they've outspent everybody else but as they haven't bough players or a manager it to suit a particular season they aren't running away with it or even particularly fearsome in the playoffs.

 

[Travs]

I was reading a bit of their forum over the weekend... seems they've got some Director Of Football team in place.... not 100% following who they are, and the fans seem to be "hoying shit" at everyone... players, managers, director of football, owners.... but the Director Of Football team appear to be very unpopular.

 

[Travs]

Although for what its worth i think they'll probably sneak in the playoffs this season... and then its a complete lottery whether they'll come up or not.

 

[SheafIsGod]

Sunderland are the only team not pulling their weight in my promotion treble at the minute.

Fulham to win the league, Sunderland &. Exeter to go up. Tenner returns a grand. Another reason to hate them.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

I was reading a bit of their forum over the weekend... seems they've got some Director Of Football team in place.... not 100% following who they are, and the fans seem to be "hoying shit" at everyone... players, managers, director of football, owners.... but the Director Of Football team appear to be very unpopular.

An issue that came to light is that the French billionaire who took over didn’t have as much of the shares as first thought. Donald, Methven and Sartori between them still have a sizeable chunk.

To be honest Donald himself has quite a bit of blame to take. Shortsighted, looked a lot like a gambler in charge of a football club. A net spend of £2 million to swap Maja for Will Grigg basically killed their promotion hopes first time.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Sunderland are the only team not pulling their weight in my promotion treble at the minute.

Fulham to win the league, Sunderland &. Exeter to go up. Tenner returns a grand. Another reason to hate them.

Got some good odds on that considering

 

[Colin Steins Smile]

I might have agreed, had they not got a defence that seems totally inept. They have a few youngsters playing - including a lad called Doyle from Man City, who by all accounts has had his confidence shattered, yet they either won't or can't drop him (don't know if they take a financial hit from Man City?) Also a left back called Cirkin, plus Corry Evans who get absolute pelters on their forum (Shippers x 10)

Doyle is highly regarded at Man City, so I expect there is a clause in the loan agreement that "if fit...he plays".

 

[MusicDating]

Sunderland really seem to have hit the self-destruct button.

Can argue the rights and wrongs of sacking their previous manager... reading their forum it seems that losing 6-0 to Bolton was "unacceptable" and was the final straw for many... but from the outside, they were around 3rd place and i think he would have kept them in the playoffs at least.

Now that is looking by no means guaranteed, and automatic has gone.

When we dropped down, it took a number of years before the fans realised that being a bigger name in the lower divisions doesn't actually mean anything, nor guarantee you the right to be fighting for promotion... i don't think the majority of Sunderland fans have reached that understanding yet.... "tinpot", "shit league" "shit clubs" pervades all over their forum.

They'll get up when their performances deserve it, and on that basis only.

Save you having to look at their forum -

https://mobile.twitter.com/DeludedOf

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Doyle is highly regarded at Man City, so I expect there is a clause in the loan agreement that "if fit...he plays".

He has been consistently poor for Sunderland if you follow their match reports/comments. The Man City lad Doyle on loan at Cardiff, however, has been very impressive.

 

[lordy_87]

The football we played in that year was light-years ahead of anything else I've seen in league one. If we had the same team again we'd piss the league again regardless of who else would be in the league.

 

[13th_choice_seamer]

Didn’t Man City also dip right down ?

Yes there is a long list of sometime-Premier League teams who have fallen into League One (or lower), including the following

Portsmouth
Wigan
Bradford
Ipswich
Sheff W
Sheff U
Cov
Hull
Southampton
Leicester
Barnsley
Man City
Oldham
Norwich
Blackpool
Charlton
Wimbledon/MK Dons
Leeds
Sunderland
Bolton
QPR
Nottingham Forest
Blackburn
Swindon
Wolves

That's all I can think of but somebody will probably point out a few more

 

[Flying Fokker]

Dirty Leeds

I thought the Mighty Coventry City into league 2 after several seasons in L1.

 

[Deleted member 9744]

Yes there is a long list of sometime-Premier League teams who have fallen into League One (or lower), including the following

Portsmouth
Wigan
Bradford
Ipswich
Sheff W
Sheff U
Cov
Hull
Southampton
Leicester
Barnsley
Man City
Oldham
Norwich
Blackpool
Charlton
Wimbledon/MK Dons
Leeds
Sunderland
Bolton
QPR
Nottingham Forest
Blackburn
Swindon
Wolves

That's all I can think of but somebody will probably point out a few more

Swansea like us and Wolves went all the way to the fourth tier from the top tier but pre Premier League days.

 

[13th_choice_seamer]

Swansea like us and Wolves went all the way to the fourth tier from the top tier but pre Premier League days.

Luton and Notts County went to non-league having been top-flight in the late 80s/early 90s. Millwall were also top flight a couple of seasons pre-PL and later fell to League One.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Luton and Notts County went to non-league having been top-flight in the late 80s/early 90s. Millwall were also top flight a couple of seasons pre-PL and later fell to League One.

Luton and Notts County relegated the season before the inaugural PL season

 

[13th_choice_seamer]

Luton and Notts County relegated the season before the inaugural PL season

Also Oxford were in the top flight a little further back (beating United 2-0 in Fergie's first game as manager in 1986-87) and later found themselves in non-league for a while.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Sunderland game 'interrupted' according to the live score app

 

[13th_choice_seamer]

Looks like a possibly fatal heart attack for a fan in the stands.

At least some of them have a sense of humour, from tonight's match thread

peil said:

weird to think we now have 2 players on the pitch who played for us in the premier

Far Fletch replied:
Even weirder to think we were in the premier