Angry Fans
I WAS disgusted to read Paul Merson’s comments in the Irish Examiner this week saying Roy Keane had made the wrong buys and has not proved anything yet as a coach.
Firstly, Keane has been manager of a club for one season and has an impeccable record with what was a struggling side. Next, Keane signed Carlos Edwards last season to many people’s surprise but he proved to be the player of the latter half of the season so let’s give his signings some chance Paul, especially Craig Gordon the Scottish keeper who has an outstanding international record with an under-strength international team.
Keane may be paying over the odds but he doesn’t want a situation where Sunderland are in the dumps again.
Here’s to a great season
WHO IS this strange Zen-like character patrolling the touchline at The Stadium of Light, and refusing to recognise the S-word? Is it some strange doppelganger from the light side of the force?
IT’S THE mark of a great manager to be able to make substitutions at the right time. The Gods of Football must have been laughing all the way to the bar when Chopra rammed that ball home on Saturday. But just how poor were Tottenham?
IF Paul McShane plays half as well as he did on Saturday for the rest of the season Roy Keane will have made a great capture. That hairstyle might be a bit retro but he looks an outstanding centre-half at a bargain price.
PERHAPS I am the only Irishman who doesn’t like the whole outbreak of Sundireland mania. It certainly seems like it. 12 months ago most people couldn’t have found Wearside on a map. Now they’re waving red and white flags and learning the choruses of the Lambton Worm. Opportunistic or what?
: The Lambton Worm!?! Must have been an underground hit. Anyway, a great start for Keano, McShane and the rest but, in answer to Declan Brosnan’s question, Spurs were very, very poor. Speaking of which . . .
WHAT is the point of signing a striker for €25m, and then leaving him on the bench? Did you see the look on Berbatov’s face when he was taken off on Saturday? Jol has spent an absolute fortune since he’s been at White Hart Lane. People talk about Benitez being under pressure but I reckon it’s even more difficult for Jol. Spurs are still several players short, and without Ledley King there’s no natural leader in the side.
OUR SHOUT: That’s Spurs for you, right enough, a crown without a King. I still feel they lack a dominant force in the middle of the park but the time to make a better judgement is when Lennon returns and they get their defence back.
I SEE the great entertainers were at it again on Sunday. Three goals, a feast of attacking football, half the team missing, and Daniel Alves still to join this week. Welcome to the new season!
Is it too soon to dish out a red card? Do I need any particular reason? No and no. Welcome back Cork Blue, hope you find the early bath just as entertaining.
LIAM, I read your carefully argued piece in Saturday’s Examiner which posed the question as to whether there was a more effective way to annoy League of Ireland fans than by welcoming the return of the Premiership. A brilliant analysis.
Being interested in the domestic game in no way diminishes the appetite for appreciating the greater depth of talent on show elsewhere. Football (soccer) is a global sport. Only insular people think that entertainment should be confined by national boundaries.
The League of Ireland is an interesting competition, but the economic reality is that it will never be a leading tournament in Europe, whether or not a few thousand Irish make the choice to watch Liverpool, or United or Celtic or Sunderland.
There is no better way to guarantee a Letter of the Week prize than to use the word “brilliant” in reference to your not so humble correspondent. Cork Blue please note.
HOW can it be that a team which spends more than €80m in the summer ends up playing John O’Shea at centre-forward just a couple of weeks after we have allowed Alan Smith to leave? Unlike many United fans I have been worried by the balance of spending this summer. Too many attacking players when we need cover at full-back and centre half. I hope that last season’s success hasn’t gone to Fergie’s head?
OBVIOUSLY those people who are responsible for the cosmic balance of soccer were working overtime on Sunday. Tevez arrives. United immediately lose Rooney for two months. Who says there’s no justice?
And at least Fergie doesn’t have to worry about the “problem” of playing two “similar” players. What a lucky break, eh?
GOT a feeling that Sven is going to prove a point to people this season. Not only do Manchester City suddenly look like a team which understands football but the Swede finally shows some passion from the touchline. And they say that leopards never change their spots. But perhaps people have forgotten that the Swede was a Serie A and Cup Winners Cup winner before he took up international duties.
Daddy! Daddy! Why do you still deny me after all these years?
LAWRIE Sanchez needs a pair of glasses with his attack on Arsenal “diving.” Not only was the first incident a cast-iron penalty, the tackle on Touré as he charged into the area was as clear a case for a spot kick as you could see. Perhaps there should be a season-long moratorium on managers challenging referee’s decisions.
WHEN Sunderland play Fulham can they award international caps for the game given the number of Republic and Northern Ireland players on the pitch?
Yellow card for simulated humour.
IT was more than lucky that Steven Gerrard managed to bluff his way into a free-kick against Aston Villa at the weekend. By the time Liverpool face Mourinho’s lot next Saturday they should still be within spitting distance of them.
Fair play to you Anthony. One of the best free kicks you’ll ever see and you put the emphasis on bluff and luck. Have a red card. There’ll be no mercy this season.
MEANWHILE there’s a footnote from me to welcome our new Terrace Talker, Martyn McFadden from the Sunderland fanzine A Love Supreme. Martyn will be providing a view from Wearside tomorrow and every Wednesday keeping all Irish fans up to date with a supporter’s eye view of Roy Keane’s progress at the Stadium of Light. And after Saturday’s dramatic opener against Tottenham here’s just a couple of paragraphs from Martyn’s article to whet the appetite:
