We need to start picking up points

AFTER spending most of last week exchanging offensive text messages with acquaintances from Tyneside, it’s with relief and a tinge of deflation that we move on from last weekend’s tense derby game.

Whilst it’s great to see that Roy Keane’s class of 2007 aren’t the sort to bottle the big occasions like these, it’s disappointing that we dominated the match but didn’t come away with a win and fingers must be pointed.

I remember after the first game of the season, Birmingham had conceded a couple of soft goals at Stamford Bridge and it was pointed out that “Sunderland have shelled out £9m to avoid those sorts of mistakes.”

I’m now starting to wonder if it has been money well spent. Whilst Craig Gordon hasn’t pulled off any outright howlers, save for one huge slice of bad luck at West Ham, we’ve now let in several goals that are questionable to say the least.

A shot through his legs at Man City, a free kick from 35 yards versus Fulham, two efforts straight at him conceded to Middlesbrough and now a pedestrian paced pass against Newcastle. It’s not a pretty list.

Last season we looked solid at the back, with the experience of Darren Ward between the sticks. He looked assured coming for crosses, made few errors and was able to communicate with the defenders in front of him. I’ve yet to see Gordon come out and reprimand his colleagues.

A class keeper should win you at least half a dozen extra points over the season, but so far the Scottish international’s SAFC account is in the red and something needs to be done to keep him on his toes. Darren Ward arrived at the Stadium of Light as an understudy. Perhaps another promotion to the first team, albeit temporarily, is the kick up the backside Gordon needs.

On the plus side at the back, Ian Harte is everything I’ve said we’ve needed for a long time now. Despite him playing most of the match on his wrong foot at right back, he was solid in the tackle, read the game well and was very visible in his organising of the defence.

He’s certainly not the long term answer, a lack of pace is visible to all and will be a big worry against a whippet-like winger, but someone with his Champions League and international experience to play in the centre of defence would mean we’re not far off a decent back line.

Again though, we were the better side against a poor mid-table team yet failed to come away with three points. We showed in several areas that we are good enough to at least tread water in the Premier League. Kenwyne Jones looked like a superstar compared to the lacklustre Michael Owen. Whilst our long ball game may be predictable and boring at times, it worked on Saturday and he was outstanding again.

Whilst Big Sam’s side have dwindled in terms of genuinely loathsome players, it’s a relief they’ve signed someone as detestable like Joey Barton to take the place of Lee Bowyer and Alan Shearer. The midfielder’s horror lunge at Dickson Etuhu’s wedding tackle on the stroke of half-time was nasty, vile and should have been punished by the FA. Had we played against 10 men in the second-half we would have won. It’s probably the first really bad refereeing decision we’ve been the victim of this season. Hopefully it’ll be the last.

We now have a break for internationals, which will give more of our injury victims a chance to recover and increase their fitness.

The introduction of Carlos Edwards proves how much we’ve missed an out and out right winger in the side. We looked far more balanced and didn’t really lose our shape until Ross Wallace was substituted for the weekly introduction of the ineffectual Anthony Stokes.

Hopefully we haven’t just seen another match where we’ve played out of our skins during a big game. The atmosphere at the Stadium of Light was white-hot and even a Lethargy Association XI would have been up for a scrap it was that intense. We’ve now seen Sunderland at their best, we now need to see them consistently picking up points.