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About Sunderland from wikipedia

Full name Sunderland Association Football Club
Nickname(s) The Black Cats, The Mackems
Founded 1879 (as Sunderland and District Teachers)
Ground Stadium of Light, Sunderland (Capacity: 49,000)
Owner Ellis Short
Chairman Ellis Short
Manager Martin O'Neill
League Premier League






Sunderland Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, that competes in the Premier League. Since its formation in 1879, the club has won six First Division titles—in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936 (see Sunderland A.F.C. seasons). As of 2009, it is competing in the Premier League.

After its formation by schoolteacher James Allan, Sunderland moved towards professionalism; it was elected into The Football League in 1890. Sunderland performed well in the league, earning plaudits such as a "wonderfully fine team", and won their first FA Cup in 1937 with a 3–1 victory over Preston North End. However, their achievements petered out, and in 1958, the club were relegated. They had remained in the top league for 68 successive seasons, a record surpassed only by Arsenal. Sunderland's only triumph after the Second World War was their second FA Cup in 1973, when the club secured a 1–0 victory over Leeds United due to a goal scored by Ian Porterfield.

The club plays its home games in the Stadium of Light, an all-seater, which it moved to in 1997, leaving Roker Park for a stadium of higher capacity. Bearing the same name in a different language as Benfica's Estádio da Luz ("Stadium of Light") in Lisbon, Portugal, Sunderland's home originally could hold 42,000 supporters; the capacity was increased to 49,000 after redevelopment in 2000. Sunderland have a long-standing rivalry with their neighbouring club Newcastle United, with whom they have contested the Tyne-Wear derby since 1898.

Any Sunderland fans? PM/leave a message here with your name.. Thanks


This post has been edited by booooster: Nov 25 2012, 09:42 AM

Early years and league triumphs

Sunderland-based schoolteacher James Allan founded the Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club on 17 October 1879. The club changed its name to Sunderland Association Football Club in 1881, after allowing other professions to join. This increased the pool of players, thereby enlarging the amount of funds the club could draw on. However, Allan grew dissatisfied with the changing attitude in the club towards professionalism and left. He founded Sunderland Albion, and the two Sunderland clubs formed a rivalry that lasted until Albion's demise in 1892.

Sunderland was admitted into The Football League for the 1890–91 season. They replaced Stoke City, who had failed to be re-elected, and became the first new club to join the league since its inauguration in 1888. During the late 19th century, they were declared the "Team of All Talents" by William McGregor, the founder of the league, after a 7–2 win against Aston Villa. Sunderland won the league championship in the 1891–92 season, one season after joining The Football League. The club's 42 points were five clear of nearest rivals Preston North End, and this performance led The Times to describe the players as "a wonderfully fine team". Sunderland successfully defended the title the following season, aided by centre forward Johnny Campbell, who broke the 30 goal mark for the second time in consecutive seasons. In the process, they became the first team to score 100 goals in a season, a feat not matched until 1919–20, when West Bromwich Albion set a new record.

Sunderland came close to winning a third successive league championship in the 1893–94 season, finishing second behind Aston Villa. However, they regained the title in the 1894–95 season, ending the season five points ahead of Everton. After winning the English League Championship, Sunderland played against Heart of Midlothian, the champions of the Scottish League, in a game described as the Championship of the World title match. Sunderland won the game 5–3 and were announced "champions of the world". Sunderland came close to winning another league title in the 1897–98 season, when they finished as runners-up to Sheffield United. That season was their last at Newcastle Road, as they moved to Roker Park the following season.After coming second in 1900–01, the club won its fifth league title in the 1901–02 season, beating Everton by a three point margin.

In 1904, Sunderland's management was embroiled in a payment scandal involving player Andrew McCombie. The club was said to have given the player £100 to help him start his own business, on the understanding that he would repay the money after his benefit game. However, McCombie refused to repay the money, claiming it had been a gift. The Football Association investigated the payment, and determined that the money given to McCombie was part of a "re-signing/win/draw bonus", which violated the Association's rules. Sunderland were fined £250, and six directors were suspended for two and a half years for not showing a true record of the club's financial dealings. Sunderland manager Alex Mackie was also suspended for three months for his involvement in the affair.

Further league championship titles

On 5 December 1908, Sunderland achieved their highest ever league win, against north-east rivals Newcastle United. They won the game 9–1; Billy Hogg and George Holley each scored hat-tricks. The club won the league again in 1913,[16] but lost its first FA Cup final 1–0 to Aston Villa.This was the closest the club has ever come to winning the league title and the FA Cup in the same season. Two years later the First World War brought the league to a halt. After the league's resumption, Sunderland came close to winning another championship in the 1922–23 season, when they were runners-up to Liverpool. They also came close the following season; they came third, four points from the top of the league.The club escaped relegation from the First Division by one point in the 1927–28 season despite 35 goals from Dave Halliday. The point was won after a match against Middlesbrough, and they finished in fifteenth place. Halliday improved his goal scoring to 43 goals in 42 games the following season, an all-time Sunderland record for goals scored in a single season.

The club's sixth league championship came in the 1935–36 season,and they finally won the FA Cup the following season, after a 3–1 victory against Preston North End at Wembley Stadium. The remainder of the decade saw mid-table finishes, until the league and FA Cup were suspended for the duration of the Second World War. Some football was still played as a morale boosting exercise, in the form of the Football League War Cup. Sunderland were finalists in the tournament in 1942, but were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 for Carlisle United's Ivor Broadis in January 1949. Broadis was also Carlisle's manager at the time, and this is the first instance of a player transferring himself to another club. This, along with record-breaking transfer fees to secure the services of Len Shackleton and Welsh international Trevor Ford, led to a contemporary nickname, the "Bank of England".The club finished third in the First Division in 1950, its highest finish since the 1936 championship.

Financial troubles and cup success

The late 1950s saw a sharp downturn in Sunderland's fortunes. In 1957 the club were once again implicated in a major financial scandal. Found guilty of making payments to players in excess of the maximum wage, the club was fined a record £5,000, and the club chairman and three directors were suspended. The following year, Sunderland were relegated from the highest division for the first time in their 68-year league history.

Sunderland's absence from the top flight lasted six years. The club came within one game of promotion back to the First Division in the 1962–63 season. Sunderland required only a draw for their final game against promotion rivals Chelsea, who had another game left to play after this match, to secure promotion. However, they were defeated, and Chelsea finished their last game 7–0 to clinch promotion, finishing ahead of Sunderland on goal difference. After the close call in the previous season, the club was promoted to Division One in 1964 after finishing in second place. Sunderland beat Charlton Athletic in the final stages of the season, where they clinched promotion with a game to spare. At the end of the decade, they were again relegated to the Second Division after finishing 21st.

Sunderland won their last major trophy in 1973, in a surprise 1–0 victory over Don Revie's Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. Sunderland, a Second Division club at the time, won the game, mostly due to the efforts of their goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery; he saved in quick succession two of Peter Lorimer's shots at goal. Ian Porterfield scored a volley in the 30th minute to beat Leeds and take the trophy.Since 1973 only two other clubs, Southampton in 1976, and West Ham United in 1980, have equalled Sunderland's achievement of lifting the FA Cup while playing outside the top tier of English football.

By winning the 1973 FA Cup final, Sunderland qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the' club's only appearance in European competition to date. Sunderland beat Vasas Budapest 3–0 on aggregate, and drew against Lisbon club Sporting in the second round. They won the first leg 2–1 at Roker Park but were defeated 2–0 in the away leg, and were knocked out of the competition 3–2 on aggregate. After spending six seasons in the Second Division, Sunderland were promoted to Division One in the 1975–76 season; they topped the table over Bristol City by three points. However, Sunderland were relegated the following season back into Division Two, without their FA Cup Final winning manager Bob Stokoe, who had resigned due to health problems at the start of the season. The club celebrated their 100 year centenary in the 1979–80 season, which they celebrated with a testimonial against an England XI side, where they were beaten 2–0.

Sunderland appeared in their only League Cup final in 1985, but lost 1–0 to Norwich City. A camaraderie was forged between supporters of the two clubs in this match, and as a result, every time Sunderland and Norwich meet, the Friendship Trophy is contested. Sunderland are the current holders of the trophy, having beaten Norwich 1–0 on 2 December 2006. In 1987, Sunderland saw one of the lowest points in their history, when they were relegated to the Third Division of the English league for the first time. Under new chairman Bob Murray and new manager Denis Smith, the club was promoted the following season. In 1990, they were promoted back to the top flight in unusual circumstances. Sunderland lost to Swindon Town in the play-off final, but Swindon's promotion was revoked after the club was found guilty of financial irregularities and Sunderland were promoted instead. They stayed up for one year before being relegated on the final day of the following season.
Davy lamp monument standing outside the Stadium of Light

Sunderland's last outing in a major final came in 1992 when, as a Second Division club, they returned to the FA Cup final. There was to be no repeat of the heroics of 1973, as Sunderland lost 2–0 to Liverpool. The early 1990s was a turbulent period for the club. In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return to the third-tier of English football.Peter Reid was brought in as manager, and quickly turned things around. Reid's time in charge had a stabilising effect; he remained manager for seven years, one of the longest tenures in Sunderland's history. After promotion from Division One in the 1995–96 season, Sunderland began their first season in the Premier League, but finished third from the bottom and were relegated back to the First Division. In 1997, Sunderland left Roker Park, their home for 99 years. Bearing fond memories of the stadium, former Sunderland player Len Shackleton said, "There will never be another place like Roker". The club moved to the Stadium of Light, a 42,000-seat arena that, at the time, was the largest stadium built in England after the Second World War. Capacity was later increased to 49,000.

Recent highs and lows

Sunderland returned to the Premier League as First-Division champions in 1999 with a then-record 105 points. Two consecutive seventh place finishes in the Premier League were followed by two less successful seasons, and they were relegated to the second-tier with a then-record low 19 points in 2003. Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy took over at the club, and, in 2005, he took Sunderland up as champions for the third time in under ten years. However, the club's stay in the top flight was short-lived; Sunderland finished on another new record-low total of 15 points. McCarthy left the club in mid-season, and he was replaced temporarily by former Sunderland player Kevin Ball. The record-low fifteen-point performance was surpassed in the 2007–08 season by Derby County, who finished on eleven points.

Following their relegation, the club was taken over by the Irish Drumaville Consortium,headed by ex-player Niall Quinn, who appointed former Manchester United captain Roy Keane as their new manager. Under Keane, the club rose steadily up the table with an unbeaten run of 17 games[65] to win promotion to the Premier League, and were named winners of the Championship after beating Luton Town 5–0 at Kenilworth Road on 6 May 2007. The club's form in the 2007–08 season was better than during their last season in the Premier League as they finished 15th with 39 points. However, an inconsistent beginning to the 2008–09 season led to Keane's resignation. This was followed by the instating of Ricky Sbragia as caretaker manager, and his position was later made permanent following a string of encouraging results.

After keeping Sunderland in the Premier League, Sbragia stepped down from his managerial post. Meanwile off the pitch, Irish-American tycoon Ellis Short completed a full takeover of the club from the Irish Drumaville Consortium, and Steve Bruce was announced as the new manager on 3 June. One of his first signings, Darren Bent, cost a club record fee of £10 million. Sunderland started their first season under Bruce strongly, including victories against Arsenal and Liverpool, but then went 14 matches without a win over the winter, eventually finishing the 2009–10 season 13th. Sunderland completed the signing of Ghana international Asamoah Gyan in August 2010 for a fee around £13 million, becoming their new record transfer fee. Sunderland started the next season strongly, this time with a seven match unbeaten run against teams including Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. However, the run was ended with a 5–1 defeat to local rivals Newcastle United on October 31, 2010. Sunderland bounced back with another good run, the highlight being a 3–0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. This run left Sunderland challenging for a European qualification place by the end of 2010. However, striker Darren Bent left Sunderland for Aston Villa in January 2011 in a deal potentially worth £24 million (a record transfer fee received for the club). Following Bent's departure Sunderland suffered a mid-season slump and finished 10th — their highest top-flight finish for 10 years.

In July 2011, Sunderland signed a partnership agreement with Ghanaian club Asante Kotoko. Ellis Short replaced Quinn as chairman in October 2011, with Quinn becoming Director of International Development.[78] Bruce was sacked on November 30, 2011, following a poor run of results, and was replaced by Martin O'Neill. O'Neill made an instant impact, with Sunderland taking 13 points from a possible 18 in his first six games in charge, including a 1–0 defeat of leaders Manchester City on New Year's Day 2012. O'Neill was named the Premier League Manager of the Month for December. Sunderland also beat Peterborough United in the Third Round of the FA Cup, and advanced to the Fifth Round after an extra time winner from Stéphane Sessègnon in an a replay with Middlesbrough. In the fifth round, the Black Cats defeated Arsenal 2–0 to reach the quarter finals for the first time since 2004. On 20 February 2012, Niall Quinn left the club with immediate effect. On his departure, Quinn said: "Everything is in place for Sunderland to really make a statement, which was always my aim.On 24th August 2012, Sunderland announced the signing of Steven Fletcher from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £12 million and England international winger Adam Johnson from Manchester City.

This post has been edited by booooster: Sep 1 2012, 09:05 PM

Colours and crest

Sunderland played in an all blue strip from their formation,badge included a ship, the upper part of the City of Sunderland coat of arms, a black cat and a football in front of Sunderland's red and white stripes in 1977 the badge was changed, but still included the ship, football and the background of red and white stripes.

This badge was used until the relocation from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light. To coincide with the move, Sunderland released a new crest divided into four quarters; the upper right and lower left featured their traditional red and white colours, but the ship was omitted. The upper left section features the Penshaw Monument and the lower right section shows the Wearmouth Bridge. A colliery wheel lies at the top of the crest, to commemorate the County Durham's mining history, and the land the Stadium of Light lies on, which was formerly Monkwearmouth Colliery. The crest also contains two lions, the black cats of Sunderland and a banner that displays the club's motto Consectatio Excellentiae, which means "In pursuit of excellence".

Stadiums

Sunderland have had seven stadiums throughout their history; they started at Blue House Field in Hendon in 1879. The ground was close to the place where Sunderland A.F.C. formed, at Hendon Board School; at that time the rent for use of the ground was £10. The club relocated briefly to Groves Field in Ashbrooke in 1882, before moving again the following season. The club's third stadium was Horatio Street in Roker, the first Sunderland stadium north of the River Wear; the club played a single season there before another move, this time to Abbs Field in Fulwell for two seasons. Abbs Field was notable for being the first Sunderland ground for which they charged admission.

Sunderland moved to Newcastle Road in 1886. By 1898, the ground reached a capacity of 15,000 after renovations, and its rent had risen to £100 a year. Near the turn of the century, Sunderland needed a bigger stadium. They returned to Roker and set up home in Roker Park. It was opened on 10 September 1898, and the home team played a match the same day against Liverpool, which they won. The stadium's capacity increased to 50,000 after redevelopment with architect Archibald Leitch in 1913. The club was nearly bankrupted by the cost of renovating the Main Stand, and Roker Park was put up for sale but no further action was taken. On 8 March 1933, an overcrowded Roker Park recorded the highest ever attendance at a Sunderland match, 75,118 against Derby County in a FA Cup sixth round replay. By the 1990s, the stadium was no longer large enough for the club, and with no room for possible expansion. In January 1990, the Taylor Report was released after overcrowding at the Hillsborough Stadium resulted in 96 deaths, an incident known as the Hillsborough Disaster. The report recommended that all major stadiums must be converted to an all-seater design. As a result, Roker Park's capacity decreased. It was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate built in its place.

In 1997, Sunderland moved to its present stadium, Stadium of Light in Monkwearmouth, which was opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Built with an original capacity of 42,000, it hosted its first game against Dutch team Ajax. The stadium bears the same name as the Portuguese club Benfica's ground Estádio da Luz, albeit in a different language. Renovations in 2000 saw the capacity rise to 49,000. A Davy lamp monument stands outside the stadium, as a reminder of the Monkwearmouth Colliery pit that the stadium was built on.

Supporters and rivalries

Sunderland held the fifth highest average home attendance out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League at the end of the 2007–08 season with an average of 43,344. The club has many supporter groups from various countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada and Ireland. The Sunderland fans were recorded as the loudest crowd in the 2007–08 season, following a survey carried out at every ground in the league; the highest peak volume was measured at 129.2 decibels. The Seaburn Casuals are the hooligan firm associated with the club. Like several other professional football clubs in England, Sunderland has a number of supporters who have had banning orders placed on them by court order for unreasonable behaviour.

The club has an official monthly subscription magazine, called the Legion of Light, which season ticket holders receive for no cost. The club's current fanzine is A Love Supreme. Others in the past have been It's The Hope I Can't Stand, Sex and Chocolate, Wise Men Say, and The Roker Roar (later The Wearside Roar).

Traditionally, Sunderland's two main rivals have been Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, with which the Tyne–Wear derby and the Tees–Wear derby are competed respectively, although rivalries also extend to Leeds United. The club were rivals with fellow Sunderland based team, Sunderland Albion, in the 1880s and 1890s. The clubs met in the FA Cup in the third qualifying round; Sunderland, however, withdrew from the competition to deny Albion a share of the gate receipts. In the same season the clubs were drawn again in the Durham Association Challenge Cup; in a ploy again to prevent Albion from gaining money from the ticket sales, Sunderland proposed that the gate money be donated to charity. Albion declined and Sunderland won the match 2–0. Sunderland achieved their first victory over Newcastle United at home in 28 years, when they won the derby in the 2008–09 season.

Statistics and records

The holder of the record for the most league appearances is Jimmy Montgomery, having made 527 first team appearances between 1961 and 1976. The club's top league goal scorer is Charlie Buchan, who scored 209 goals between 1911 and 1925; Bobby Gurney is the record goalscorer over all competitions with 227 goals from 1926 to 1939. Dave Halliday holds the record for the most goals scored in a season: 43 in the 1928–29 season in the Football League First Division. Charlie Hurley is the most capped player for the club, making 36 appearances for the Republic of Ireland.

The club's widest victory margin in the league was in their 9–1 win against Newcastle United in the First Division in 1908. Their heaviest defeats in the league were 8–0 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1911, West Ham United in 1968 and Watford in 1982. Sunderland joined the top division in England, The Football League, in the 1890–91 season and did not experience relegation until 1957–58 (a span of 67 seasons).

Sunderland's record home attendance is 75,118 for a sixth round replay FA Cup match against Derby County on 8 March 1933. The highest transfer fee received for a Sunderland player is £5 million, from Leeds United for Michael Bridges in July 1999.

Transfers

The biggest transfer fee Sunderland have ever received for one of their players is £24 million for Darren Bent who moved to Aston Villa on 18 January 2011. The biggest fee Sunderland have received for a player produced by the Sunderland academy is £20 million for Jordan Henderson, who moved to Liverpool on 9 July 2011. The biggest transfer fee paid by Sunderland is £15 million for Steven Fletcher, who was bought from Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C on the 24 August 2012.

Nicknames

Sunderland's official nickname is The Black Cats. They also have other nicknames, such as The Rokerites, Roker Men, the Light Brigade, the Miners, the Sols and the Mackems. After leaving Roker Park for the Stadium of Light in 1997, the club decided that they would have a vote on the nickname to clarify the situation for the last time. The Black Cats nickname received the majority of the 11,000 votes beating off other suggestions such as the Light Brigade, the Miners, the Sols and the Mackems. There is a long historical link between black cats and Sunderland, including the "Black Cat Battery", a battery gun based on the River Wear.

Around the early 1800s, the southern side of the River Wear contained four gun batteries, which guarded the river mouth during the Napoleonic wars. In 1805, the battery was manned by local militia, the Sunderland Loyal Volunteers, one of whom was a cooper by trade named Joshua Dunn. He was said to have "fled from the howling of an approaching black cat, convinced by the influence of the full moon and a warming dram or two that it was the devil incarnate". From that point onwards the John Paul Jones Battery was known as the Black Cat Battery.

A Sunderland supporter, Billy Morris, took a black cat in his top pocket as a good luck charm to the 1937 FA Cup final in which Sunderland brought home the trophy for the first time. During the 1960s a black cat lived in Roker Park and was fed and watered by the football club. Since the 1960s the emblem of the Sunderland A.F.C. Supporters Association has been a black cat.

As well as the "Team of All Talents" at the turn of the 20th century, Sunderland was also known as the "Bank of England club" during the 1950s. This was due to the club's spending on the transfer market at the time, which saw the transfer-record broken twice.n At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, the purchase of the club by the Irish Drumaville consortium, the appointments of Niall Quinn and Roy Keane to their respective roles as chairman and manager, as well as the relatively large number of Irish players in the squad led some fans to dub jokingly the team "Sund-Ireland".

Sponsorship

The club was sponsored by the Vaux Breweries between 1985 and 1999, and subsequently by Sunderland car dealership company Reg Vardy from 1999 to 2007. They were also sponsored for a short time by the transport company "Cowies," later Arriva, whose headquarters are in Sunderland. Sunderland were sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Boylesports, who signed a four year contract with the club in 2007 worth up to £12 million. In April 2010, Sunderland signed a two year shirt sponsorship deal with Tombola.. On 25 June 2012, Sunderland announced the strengthening of their partership with the Invest In Africa iniative, with the iniative becoming the club's shirt sponsor for two years. The project is closely linked with Tullow Oil.

This post has been edited by booooster: Sep 1 2012, 09:07 PM

Current squad
Goalkeepers
13 Jordan Pickford England GK (1994-03-07) March 7, 1994 (age 18)
20 Keiren Westwood Republic of Ireland GK (1984-10-23) October 23, 1984 (age 27)
22 Simon Mignolet Belgium GK (1988-08-06) August 6, 1988 (age 24)
Defenders
2 Phil Bardsley Scotland RB (1985-06-28) June 28, 1985 (age 27)
3 Danny Rose England LB (1990-07-02) July 2, 1990 (age 22)
5 Wes Brown England CB (1979-10-13) October 13, 1979 (age 32)
12 Matthew Kilgallon England CB (1984-01-08) January 8, 1984 (age 28)
16 John O'Shea Republic of Ireland CB (1981-04-30) April 30, 1981 (age 31)
19 Titus Bramble England CB (1981-07-31) July 31, 1981 (age 31)
24 Carlos Cuellar Spain CB (1981-08-23) August 23, 1981 (age 31)
34 Blair Adams England LB (1991-09-08) September 8, 1991 (age 20)
42 John Egan Republic of Ireland CB (1992-10-20) October 20, 1992 (age 19)
Midfielders
6 Lee Cattermole England CM (1988-03-21) March 21, 1988 (age 24)
7 Sebastian Larsson Sweden RM (1985-07-06) July 6, 1985 (age 27)
8 Craig Gardner England CM (1986-11-25) November 25, 1986 (age 25)
14 Jack Colback England CM (1989-10-24) October 24, 1989 (age 22)
15 David Vaughan Wales CM (1983-02-18) February 18, 1983 (age 29)
18 David Meyler Republic of Ireland CM (1989-05-29) May 29, 1989 (age 23)
21 Adam Johnson England RM (1987-07-14) July 14, 1987 (age 25)
23 James McClean Republic of Ireland LM (1989-04-22) April 22, 1989 (age 23)
28 Stephane Sessegnon Benin AM (1984-06-01) June 1, 1984 (age 28)
Forwards
9 Fraizer Campbell England FW (1987-09-13) September 13, 1987 (age 24)
10 Connor Wickham England FW (1993-03-31) March 31, 1993 (age 19)
17 Ji Dong-Won South Korea FW (1991-05-28) May 28, 1991 (age 21)
25 Louis Saha France FW (1978-08-08) August 8, 1978 (age 34)
26 Steven Fletcher Scotland FW (1987-03-26) March 26, 1987 (age 25)
33 Ryan Noble England FW (1991-11-06) November 6, 1991 (age 20)

Out on Loan
27 Ahmed Elmohamady (on loan to Hull City until the end of the 2012–13 Championship season)

Current staff
Manager Northern Ireland Martin O'Neill
First Team Coach England Steve Walford
Goalkeeper Coach England Seamus McDonagh
Head of performance Scotland Jim Henry
Chief Scout England Bryan 'Pop' Robson
Head of Medical Department England Dr. Glen Rae
Reserve Team Manager England Kevin Ball
Youth Team Manager Scotland Robbie Stockdale
Senior Physiotherapist England Dave Galley
Senior Physiotherapist England Peter Brand

This post has been edited by booooster: Sep 1 2012, 09:11 PM

Games to be played updated (if there are live games on Astro will post here)

Last Match: Sunderland vs Morecambe 2-0

Next Match: Swansea v Sunderland (Live on Astro SS3- Channel 817)

This post has been edited by booooster: Sep 1 2012, 09:12 PM

wow...a sunderland thread....

wats the major transfer of sunderland this january??

most prob tal ben-haim on loan from man city

he's a former chelsea player

wow grats on the thread. and good luck on the game against stoke this week

nt bad...he is quite steady but abit slow....between is chopra and the striker which name start with"J" stil here??

lol chopra is out on loan to cardiff and yes jones is still playing for us

lol..ya jones.....he score quite a few goals...i think jonas and cisse will be a good partnership as striker for sunderland....

Craig Gordon is back WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

wow nice thread! keep up the good work

cheers it was needed hehe

I hope am not the only sunderland fan in m'sia

You could be the only Sunderland fan on lowyat.net....

you know... most ppl on lowyat.net support the big 4 (Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool)...

damn... i hate those glory supporters.....but not you.. you got my respect...




This post has been edited by Golden: Feb 5 2009, 11:17 AM

lol thx thx

come on where are the supporters?

BOOHOO just got kicked out of FA Cup in extra time 2-1 118th Minute Benni McCarthy

So, latest match to discuss, sunderland get knocked out by Big Sam's army...

lol but algud we gotta focus on Premier League Survival!!!

lol..first time i see a malaysian sunderland supporter..i dont like u..

hahaha neither do I

Sunderland vs Stoke Preview

We preview Sunderland's game against Stoke at the Stadium of Light.

General news:
• Sunderland have won just one game in the last six, drawn three and lost two (six points).
• League form guide: D L D L W D.
• Phil Bardsley is available on Saturday despite picking up his fifth booking of the season on Sunday. He'll serve a one-match suspension against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on February 21.
• Dean Whitehead remains on four yellow cards, meanwhile, and will get a one-game ban if they reach five before the end of February.

Injury latest:
• Teemu Tainio is hoping to be fit after he missed the derby at Newcastle and Wednesday night's trip to Blackburn with a knee injury.
• Paul McShane remains unavailable with a hamstring injury.
• Nyron Nosworthy faces another 2-3 weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
• Darren Ward is back in training after recovering from a back injury, while Jean-Yves M'voto continues rehabilitation from an ankle operation.
• David Connolly (groin operation) and Russell Anderson (knee) are also in long-term rehab.

International round-up:
• George McCartney and David Healy have been called up by Northern Ireland for their World Cup qualifier against San Marino, away, next Wednesday.
• Paul McShane has been called up by the Republic of Ireland for their World Cup qualifier against Georgia at Croke Park on Wednesday.
• New signing Tal Ben-Haim has been called up by Israel for a friendly against Hungary in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, when he'll face Sunderland goalkeeper Marton Fulop.
• Teemu Tainio has been called up by Finland for a game against Portugal on Wednesday.
• Dwight Yorke, Carlos Edwards and Kenwyne Jones have all been called up by Trinidad and Tobago for a crucial World Cup qualifier against El Salvador on Tuesday.
• David Meyler has been called up by the Republic of Ireland Under-21s for a friendly against Germany in Cork on Tuesday.
• Trevor Carson and Robbie Weir have been called up by Northern Ireland Under-21s for their game against Wales in Ballymena on Tuesday.
• Niall McArdle has been called up by the Republic of Ireland Under-19s for two friendly games against Russia, in Russia, on Tuesday and Thursday.
• Martyn Waghorn has been called up by England Under-19s for a friendly against Spain on Tuesday.

The opposition:
• Rory Delap begins a three-match ban on Saturday after his sending off in Stoke's 1-0 win at home to Manchester City last weekend.
• Another former Sunderland player meanwhile, defender Danny Higginbotham, is hoping to return to the Stadium of Light after he missed the City match with a calf injury.
• Senegal midfielder Salif Diao continues to struggle with a calf injury, he hasn't played since early December, while defender Leon Cort (groin) and Malian striker Mamady Sidibie (knee) are doubtful for the weekend.
• Stoke climbed out of the relegation zone with their crucial win against City last Saturday, thanks to new signing James Beattie's first-half goal.
• The victory ended a nine-match winless run which has seen Stoke tumble down the Premier League table.
• After a 1-0 win at home to West Brom in November, the Potters were 13th in the table with 17 points - but they won just four points from their next nine games, losing five (scoring five goals and conceding 14) which saw them fall to 19th in the table, before their victory last weekend dragged them up to 17th and a point above the drop zone.
• Stoke have the worst away record in the Premier League - they're yet to win on their travels and have drawn three games (Liverpool, Wigan and Newcastle), losing nine (Bolton, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Man City, Man United, Blackburn, West Ham, Chelsea and Tottenham), scoring eight goals and conceding 27 (the most in the league).
• League form guide: L L D L L W
• Tony Pulis signed Wigan's Senegalese striker Henri Camara on loan for the rest of the season on transfer window deadline day. The Stoke boss had already splashed out £2m on West Ham midfielder Matthew Etherington and £3.5m on Sheffield United striker James Beattie earlier in the January transfer window.
• Pulis spent around £20m on 10 new players last summer: Seyi George Olofinjana (Wolves, £3m), Thomas Sorensen (unattached), Dave Kitson (Reading, £5.5m), Abdoulaye Faye (Newcastle, £2.25m), Amdy Faye (Charlton, undisclosed), Andrew Davies (Southampton, £1.3m), Ibrahima Sonko (Reading, £2m), Danny Higginbotham (S'land, undisclosed), Tom Soares (Crystal Palace, £1.25m), Michael Tonge (Sheffield Utd, £2m).
• Stoke won promotion from the Championship last season, runners-up to West Brom, with 79 points from 21 wins, 16 draws and nine defeats (the least number of defeats in the division).

Match officials:
• The referee on Saturday is Rob Styles from Hampshire, who took charge of Sunderland's 2-1 defeat at home to Blackburn in the Carling Cup earlier this season, as well as their 1-1 league draw at Wigan and their 3-0 defeat at Everton. Mr Styles has so far issued 22 yellow cards and five reds in 22 games this season.
• His assistants are Mick Murphy and Adam Watts, and the fourth official is Colin Webster.

Boylesports odds:
• Sunderland are 4/5 favourites on Saturday, while Boylesports have priced Stoke 7/2 and the draw at 5/2.
• First scorer (S'land): Jones 5/1, Cisse 5/1, Healy 13/2, Murphy 8/1, Richardson 11/1, Malbranque 14/1, Reid 14/1, Leadbitter 18/1, Edwards 18/1.
• First scorer (Stoke): Fuller 15/2, Beattie 15/2, Camara 8/1, Kitson 10/1, Cresswell 12/1, Lawrence 16/1, Etherington 18/1, Olofinjana 20/1.
• For more odds go to www.boylesportssafc.com

Stoke to Sunderland:
• It's 187 miles from the Britannia Stadium to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland-Stoke, head-to-head:
• Stoke beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium earlier this season thanks to Ricardo Fuller's 73rd-minute header from a Rory Delap throw-in.
• The two sides drew 2-2 in their last meeting at the Stadium of Light. Darel Russell put Stoke 1-0 ahead before Dean Whitehead equalised. Carl Hoefkens then put the visitors 2-1 up but Daryl Murphy scored a 90th-minute leveller.
• Sunderland's last win at home to Stoke was in May 2005, when Sunderland had already been crowned Championship title-winners. Mick McCarthy's champions celebrated with a 1-0 victory, thanks to a Carl Robinson goal.
• Stoke's last win at Sunderland was a 1-0 victory at Roker Park on April 16, 1994, when Mark Walters scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory.
• Sunderland have won 38 of the previous 60 league games between the two on Wearside, while Stoke have won seven games and there have been 15 draws.
SAFC wins Draws Stoke wins
League 56 28 37
FA Cup 2 5 2
League Cup 0 0 2
Total 58 33 41


The last 10 meetings:
• Stoke 1, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 29.10.08
• Sunderland 2, Stoke 2 (Championship) 13.3.07
• Stoke 2, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 17.10.06
• Sunderland 1, Stoke 0 (Championship) 8.5.05
• Stoke 0, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 27.11.04
• Sunderland 1, Stoke 1 (Championship) 16.3.04
• Stoke 3, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 16.9.03
• Sunderland 3, Stoke 0 (Championship) 25.4.98
• Stoke 1, Sunderland 2 (Championship) 25.10.97
• Sunderland 0, Stoke 0 (Championship) 21.4.96

i think sunderland sure win in tonight vs stoke matches.Sure cisse will score.

thanks for the well wish yes we need the 6 pointer and Cisse and Jones partnership is the best since Phillips and Quinn

YESSSSSSSSSSS

WE WON 2-0 nice job lads

This post has been edited by booooster: Feb 8 2009, 01:29 AM

i thought 2-0??healy score another??

oh ya jus saw thx bro ya 2-0 healy assisted by jones

i just notice that Diouf had transferd to blackburn,
what the story behind that?

he threatened to stab Anton Ferdidand

aiks, both also black. why lar like this. jkjk. Good thing to see Sunderland are back on track. Sunderland are full of talents now, I don't think there's relegation issue gonna happen here.

lol we picked up 5 more points den chelsea over the last 2 wks

seriously
but its ok..still got plenty more striker
glad to see jones stay..

This post has been edited by jembalang: Feb 8 2009, 11:29 PM

yes n I hope we got repectable position finish

so can sign cisse

definitely
let us hope that cisse will stay..

hey nice sunderland jersey
where did u buy it?

lol thanks bro haha got from al-ikhsan in sungei wang

check out the jerseys thread

for their locations and ring dem to see if have

mine is actually last season's one, this season got extra black stripes down the side

lol u sunderland fan too?

i started to support sunderland when roy keane appoint as the black cat manager, plus last season he manage to get many best player like stead malbranque + many of his spurs comrate, cisse, gordan...
although now sunderland is under Ricky Sbragia, but still sunderland dekat dihati..haha

p/s i even play sunderland in FM, but cannot tahanlaa, transfer budget vr low

haha u shud PM me leh

I can recommend players for u

I came out 7th in first season

wah! taikox2
i haven't finish playing yet..mls edi..

lol haha

contacted al-ikhsan bout yr jersey?

if not I can find out for u bro?

http://www.safc.com/match/?page_id=16820&fixture=3004691&t=2

Full Time Report on Game against Stoke

Relief could be felt all around the Stadium of Light as David Healy grabbed an injury-time goal, his second in as many games, to lift Sunderland up to eleventh in the Barclays Premier League tonight.

Healy's 94th-minute strike, three days after his goal at Blackburn in Sunderland's FA Cup fourth round replay defeat at Ewood Park, made sure of the spoils against a ten-man Stoke side after Kenwyne Jones had grabbed a crucial goal 12 minutes from time.

Jones, who scored three goals in 13 games for Stoke during a loan spell with them four years ago, did well to head past ex-Sunderland goalkeeper Tommy Sorensen, from Andy Reid's pin-point cross, in the 78th minute.

It was a crucial deadlock-breaker for Ricky Sbragia after the home side were, in the main, contained and frustrated by their visitors in front of a healthy 38,350 crowd as both sides struggled to create many clear-cut chances.

Sunderland almost had the ball in the net six minutes before half-time when substitute Danny Pugh appeared to "save" Steed Malbranque's header with his hands - the subsequent penalty appeals were ignored by Rob Styles.

The 39th-minute incident brightened up an otherwise dull but tense first half as goalscoring opportunities were few and far between.

Sorensen did have to make a save as early as the sixth minute when Jones hit a powerful effort from 20 yards - the City 'keeper could only parry the shot to Reid, who sliced the rebound well over.

Stoke had a half-chance in the tenth minute when Richard Creswell's attempted over-head kick was just wide after a goalmouth scramble in the Sunderland penalty area.

Tony Pulis was dealt three major problems in the space of eight first-half minutes, making all three changes due to injuries - Andy Wilkinson was replaced by Pugh in the 18th minute and Ryan Shawcross had to make way for Ibrahima Sonko, before Ricardo Fuller was forced off with a cringe-worthy shoulder injury in the 26th minute, being replaced by new signing Henri Camara.

It certainly didn't seem to help Stoke and even though Camara, signed on loan from Wigan on transfer window deadline day, had two decent chances before the break, Sunderland gained from City's treble blow.

Stoke continued to frustrate, though, and even after Matthew Etherington was sent off in the 64th minute, following a clash with Danny Collins who was subsequently shown a yellow card, Sunderland still failed to capitalise.

Indeed, it was Stoke who should have taken the lead after 67 minutes when Sunderland struggled to clear inside the area and the loose ball fell to Camara, who crashed his shot against the crossbar.

It was a big let-off for the home side, and perhaps the kick up the backside they needed, as they clicked into gear.

Just moments later, George McCartney's left-wing cross found Cisse at the far past and the Frenchman hit a powerful shot across the face of goal but wide, and two minutes later Carlos Edwards almost scored with an identical effort, this time Reid the provider.

Sunderland then found the net after 78 minutes when schemer Reid chipped to the far post for Jones, who out jumped Abdoulaye Faye to head down to the near post, where Sorensen could only help the ball in.

It was a nail-biting final 10 minutes for Sunderland, made worse by four minutes added time, but with almost the last kick of the game Healy grabbed a relieving second goal to complete a valuable win.

This post has been edited by booooster: Feb 10 2009, 03:16 PM

Sunderland have announced that a smartcard access system will be installed at the Stadium of Light for the start of the 2009-10 season.

The new system is being developed by market-leaders Fortress GB Limited. With a vast amount of experience in the market, Fortress' football customers include Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa as well as both Inter and AC Milan.

Easy to use credit card-style smartcards will replace the traditional paper season ticket and electronic card readers will be installed on all turnstiles. The new system will make entry to the stadium quick and easy and will also offer enhanced security to both the Club and supporters.

A trial group of season ticket holders will be the first to try out the new system at the Stadium of Light in the coming months. Card readers will be installed next to selected turnstiles for a period commencing from the Hull City fixture in April.
Following this trial, readers will be fitted to all 74 turnstiles over the summer, ready for the start of the new season.

The new system will make entry into the stadium quicker and easier with turnstiles being activated simply by placing a smartcard against the electronic reader. Once validated, supporters simply push the turnstile and proceed as normal. The hand over of traditional vouchers for each match is no longer required.

The system will also provide enhanced security as when a smartcard is used a coloured light illuminates to show stadium staff whether an adult or concession ticket has been purchased and the card holder automatically breaks an invisible light beam as they enter the turnstile to prove the card has been used.

The card will also enable season ticket holders to buy tickets for cup-ties at the Stadium of Light, as it can be remotely activated when a supporter books a match either online, by phone or in person at the ticket office.

Marketing and Commercial Director Lesley Callaghan said: "Our aim is to improve the match day experience for all supporters and make entry to the stadium as quick and easy as possible as well as improving security for all.

"In the long run, the new smartcard system may allow us to introduce further benefits for loyal supporters, but we are confident that season ticket holders will find their smartcard a big step forward from the outset."

For 2009-10, non-season ticket holders will continue to be issued with paper tickets, bearing a barcode to allow entry to the stadium when presented to the card readers at turnstiles

Ricky Sbragia hopes that reaching the 30-point mark will give his Sunderland side a psychological boost.

The Black Cats reached the landmark by beating Stoke at the Stadium of Light last weekend.

And with 13 games left, Sbragia is hoping that Sunderland go well beyond the 40-point total he believes will be enough to stay in the Premier League this season.

"It was a good feeling to hit 30 points and it's imperative that we keep getting results and have a good finish to the season.

"I've spoken to people who think the points total needed to stay up might be dropping but I would have thought 40 will see you safe.

"There's a better chance now than five or six weeks ago. We've got to keep plugging away and reach it as quickly as possible."

Sunderland's next two games see them travel to Arsenal and Liverpool. After that, they have successive home games against Tottenham and Wigan.

"We have got Arsenal and Liverpool away but, with us having a bit of a cushion, we can go there with the thought of getting something," said Sbragia.

"Then we've got to continue winning our home games. The games against Spurs and Wigan will be huge, we need to continue to take points from the teams around us. We have a run of hard games coming up."

Arsenal vs Sunderland

will be on Astro Channel 812 ESPN

Live at 10.55PM



This post has been edited by booooster: Feb 18 2009, 03:02 PM

---

Added on February 18, 2009, 3:01 pmTal Ben-Haim will be ready if he is asked to make his Sunderland debut at Arsenal on Saturday.

Ben-Haim joined the Black Cats on loan from Manchester City two weeks ago in a deal that will see him stay at the Stadium of Light until the end of the season.

The Israel international, who last played in the Barclays Premier League on December 6, had to sit on the bench in Sunderland's last game, against Stoke.

But with Phil Bardsley suspended for the trip to the Emirates Stadium, boss Ricky Sbragia has hinted that Ben-Haim will play at right-back.

"I'm happy to be here and I look forward to playing some football," he told SAFC TV.

"I've settled in quickly and I think Sunderland have some good players. The team is going in the right direction and hopefully we can continue that at Arsenal.

"Of course Arsenal is a difficult game but you never know in football, we will give it our best shot."

Ben-Haim boosted his fitness by playing 90 minutes for Israel against Hungary in a friendly last week. "The game went well and I feel in good shape," he said. "I hope for a good week's training now."

Hair today, gone tomorrow: The pictures show Sunderland defender Tal Ben-Haim sporting a new haircut.

Can't wait til 2moro

go beat Arsenal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hahaha i really impress with you ler...

do everything on your own and post everything on your own....

erm hope sunderland can do something against arsenal tomorrow....

good luck ya...

nah..this thread is informative enough...who knows...one day sunderland might be like aston villa now

thanks for the support u guys we'll make sure Arsenal stumbles again



An in-depth preview of Sunderland's game at the Emirates Stadium.

General news:
• Sunderland are unbeaten in three games after back-to-back home wins over Stoke and Fulham sandwiched their 1-1 draw at Newcastle.
• The Black Cats are currently 11th in the Barclays Premier League - seven clear of the relegation zone and four away from eighth-placed Wigan.
• Away from home, Sunderland have won three, drawn four and lost five, scoring 12 goals and conceding 18.
• League form guide: L D L W D W
• Phil Bardsley is suspended on Saturday after accumulating five yellow cards and will be available again for the trip to Liverpool on March 3.
• Dean Whitehead remains on four yellow cards, meanwhile, and will get a one-game ban if he is booked tomorrow - however, if he avoids a yellow at the Emirates, the midfielder will escape any punishment unless he reaches 10 cautions before April.
• Djibril Cisse will make his 300th career appearance (in all competitions) when he next plays. The Frenchman played 130 games for Auxerre (70 goals), 78 games for Liverpool (24 goals), 21 games during a loan spell with Marseille (8 goals), a further 43 games for Marseille last season (16 goals) and has so far played 27 games for Sunderland, scoring 10 goals.
• Kenwyne Jones, meanwhile, will make his 50th league appearance for Sunderland if he plays at the Emirates on Saturday.

Injury latest:
• Teemu Tainio is hoping to be fit for the weekend after missing the last three games with a knee injury.
• Paul McShane is back in full training after recovering from a hamstring injury and is expected to travel to Arsenal.
• Nyron Nosworthy is back in light training and should be available for the Liverpool fixture.
• Darren Ward played his first game this season in the reserves' 3-1 win at home to Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, while Jean-Yves M'voto continues rehabilitation from an ankle operation.
• David Connolly (groin operation) and Russell Anderson (knee) are in long-term rehab.

The opposition:
• Eduardo is out with a thigh injury after he played his first club game since recovering from a horrific broken leg a year ago. The 25-year-old, who played 30 minutes for his country in a friendly against Romania last week, scored twice in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Cardiff on Monday night, an FA Cup fourth round replay, at the Emirates Stadium. It was exactly a year ago on Monday (February 23) since Eduardo suffered the leg break against Birmingham.
• Meanwhile, striker Emmanuel Adebayor is a major doubt with a hamstring problem and French midfielder Abou Diaby is struggling with a thigh strain.
• The Gunners are hoping Mikael Silvestre (thigh) has a chance for Saturday, but Cesc Fabregas (medial knee ligament damage), Theo Walcott (shoulder) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) are all out.
• Arsenal are currently fifth in the Barclays Premier League, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and 12 points from leaders Manchester United.
• The Gunners have lost their formidable home record this season, losing two games at the Emirates (against Hull and Aston Villa). They have still won seven of their 12 home games this season, drawing three, scoring 18 goals and conceding 11.
• They are fourth in the league form guide and are unbeaten in 11 league games. Since their 3-0 defeat at Manchester City in November, they have won five games and drawn six, although they have drawn their last three games.
• League form guide: W W W D D D
• Arsene Wenger strengthened his firepower during the January transfer window with the high-profile signing of Russian striker Andrei Arshavin, in a £15m deal from Zenit St Petersburg - he could make his debut on Saturday.
• Wenger signed four players last summer, and allowed nine players to leave the club.
• Ins: Mikael Silvestre (Man Utd, undisclosed), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff, £5m), Samir Nasri (Marseille, undisclosed), Amaury Bischoff (Werder Bremen, undisclosed).
• Outs: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos, £1m), Alexander Hleb (Barcelona, £11.8m), Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart, free), Mathieu Flamini (AC Milan, free), Kerrea Gilbert (Leicester, loan), Nacer Barazite (Derby, loan), Armand Traore (Portsmouth, loan), Philippe Senderos (AC Milan, loan), Justin Hoyte (Middlesbrough, £3m).
• Arsenal finished third in the Premier League last season. At home, they won 14 games, and drew five, scoring 37 goals and conceding 11.

Match officials:
• The referee on Saturday is Alan Wiley from Staffordshire. Mr Wiley has so far issued 80 yellow cards and three reds in 28 games this season.
• His assistants are Stephen Child and Stephen Rubery, and the fourth official is Dean Whitestone.

Fancy a flutter?
• Arsenal are 4/9 favourites on Saturday, while Boylesports have priced Sunderland 13/2 and the draw at 16/5.
• First scorer (S'land): Jones 8/1, Cisse 8/1, Murphy 12/1, Healy 12/1, Richardson 16/1, Malbranque 18/1, Reid 18/1, Edwards 22/1.
• First scorer (Arsenal): Van Persie 10/3, Bendtner 4/1, Da Silva 4/1, Arshavin 5/1, Vela 6/1, Nasri 7/1, Ramsey 11/1, Denilson 12/1, Diaby 12/1.

How far?
• It's 276 miles from the Stadium of Light to the Emirates Stadium.

Sunderland-Arsenal, head-to-head:
• Sunderland and Arsenal drew 1-1 at the Stadium of Light earlier this season, with Grant Leadbitter scoring for the home side before Cesc Fabregas netted a late equaliser.
• Arsenal beat Sunderland 3-2 in the last meeting at the Emirates Stadium - Robin van Persie and Philippe Senderos put the Gunners into an early lead before Ross Wallace pulled one goal back after 25 minutes, and Kenwyne Jones pulled the visitors level just after half-time. Van Persie scored an 80th-minute winner.
• Sunderland's last league win at Highbury was on November 5, 1983, when Colin West and Ian Atkins scored in a 2-1 win.
• Their last cup win at Arsenal was in the Carling Cup (round three) on November 6, 2002, with two goals by Marcus Stewart and one from Kevin Kyle. Robert Pires and Francis Jeffers scored for the Gunners.
• Sunderland have won just 15 of the previous 61 league meetings between the two in London, while Arsenal have won 33 and there have been 13 draws.
SAFC wins Draws Arsenal wins
League 43 34 46
FA Cup 3 1 3
League Cup 1 0 2
Other 1 0 0
Total 48 35 51


The last 10 meetings:
• Sunderland 1, Arsenal 1 (Premier League) 4.10.08
• Sunderland 0, Arsenal 1 (Premier League) 11.5.08
• Arsenal 3, Sunderland 2 (Premier League) 7.10.07
• Sunderland 0, Arsenal 3 (Premier League) 1.5.06
• Arsenal 3, Sunderland 1 (Premier League) 5.11.05
• Sunderland 0, Arsenal 3 (League Cup R3) 25.10.05
• Sunderland 0, Arsenal 4 (Premier League) 11.5.03
• Arsenal 2, Sunderland 3 (League Cup R3) 6.11.02
• Arsenal 3, Sunderland 1 (Premier League) 6.10.02
• Arsenal 3, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 30.3.02

This post has been edited by booooster: Feb 21 2009, 01:29 AM

A genuine supporter.

Kick off in less than 15 mins away

Starting Line ups

Arsenal
Almunia
Clichy
Gallas
Sagna
Toure
Denilson
Song
Nasri
Bendtner
Van Persie
Arshavin

Sunderland
Fulop
Ben Haim
Collins
Ferdinand
McCartney
Reid
Richardson
Whitehead
Malbranque
Tainio
Jones

Score update 0-0 at half time

Nearly wanna sleep so boring 0-0

really good i love ur striker...fast and hardworking...

FULL TIME 0-0

HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but you got chances to lead..

Manager Ricky Sbragia's reaction to Sunderland's 0-0 draw at Arsenal:

"We had a lot of luck on our side but you need that when you play against the top clubs, we went with a game-plan and it worked.

"Arsenal missed some chances, maybe they weren't clinical enough, and when they hit the target Marton [Fulop] was excellent, he made four or five decent saves.

"Arsenal got in some good positions but their finishing was a bit wild. On another day, Arsenal might have won by four.

"We knew we would be under pressure and that's why we played with that system, but we had some decent counter-attacks in the first half and late in the game we got in some good positions.

"We're delighted to come here and get a point.

"There were some outstanding performances. Kieran has been brilliant all season and he was again today.

"We had luck on our side and I hope we do again when we go to Liverpool a week on Tuesday.

"I think we have enough to stay in the Premier League, we have moved on and taken a step forward in recent weeks. We are difficult to beat now.

"We have to win our home games and try to get something away, so this was a bonus."

Sunderland extended their unbeaten run in the league to four games with a bold performance at the Emirates Stadium.

The result was a mark of the club's progress under Ricky Sbragia as the Black Cats moved further away from the bottom three.

Sunderland were better in the first half, causing the Gunners problems with some decent counter-attacks.

But it was different after the break when the men from Wearside had to battle away to keep out Arsene Wenger's stuttering side.

Marton Fulop, the goalkeeper, was outstanding, not putting a foot wrong as Arsenal poured forward in the second half.

Djibril Cisse suffered an ankle injury in the build-up to the game and it meant Sunderland lined up in a 4-5-1 formation. The game-plan worked, frustrating Arsenal who have drawn their last three Premier League games 0-0.

Teemu Tainio, Dean Whitehead and Kieran Richardson worked tirelessly in the middle of the park as Sunderland secured their third clean sheet in four Premier League games.

Andrey Arshavin made an impressive debut for the Gunners. The Russian could have scored in the first half and he is sure to be an asset for them during the run-in.

Whitehead and Anton Ferdinand went close at the other end in the opening period as Sunderland gave as good as they got.

It was mostly Arsenal after the break and Carlos Vela, William Gallas and Robin Van Persie all missed chances as Arsenal's hopes of a Champions League spot were dealt another blow.

But Sunderland hung on to record an unlikely draw and the players and fans celebrated at the end as if it were a victory.

The Wearsiders headed to Spain after the game for a few days' warm-weather training and they are sure to have done so in good spirits.

Sunderland have closed ranks against their former manager Roy Keane as players and board members delivered their retorts to the Irishman's scathing attack over the weekend.

As the chairman, Niall Quinn, defended the American investor Ellis Short's presence on the board after Keane claimed it was his interference which had been one of the main reasons behind his departure, one of his own signings, the left-back George McCartney, claimed Keane had lost the dressing room long before he walked away from his first manager's job.

With Keane's abrasive man-management upsetting rather than inspiring, McCartney claimed his replacement, Ricky Sbragia, has rebuilt shattered ­confidence and restored the self-belief Keane had destroyed.

"We had a shaky period under Roy Keane when we didn't win for about seven matches which dragged us towards relegation," said McCartney, a £5m purchase from West Ham United in the summer. "But the last four or five games under Rick we've started playing better football and got more confident with each match we've played, and that showed against Arsenal. I think under Roy Keane the lads were a bit disheartened and he went about things differently from the way Ricky does."

In his first comments since the ­decision to quit in November Keane blamed everyone but himself for the team's troubles. He also joked about the former Sunderland midfielder Clive Clarke's heart attack, which forced his former Republic of ­Ireland team-mate to retire from football two years ago.

Despite spending more than £40m on new signings in the summer, Sunderland had slipped into the relegation zone when Keane quit following a 4-1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers, claiming he had taken the club as far as he could.

That money was provided by Short and Quinn, who revealed that the Drumaville consortium which initially funded Keane's transfer activity has been crippled by the credit crunch in the summer, displayed solidarity with the secretive American.

"Without Ellis coming on board we would not have any of these players," Quinn said. "It's great that they are here, but the fact of the matter is that Ellis was a vital part of the club's growth at a critical juncture and naturally myself and the board are hopeful that the support will continue. I can say unequivocally, without Ellis Short, we would not be in the position we are today."

Keane also appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at Sbragia, who was part of his coaching staff at the Stadium of Light, claiming he was more interested in being friends with the players than controlling them. But Sbragia, who has probably heard plenty of Keane's outbursts in their time together at Manchester United, as well as at Sunderland, was diplomatic in his response.

"He has done fantastic for Sunderland," Sbragia said. "They were bottom of the Championship and he has taken them up and then elected to leave the club. I worked for him for two years and he was good. He was a good manager and he knew what he wanted. It was his decision to say, 'That's it, I've had enough. I want a break, I need to spend time with my family'."

where is gordon? never seen him playing recently

The club-record £9 million signing is struggling to win back his place in the Stadium of Light side that has gone to Hungarian international Marton Fulop after overcoming ankle injury.

"I know I have to be patient as I look to get back into the side," the former Hearts captain said. "The problem is - I'm not a patient person. I'll just continue to work hard and try to force myself in the team.

"It was good to be back on the bench and involved with the team after being injured for so long, but that soon wears off, you want to play. I've played one game in the FA Cup at Blackburn, done well, and it's just a case of waiting for another chance."

Gordon has had to make do with a place among manager Ricky Sbragia's substitutes in the Premier League and that seems certain to be the case again on Saturday when Sunderland face Arsenal at the Emirates.

"It would be nice if both Marton and I could play against Arsenal," he added. "Seriously, I don't think a trip to the Emirates holds as much fear as it used to. Hopefully we can produce a good, solid performance. We should not fear going there.

"If we can put in a solid defensive display and nick a goal, you never know. We have the attacking players to cause Arsenal problems and Anton Ferdinand has marshaled the defence superbly in recent weeks."

His lack of front-line action could hamper Gordon's chances of playing for Scotland when the World Cup qualifying campaign resumes next month against Holland and Iceland.

He joined in a get-together organised by Scotland manager George Burley as plans were put in place for the crunch games.

"It was good to get away with Scotland last week," Gordon added. "We were at St Andrews, the home of golf, but unfortunately golf course was shut. Typical.

"I've been to St Andrews two or three times with Scotland although it's not the place we normally stay at. It's more of a place we go when we don't have a game, to do a bit of training.

"We did that and some planning for our next qualifier - a tough one in Holland next month. Iceland at home follows and it's a crucial double-header as we look to qualify for the World Cup."

Gordon is also braced for mind-games with Sunderland's Dutch goalkeeper coach, the former Manchester United keeper Raimond van der Gouw.

"I'm sure there will be a bit of banter with Raimond ahead of the Holland Game," Gordon said.

"He fancies his home country rather strongly but hopefully we'll give a good account of ourselves. It would be nice to get something from the game - it would also wipe the smile off Raimond's face."

Meanwhile, Gordon and the rest of his Sunderland colleagues can look forward to a training camp in Seville next week.

"It went down well in the dressing room last week when it emerged that we were heading to Spain for some warm-weather training," Gordon added.

"We can work in a comfortable temperature and relax a bit afterwards. It's good for the lads to get together, do some decent work and also have a laugh, it always helps team spirit.

"We go after the Arsenal game and the aim is to come back ready for the final dozen games."

This post has been edited by booooster: Feb 23 2009, 10:42 PM

Niall Quinn has said he is "thrilled" with the way Sunderland's season is panning out under Ricky Sbragia.

The Black Cats have won 16 points from 11 Premier League games since Sbragia took over as manager from Roy Keane in December, a return that has moved them to 11th in the table.

Sbragia, 52, has quietly remodelled Sunderland in the three months since moving into the manager's office and it has not gone unnoticed in the board room.

Sunderland's spirits were lifted further last Saturday when they matched Arsenal to earn a point from the Emirates Stadium, and they are now eight points above the relegation zone with 12 games left.

"Everyone is thrilled with the way it's working out," said Quinn, speaking in a Q&A on SAFC TV.

"Ricky has put his own stamp on it, he's working hard and he has a great approach to the job. Results have been good and the team is playing better.

"Ricky has signed a kind of half-way house contract, 18 months, to give him a feel of it, for both sides to be happy with where we are going. But I would envisage him being here a lot longer."

This post has been edited by booooster: Feb 27 2009, 03:47 PM

No match til liverpool on the 3rd march

time to stop their title charge haha

Djibril Cisse says fate will have played its part if he runs out for Sunderland at Liverpool tomorrow.

The on-loan striker, 27, is on 299 career appearances - so a game at Anfield against his former club would be a landmark occasion.

Cisse scored 24 goals in 78 appearances for Liverpool and had a hand in helping them win the Champions League in 2005, coming off the bench in the final against AC Milan in Istanbul to score in the penalty shoot-out.

He said: "It will be a special day for me - my 300th career game at Liverpool. Maybe it's a sign - it's funny how football works out. If I hadn't been injured, my 300th appearance probably would have come at Arsenal. I hope it is a good sign."

Cisse missed the trip to the Emirates Stadium nine days ago because of an ankle injury but he is back in training and should feature in tomorrow's game.

"I expect to get a good reception," he said. "I went to Anfield with Marseilles and got a good reception. I have never had a problem with the club or the fans, they are good fans.

"If I get the chance to play and score tomorrow it would be great moment, it's what I play football for."

Gérard Houllier signed Cisse for Liverpool from Auxerre but the striker struggled to see eye to eye with his successor Rafael Benitez, claiming the Spanish boss forced him to leave Merseyside.

Cisse signed for Marseilles on loan for a year in 2006 before joining the French club on a permanent basis.

"I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, of course," he said. "We won a few trophies but it was a sad ending. That's life, things happen in football and you have to be strong to bounce back, prove the manager wrong."

Cisse reckons Sunderland should not be intimidated by the trip to Anfield.

"We have a chance to win," he said. "It's eleven versus eleven; their players have two legs and two arms like our players. We'll do our best and see what happens - we are looking forward to it."



Ricky Sbragia has set his Sunderland side a 12-point target from the final dozen games of this season.

The Black Cats, unbeaten in four league games, head into tomorrow's match at Liverpool sat in 12th place in the table - five points above the relegation zone.

Sbragia is looking for his troops to push towards 40 points over the next fortnight - and avoid a nerve-racking end to the season as up to 13 teams battle to stay in the Premier League.

"If we can average one point a game I'd be happy," said Sbragia. "Liverpool is a big game but the two after are bigger - the home games against Tottenham and Wigan.

"If we could get four points from our next two games I would be delighted. We want to keep our unbeaten run going and hopefully push into the top half of the table."

Sbragia added: "Forty points will probably be enough to see us safe, anything after that is a bonus. If we can get 12 points from now until the end of the season I will be happy."

Sbragia watched Liverpool lose 2-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday, a result that temporarily lifted Boro out of the bottom three.

"Liverpool will pose a different kind of threat to Arsenal," said the manager. "They will mix it up more, they can be more direct."

Sunderland have not played since they drew 0-0 at Arsenal nine days ago. They used the time to go to Spain for four days last week.

"It worked out well," said Sbragia. "The squad bonded and they are a close group of players, it should stand us in good stead."

OMG its live ar 3.50 am on ESPN

will be watchin

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 4 2009, 07:24 PM

Sunderland's four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Anfield.

The Black Cats conceded two second-half goals as Liverpool got back to winning ways, closing the gap on the leaders Manchester United to four points.

David Ngog and Yossi Benayoun got the goals to end the Black Cats' resistance.

But had Kenwyne Jones done better with a great chance in the fourth minute, Liverpool would have been facing more frustration.

Some fans were still finding their seats when Jones turned Martin Skrtel to go clean through in front of the Kop. The striker's shot, from 15 yards, lacked pace and Pepe Reina was relieved to be able to make an easy save.

The missed opportunity looked to affect Jones who was subdued afterwards.

Sunderland, looking for their first win at Anfield since 1983, frustrated Liverpool in the first half - just as they had done against Arsenal nine days earlier.

The Reds' best chance in the opening period came in the 30th minute. Albert Riera cut inside and shot from the edge of the area, it hit Grant Leadbitter, making his 100th league appearance for Sunderland, forcing Marton Fulop to change direction and get down to make a good save.



It looked to be going to plan for Sunderland as the second half kicked off but they were soon behind.

Riera crossed from the left and Steven Gerrard got in front of Kieran Richardson to head across the six-yard box, where Frenchman Ngog was well placed to slot it in.

It forced Sunderland, who started the game with Jones as a lone striker, to change to a 4-4-2 formation, bringing ex-Liverpool man Djibril Cisse on for his 300th career appearance.

But 13 minutes later Liverpool were 2-0 ahead. Fulop, who has been impressive for the Black Cats in recent weeks, flapped at Ngog's overhead kick across the goal, pushing the ball into Benayoun's path and he scored.

Considering the Black Cats had failed to score in eight of their previous nine Premier League meetings with the Reds, it was going to be difficult for them to come back.

Liverpool controlled the remainder of the game and Riera, Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso had chances to add to the score.

Sunderland stay in 12th place in the table - but things could change tomorrow when six of the eight teams below them play. Wins for Tottenham and Hull would see them leapfrog the Black Cats.

Spurs visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday in what is a key game for both clubs.

Sunderland vs Tottenham Star Sports 10.55PM

1-0 woooooooooo

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 8 2009, 11:09 PM

yes it finished 1-1 whoever updated thx but freaked me out

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 11 2009, 08:18 PM

Rade Prica has completed a move to Norwegian club Rosenborg for an undisclosed fee.

The 28-year-old Swede has signed in time for the start of the Norwegian Premier League season, which starts on Saturday.

Ricky Sbragia said: "Things didn't quite work out for Rade here but he remained professional and also made a contribution with a crucial goal at home to Birmingham. We wish him all the best with Rosenborg."

Prica re-joins his countryman Erik Hamren, the Rosenborg manager who was in charge of Aalborg when the frontman was there.

Prica scored one goal in six appearances for Sunderland.

Your indispensable guide to Sunderland's game against Wigan.

General news:
• Sunderland are currently 13th in the Barclays Premier League - five clear of the relegation zone with 10 games to go, and three away from eighth-placed Man City.
• The Black Cats have won 17 points from their 13 games under Ricky Sbragia, which has seen them climb five places from 18th in the table.
• Sunderland have won five games at home (Boro, Newcastle, West Brom, Fulham and Stoke), drawn three (Arsenal, Blackburn and Tottenham) and lost six (Liverpool, Man City, Portsmouth, West Ham, Bolton and Aston Villa), scoring 15 goals and conceding 15.
• League form guide: W D W D L D
• Defender Danny Collins made his 150th Sunderland appearance (in all competitions) last weekend, while right-back Phil Bardsley made his 100th career appearance (all competitions) and Daryl Murphy played his 100th league game for Sunderland.
• Dean Whitehead's next game will be his 300th career league appearance.
• Kieran Richardson is suspended for the next two games after getting his 10th yellow card of the season last weekend - the midfielder will miss Saturday's game and next weekend's trip to Manchester City.

Injury latest:
• Teemu Tainio remains a doubt for the weekend after missing the draw with Tottenham through a knee injury.
• Nyron Nosworthy continues treatment for a hamstring injury and is in light training, but isn't expected back for another week or so.
• Jean-Yves M'voto suffered a slight shoulder injury during his rehabilitation from an ankle operation but should be back in full training in about a week, while David Connolly (groin), Russell Anderson (knee) and David Dowson (knee) are in long-term rehab.

The opposition:
• Lee Cattermole is suspended on Saturday after the midfielder was sent off in Wigan's 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham last Wednesday night. Cattermole was given a four-match ban for the straight red card as he was also on nine previous yellows, which didn't include the two he was given against Sunderland at the JJB last September which resulted in his sending off.
• Meanwhile, Dutch midfielder Daniel De Ridder is still a doubt after missing the last four games with a thigh injury.
• Wigan are second-bottom in the form guide after failing to win in eight games. Their last win was at home to Tottenham (1-0) on January 11 - after that, they lost two straight games, followed by four consecutive draws and two defeats on the bounce (at Chelsea and at home to West Ham).
• The Latics still sit fairly comfortably at ninth in the table, but are just three points above Sunderland on 35.
• Away from home, Wigan have won three games (Hull, Portsmouth and Bolton), drawn four (Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough) and lost seven, scoring 14 goals and conceding 15.
• Their last away win was at Bolton on December 28 - they have lost three and drawn two on their travels since then, scoring in just one of them.
• League form guide: D D D D L L
• Wigan boss Steve Bruce had to make some key changes during the January transfer window after after three key players were sold - Wilson Palacios to Tottenham (£12m), Emile Heskey to Aston Villa (£3.5m) and Ryan Taylor to Newcastle.
• He signed Ben Watson from Crystal Palace (£2m), Charles N'Zogbia from Newcastle (£6m) and brought in Mido on loan from Middlesbrough, while also allowing Marlon King join Boro on loan and Henri Camara join Stoke on loan until the end of the season.
• Bruce made five new signings last summer and allowed eight players to leave the club.
• Ins: Amr Zaki (Zamalek, loan), Olivier Kapo (Birmingham, £3.5m), Daniel de Ridder (Birmingham, free), Lee Cattermole (Middlesbrough, £3.5m), R Bouaouzan (NEC Nijmegen).
• Outs: Andreas Granqvist (Groningen, £600,000), Julius Aghahowa (Kayserispor, undisclosed), Salomon Olembe (Kayserispor, free), Josip Skoko (Hajduk Split, free), David Cotterill (Sheffield United, undisclosed), Marlon King (Hull City, loan), Carlo Nash (Everton, undisclosed), Antoine Sibierski (Norwich, loan).
• Wigan finished 14th in the Premier League last season, just one point above Sunderland. Away from home, they won two games, drew five and lost 12, scoring 13 goals and conceding 34.

Match officials:
• The referee on Saturday is Mike Dean from Wirral, who took charge of Sunderland's 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa in January, their 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham last November and the 2-1 win at Tottenham earlier in the season. Mr Dean has issued 120 yellow cards and 10 reds in 33 games so far this season.
• Mr Dean's assistants are Nigel Bannister and Andy Garratt. The fourth official is Trevor Kettle.

Fancy a flutter?
• Sunderland are 6/5 favourites on Saturday, while Boylesports have priced Wigan 12/5 and the draw at 11/5.
• First scorer (S'land): Cisse 5/1, Jones 11/2, Healy 13/2, Murphy 7/1, Malbranque 14/1, Leadbitter 16/1, Reid 16/1, Edwards 20/1.
• First scorer (Wigan): Zaki 7/1, Mido 7/1, Rodallega 15/2, Kapo 9/1, Sibierski 10/1, N'Zogbia 14/1, Valencia 16/1, Koumas 16/1.
• For more odds go to www.boylesportssafc.com

How far?
• It's 153 miles from the JJB Stadium to the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland-Wigan, head-to-head:
• Sunderland and Wigan drew 1-1 at the JJB Stadium last September - Titus Bramble scored a first-half own goal for the visitors, but Amr Zaki scored a 78th-minute equaliser.
• Sunderland won this fixture at the Stadium of Light last season, 2-0 with goals by Dickson Etuhu and Daryl Murphy.
• The Latics won 3-0 in the third round of the FA Cup here last January, Paul Scharner, Paul McShane (OG) and David Cotterill the scorers.
• Wigan's last win at Sunderland was three years ago almost to the day - they won 1-0 here in March 2006, thanks to a Henri Camara goal.
• It's Wigan's only league win at Sunderland in five previous attempts. Since the two sides first met in the old third division at Roker Park in October 1987, with Sunderland winning 4-1, there has been two other draws and a second Sunderland victory.
SAFC wins Draws Wigan wins
League 3 5 3
FA Cup 0 0 1
Total 3 5 4


The Last 10 Meetings:
• Wigan 1, Sunderland 1 (Premier League) 13.9.08
• Sunderland 2, Wigan 0 (Premier League) 9.2.08
• Sunderland 0, Wigan 3 (FA Cup R3) 5.1.08
• Wigan 3, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 18.8.07
• Sunderland 0, Wigan 1 (Premier League) 11.3.06
• Wigan 1, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 27.8.05
• Wigan 0, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 5.4.05
• Sunderland 1, Wigan 1 (Championship) 28.8.04
• Wigan 0, Sunderland 0 (Championship) 24.4.04
• Sunderland 1, Wigan 1 (Championship) 2.12.03

Sunderland striker Djibril Cisse has set his sights on hitting the 15-goal mark by the end of the season.

Cisse, on a season-long loan from Marseille, notched his 10th goal of the season against Newcastle at St. James' Park last month.

And the Frenchman is aiming to add to the total against Wigan tomorrow. "I thought 15 at the beginning of the season, I'm on 10 so it's still do-able," he said.

"I need to get back on the goal sheet. I should have a goal against Wigan tomorrow, I feel confident."

Cisse's partnership with Kenwyne Jones has produced 19 goals for the Black Cats this season - but the ex-Liverpool man reckons there is plenty of room for improvement.

"We can do better but the beauty of it is, we score goals," said the striker. "I think defenders are scared of us, we have a lot of qualities but we must do better. Me and Kenwyne have to finish the chances."

The Black Cats go into the game against Wigan at the Stadium of Light hovering just four points above the relegation zone, but according to Cisse they are not looking down.

"It's not good to think of points totals, we just need to win the games, we have no worries," he said.

"We are a match for most sides. The last-minute goal spoiled it against Tottenham and now we have to beat Wigan."

Starting line ups

Sunderland
Fulop 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ben Haim 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bardsley 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Collins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
McCartney 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Leadbitter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Reid 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Whitehead 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Malbranque 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Jones 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Cisse 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Wigan
Kirkland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
N'Zogbia 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Boyce 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bramble 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Figueroa 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Melchiot 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Scharner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Brown 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Valencia 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Watson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Mido 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Damn it we lost 2-1

Ricky Sbragia has told his players to be "strong mentally" as the Barclays Premier League season enters its final stage.

The Black Cats underperformed against Wigan last Saturday as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light.

The result left the club's fans in an apprehensive mood and Sbragia, the manager, insists it is up to his players to lift morale.

Sunderland go to Manchester City on Sunday in need of a positive result before heading into a two-week international break.

"It was the worst we've played and to have that poor performance against Wigan was bad timing," said Sbragia.

"In my 14 [league] games in charge, we've had one really poor performance. The disappointing thing is, we thought the game was there for the taking but we just didn't perform. We can't make excuses about the pitch or anything else - it's down to us [the coaches] and the players."

Sunderland have nine games left as they look to win enough points to stay in the Premier League.

"It's that nervy time of the season," said Sbragia. "I regularly speak to other managers and most agree that the games now are very edgy and it's how you handle it - you have to accept the challenge.

"We have nine games left and every one is vital, we've got to be mentally strong."

forget bout Epl, i wonderin how sunderland managed to be on top of the reserved team north league? any key player? shining starlet? 6 points ahead, that is something!!

BTW, gotta say nice goal by Nzogbia, shd be careful wif this speedy winger next time...

lol craig gordon is playin in goal for us there

Your indispensable guide to Sunderland's game against Manchester City.

General news:
• Sunderland slipped to 14th in the Barclays Premier League with their 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan on Saturday.
• Away from home, Sunderland have won three (Tottenham, Blackburn and Hull), drawn five (Wigan, Fulham, Boro, Newcastle and Arsenal) and lost six (Villa, Stoke, Chelsea, Man United, Everton and Liverpool), scoring 12 goals and conceding 20.
• The Black Cats haven't won on their travels in their last six games, since their 4-1 win at Hull on December 20.
• League form guide: D W D L D L
• Dean Whitehead made his 300th career league appearance last weekend.
• George McCartney's next game will be his 150th league appearance for Sunderland.
• Kieran Richardson completes a two-match suspension on Sunday and will be available again for the trip to West Ham in a fortnight.
• Defender Tal Ben-Haim is not available at Eastlands as part of his loan deal.

International round-up:
• Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards have been called up by Trinidad and Tobago for World Cup qualifiers against Honduras (March 28) and USA (April 1). The T&T Football Federation have appealed against Dwight Yorke's four-match suspension from qualifiers imposed by FIFA following an incident in T&T's last game against El Salvador last month.
• David Healy has been called up for Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Poland (March 28) and Slovenia three days later, at Windsor Park in Belfast.
• George McCartney is suspended for the Poland game but will join the squad for the Slovenia game on April 1.
• Marton Fulop has been named in the Hungary squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Malta on March 28 and April 1.
• Craig Gordon has been named in the Scotland squad for their coming World Cup games against Holland and Iceland.
• Teemu Tainio is in the Finland squad for their World Cup qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on March 28, followed by a home friendly against Norway on April 1.
• Paul McShane has been called up by the Republic of Ireland for qualifiers against Bulgaria and in Italy.
• Tal Ben-Haim is in Israel's squad for their qualifying double-header against Greece - at home on March 28 and away on April 1.
• David Meyler is in the Republic of Ireland U-21 squad for a European Championship qualifier against Turkey on March 31.
• Trevor Carson and Robbie Weir are in the Northern Ireland U-21 squad for their game at home to the Ukraine on March 31.

Injury latest:
• Anton Ferdinand is hoping to be fit at the weekend after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.
• Young left-winger Nathan Luscombe is undergoing an investigation into a serious knee injury suffered in Sunderland's reserves last week.
• David Connolly (groin), Russell Anderson (knee) and David Dowson (knee) are in long-term rehab.

The opposition:
• Craig Bellamy is hoping to be fit for Sunday after the striker missed City's 1-0 defeat at Chelsea with a knee injury last Sunday.
• Zimbabwe striker Benjani could make a return after missing the last 11 league games with a thigh injury, while young midfielder Michael Johnson is hoping to make a comeback soon after missing most of the season with a groin injury (his last league game was in City's 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light in August).
• Bulgarian striker Martin Petrov (knee), German midfielder Dietmar Hamann (foot), Dutch defender Nigel De Jong and striker Daniel Sturridge (groin) all remain doubtful for the weekend.
• Man City have had an indifferent campaign up to now, with their recent league form pretty much mirroring their season generally.
• They have won two, drawn one and lost three in their last six games, but they boast the fifth-best home record in the league, winning nine and losing five of their 14 games at Eastlands.
• They have scored 30 goals at home (the second-highest scorers at home, behind Man United) and have conceded just 12.
• City have won their last five consecutive home games (Hull, Wigan, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa), scoring 11 goals and conceding just two in the process.
• Their last home defeat was against Everton on December 13 - Man United, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea are the others to win at Eastlands this season.
• City are the joint-fourth highest scorers in the Premier League, with 45 goals up to now.
• League form guide: W L D L W L
• Boss Mark Hughes signed four new players during the January transfer window, bringing in Bellamy from West Ham, De Jong from Hamburg, Wayne Bridge from Chelsea and Shay Given from Newcastle.
• Hughes made seven new signings last summer, and allowed 11 to leave.
• Ins: Jo (CSKA Moscow, £18m), Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea, undisclosed), Vincent Kompany (Hamburg, £6m), Shaun Wright-Phillips (£9m), Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol, undisclosed), Robinho (Real Madrid, £32.5m), Glauber Berti (Nuremberg, free).
• Outs: Georgios Samaras (Celtic, undisclosed), Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed), Geovanni (Hull, free), Emile Mpenza and Paul Dickov (both released), Sun Jihai (Sheffield United, free), Matthew Mills (Doncaster, £300,000), Bernardo Corradi (Reggina, free), Ashley Grimes (Millwall, free), Rolando Bianchi (Torino, undisclosed), Vedran Corluka (Tottenham, £8.5m).
• City finished ninth in the Premier League last season, with 55 points. At home, they won 11 games, drew four and lost four, scoring 28 goals and conceding 20.

Match officials:
• The referee on Sunday is Steve Tanner from Somerset, who took charge of Sunderland's 2-1 win at Blackburn last November. Mr Tanner has issued 79 yellow cards and six reds in 25 games so far this season.
• Mr Tanner's assistants are Mick Murphy and Mo Matadar. The fourth official is Chris Foy.

Fancy a flutter?
• City are 8/13 favourites on Sunday, while Boylesports have priced Sunderland 9/2 and the draw at 11/4.
• First scorer (S'land): Cisse 8/1, Jones 8/1, Healy 9/1, Leadbitter 16/1, Reid 16/1, Malbranque 18/1, Edwards 20/1.
• First scorer (City): Bellamy 9/2, Robinho 9/2, Caicedo 11/2, Evans 6/1, Bojinov 13/2, Ireland 15/2, Elano 15/2, Wright-Phillips 8/1.
• For more odds go to www.boylesportssafc.com

How far?
• It's 138 miles from the Stadium of Light to Eastlands.

Sunderland-Man City, head-to-head:
• Man City won 3-0 at the Stadium of Light earlier this season thanks to goals by Shaun Wright-Phillips (2) and Stephen Ireland.
• City beat Sunderland 1-0 at Eastlands last season, when Ireland scored the only goal.
• Sunderland's last win at City was in a Championship match at Maine Road on January 17, 1998, Kevin Phillips scoring in a 1-0 victory.
• City have won 36 of the previous 57 league meetings between the two sides in Manchester, with Sunderland winning 12, and there have been nine draws.
SAFC wins Draws City wins
League 43 19 53
FA Cup 2 2 4
League Cup 1 1 0
Other 0 0 1
Total 46 22 58


The last 10 meetings:
• Sunderland 0, Man City 3 (Premier League) 31.8.08
• Sunderland 1, Man City 2 (Premier League) 12.4.08
• Man City 1, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 5.11.07
• Man City 2, Sunderland 1 (Premier League) 5.3.06
• Sunderland 1, Man City 2 (Premier League) 23.8.05
• Man City 3, Sunderland 0 (Premier League) 21.4.03
• Sunderland 0, Man City 3 (Premier League) 9.12.02
• Sunderland 1, Man City 0 (Premier League) 23.12.00
• Man City 4, Sunderland 2 (Premier League) 23.8.00
• Man City 0, Sunderland 1 (Championship) 17.1.98

Other News

Djibril Cisse is backing Sunderland to win their battle to stay in the Barclays Premier League.

The Black Cats have slipped down the table in recent weeks after gaining just two points from their last two homes games.

They head to Manchester City tomorrow (3pm) in need of a positive result before the Premier League breaks for two weeks.

And Cisse is aware that the comfort zone Sunderland were in after gaining a point at Arsenal last month has gone.

"There are a lot of points to play for so we can turn the situation. I think we can still finish in the top 10," said the Frenchman.

"But yes, it's annoying to not score goals, it's annoying to not win games, to be 1-0 up and in the last minute, concede a goal. It is annoying but there are a lot of games and a lot of time.



"It's a matter of one game. We need a victory and then I think we would be back to the right way and start winning games again. But we need that game and we need it quickly."

Eastlands may not be the best place to try to end a run of four games without a victory - as City have won seven of their last eight games there in all competitions.

Added to that, Sunderland have not won away from home in five league games, since they beat Hull 4-1 in December.

Cisse said: "I don't think it's going to be easy because City are really good at home.

"But maybe there'll be less pressure because we are away and we don't have all the stadium behind us. Still, the pressure is going to be there."

Cisse, who has scored 10 goals this season, knows he is overdue a goal and he is hoping it comes against City.

He said: "Every season you have your periods where you don't score. But you just need to be strong and believe in yourself."

Man City
Given 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Dunne 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Onuoha 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Richards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Kompany 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Zabaleta 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Wright-Phillips 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Elano 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
De Jong 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bojinov 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Robinho 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Sunderland
Fulop 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Bardsley 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Collins 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Ferdinand 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
McCartney 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Edwards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Leadbitter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Whitehead 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Malbranque 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Jones 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Murphy 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

that was hardly a foul by Bardsley. Didnt deserved tat. Nice save by Fulop. Seems like Sunderland got blessed by havin cople of talented GK. I like the way u conquered middle field in evry game, tru some beautiful onetwo pass and passtru.

What is this bro? I don't understand.

that was the starting lineups

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Added on March 23, 2009, 2:20 pmyea we were damn unlucky oh well

just hope that we can stay up

This post has been edited by booooster: Mar 23 2009, 02:20 PM

Whitehead eager to get back in action
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By Nick Alexander

Dean Whitehead reckons the international break has come at a bad time for Sunderland.

The Black Cats sit just three points above the relegation zone after a run that has seen them pick up two points from their last five games.

The club's latest defeat came at Manchester City on Sunday, albeit in unfortunate circumstances as George McCartney was sent off early in the game.

Ricky Sbragia's men have two weeks to wait before getting the chance to bounce back, with the Barclays Premier League breaking for international football.

"I would rather have a game on Saturday, I don't like the [international] breaks," said Whitehead.

"A lot of teams at the bottom are saying they will be all right but we're all in a fight. We need to go out and get a positive result at West Ham and I wish the game was on Saturday."

After a poor display against Wigan in their last home game, Sunderland were much better against City. The Black Cats lost 1-0 after being reduced to 10 men in the 15th minute.

"We had to respond from the Wigan performance because we let everyone down in that game," said the skipper.

"The City game was very frustrating - we don't seem to be getting the rub of the green at the minute but we have to make our own luck. Maybe we deserved a point at City."

Sunderland's next game, at Upton Park on April 4, is followed by a home game against Manchester United.

"We've not picked up the points we would have liked from recent games and it means there'll be extra pressure on us at West Ham," Whitehead said. "And the fact we have Man United after does not help.

"There'll be lots of twists and turns at the bottom between now and the end. If we could get a positive result at West Ham, it would make a massive difference."

Sunderland U18s 2 Barnsley U18s 1

Andrew Galer scored a second-half winner as Sunderland clinched the league title for a third successive year.

Galer and Ryan Noble grabbed the goals to see off a stern challenge by Barnsley at the Academy of Light.

The win moves Sunderland 19 points clear of Newcastle at the top of Academy League Group D, putting them in an unassailable position with five games to play - six for the Magpies.

It is a remarkable achievement by the Wearsiders who have won 14 of their last 15 league matches and have been beaten just twice in the league all season.

Sunderland opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through Noble who planted a header into the top corner from Liam Bagnall's cross.

A great save by Barnsley goalkeeper Tom Rusling denied the striker a second before the break.

Barnsley came back at Sunderland in the second half and the home side had to defend for long periods as the away side put long balls into the box.

Centre-back Martin Grundy made it 1-1 in the 53rd minute, powering a free header past Michal Misiewicz.

Sunderland restored their lead in the 65th minute and again Bagnall was the provider. The Northern Ireland youth full-back made a good run down the left and pulled it back for Galer to smash a shot in from close range.

Misiewicz produced a smart save from a header near the end as Sunderland hung onto their lead.

The Black Cats play Huddersfield, Bolton, Manchester United, Sheffield United and Liverpool before turning their attentions to the play-offs.

Coach Kevin Ball said: "To do what they have done with five games to go is a fantastic achievment.

"But me being me, I've said to them - enjoy the next few days and then we start a five-game mini-league, and we win that."

Lineups

West Ham
Green
Neill
Spector
Tomkins
Upson
Ilunga
Boa Morte
Noble
Stanislas
Di Michele
Tristan

Sunderland
Gordon
Ben Haim
Bardsley
Collins
Ferdinand
Leadbitter
Richardson
Whitehead
Malbranque
Murphy
Cisse