 Friday, 30th Nov 2007 09:29 Sunderland AFC – a team with a proud history including six league titles and two FA Cups. RK Sunderland V Derby County Judging from the media however, the team has been renamed in honour of its current manager – Roy Keane’s Sunderland. To be fair to Roy Keane, he hasn’t been one to blow his own trumpet. He’s obviously learned from Clough and Ferguson and has set his stall out to make Sunderland an attractive footballing side able to compete in the Premiership. Sadly, it’s not really worked out so far. Last week the Black Cats took a real mauling – going down 7-1 at Goodison Park. An Everton supporting colleague said; “The problem Keane has is that he is trying to get them to play decent football..but they don't have the players to do it. He probably needs to get them scrapping a bit more. Added to that, Everton have been playing well and something like that had been on the cards.” Keane himself seemed subdued in his after match interview. From the BBC; “It is a major setback to get a real beating like that but I trust the players to learn from it and I have to learn from it myself. It's hard to take, but we lose as a team and I picked the team and sorted the tactics so I have no problem taking responsibility for what happened.” There are reports of unrest among Black Cat fans and given the number of managers who have been shown the door already this season, Keane must be concerned. When you consider the amount of money spent by Keane compared to Billy Davies, you’d expect more of a return that one more win and four more points than the Rams. In came Derby target Kenwyne Jones for £6m, Greg Halford from Reading for £3m, Ex-Ram Danny Higginbotham for £3m from Stoke and Craig Gordon for an astonishing £9m from Hearts. Other signings include Michael Chopra, Andrew Cole and Paul McShane. Sunderland fans demand success and so far the season hasn’t gone as planned. Following their last relegation and resurrection, the last thing they want would be relegation. Niall Quinn is probably a patient man but his financial backers will not want to spend money on a club that yo-yo’s between the divisions. Current Sunderland Squad No. Position Player Last 5 games West Ham 3-1 Sunderland Danger Men Leading scorer for the Black Cats is Kenwyne Jones with 4 goals. You can see why Billy Davies fancied him for the Rams and why Keane had to outbid us. He’s strong fast and seems to be making the transition to the Premiership more easily than some of his contemporaries Michael Chopra has also been among the goals. The first footballer of Indian descent to play in the Premiership, he’s a product of the Newcastle United Youth system and therefore he must work doubly hard to be accepted by the Black Cats fans. Danny Higginbotham will want to put one across his old club and I take it there’s no point asking our away support not to boo him? At the time of writing, only defender Nyron Nosworthy, Kieran Richardson and Russell Anderson are out with injuries while Kenwyne Jones is expected to be fit after picking up a knock at Goodison. Stanislav Varga is also doubtful. The Rams Cards on the table. The style of football played by Derby under Billy Davies hasn't impressed me much. It's a type of football based on fear of conceding a goal rather than inspiring fear in the teams we're playing. Even when we were top of the league, we rarely looked to be in total control of games and often seemed to pass the ball backwards when we were on the attack. Having said that, last season was a breath of fresh air in that for the first time for several years we went into games knowing we could compete and chasing glory. Nobody gave us a chance against Southampton or West Brom and yet we won and got promoted. That wet Sunday in Northwest London will live long in the memory of every Ram who was there. This season, the team spirit that took us to Wembley seems to have disappeared somewhere between the Spurs & Liverpool games. Some say that Billy Davies realised the hopelessness of the situation and set about getting himself sacked. I don't hold with that view - Keeping DCFC up would have been a feather in the cap of any manager and nobody would have blamed him if he failed - Especially seeing as the board did not want to stump up any cash. Billy will always have my gratitude for last season and Wembley and I wish him all the best in his future career. Paul Jewell has inherited a dispirited depressed team, firmly bottom of the Premiership. That we're still in touch with the teams above us (including Saturday's opponents) says more about the quality of the lower half of the Premiership rather than the Rams. We haven't scored in an age (two months without a goal), we've barely looked like scoring and we ship goals like they're going out of fashion. That has to change fast - we can't go through December hoping to beat Middlesbrough at home (and what if we don't?) and steal an odd couple of points and hope we can buy six or seven players to get us out of trouble in January. It has to start tomorrow. I'd go for 4-4-2 against a team that conceded seven last week. Trying to play defensive will only pander to Sunderland's strengths rather than attack their weakness. I'd play Howard up front with either Miller or Earnshaw alongside him depending on whom the manager thinks is best for the role. In Midfield we need some bite and we need creativity. If Andy Todd is fit, he should be playing. That will free Oakley and Pearson for creativity - or we have Jones if Todd isn't fit. Giles Barnes should be the other player if fit and with the right attitude if not it should be Fagan or Teale. Defence picks itself. Mears, Davis, Moore & McEveley. Mick's team: Bywater, Mears, Davis, Moore, McEveley, Pearson, Todd, Oakley, Barnes, Howard, Miller What the bookies think Given as we haven’t scored away all season and more to the point haven’t looked like scoring, the odds of 4/1 for a Rams win aren’t very generous. Sunderland are favourites of course at 8/13 while the draw is 23/10. Information for travelling fans Driving: It’s just over 160 miles to Sunderland and relatively straightforward drive. Take the M1 North until you reach the interchange with the A1(M). Stay on the A1 until you reach junction 62 with the A690 towards Sunderland. After about 8 miles, take the A19 turn and follow the A1231 into Sunderland. Follow the traffic signs for the Stadium. Parking: There’s limited parking at the Stadium itself if you arrive early. Alternatively, you can park in the City centre and walk. There’s a Park & Ride scheme on the Sunderland Enterprise Park with free buses to and from the ground however on my last visit these took ages to get me back to the car because of the traffic. I’d get there early. Drinking: Footballgroundsguide.com recommend The William Jameson and Yates’s in the city centre, and a bar called Idols on High Street which has “scantily clad barmaids and dancers.” Sounds interesting! Other recommendations are The Albion near Roker Avenue and The Sunderland Companions & Democratic Clubs on the north side of the river from the stadium. Mick’s Prediction As always, the best performance we can give is all that’s required. I think we could take something from this if we go into the game with the right attitude.
Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Derby County Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
