So adieu to Madrid and why aye to Middlesboro, here we are at the 'business end' of the league. As if anyone thinks we were just pissing about in October.
That was written pre match Saturday, and as the clock heads to the 1st March I'm totally fucked off with the whole thing. The frustration of persistent misses is only slightly tempered by the experience of rarely winning at the Riverside.
But now I think we are pissing about and I'm almost embarrassed to say sometimes some of the media are right, without an all firing Gerrard and Torres, we ain't that good.
Personally I didnt think it anyway but the bitter pill of false hope is one that we've tasted often.
Fuck it, now that's out my system we host the next in the NE teams, Sunderland, or as their fans somehow put it in one syllable, S'lun.
The team in red and white over there had Roy Runaway Keane as their manager but once again when the going got tough, the tough got going, and legged it. Bouncer was happy but that was all. Instead comes Ricky Sbragia, not an Eastenders gangster, but a manager who signed Diouf and Cisse and has slowly got the fans on his side. Still I hope we cuff em.
Sunderland
Major Honours
Top Flight Champions:
1892 1893 1895 1902 1913 1936
FA Cups:
1937 1973
Championship/Division One Winners:
1976 1996 1999 2005 2007
Least offensive team from that area winners 1892-present day.
As last time, a big shout to all at "a love supreme" :
http://www.a-love-supreme.com/ for their answers. Apart from Keith who thought we were all paranoid about the media and hated Martin Tyler's Monkey a Mr AndrewsadandfatGray. Well he has a point...
And I had a lovely pm off "freethewearsideone" telling me to fuck off. But it was nice of Roy Keane to write all the same.
I married into a family of makem supporters and I should thank Tadge and Kelly for their answers too, as well as all the others, here's a few of them.
You can read the whole thead here:
http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=391792and for anyone wanting to hear more of Monkeyspunk's songs, the rest of them are on page 2.
1.How's the season going so far - are you where you expected to be right now or did you expect Ricky to keep you higher up the table? Tadge: The season is going fine so far, though it's the tightest its been for years. It feels good to be mid table but we can't feel comfortable given how few points separate the whole of the bottom half.
Kelly I'm more than happy about where we are - we got off to an uncertain start then we slumped big time. Once Keane went, I really feared the worst but Ricky has done a great job and long may it continue.
Lord Slynn Sbragia has been better than I thought, we aren't playing too well but are picking up vital points. He is too negative at times though, especially away from home. We are slightly below where I hoped we might be after our summer spending but after all the turmoil with losing Keane I am quite happy with our position.
Jimmy Monty73 Very pleased with Ricky but hugely dissappointed with Roy. Ricky could be a Bob Paisley in the making. Roy however is a disgrace and i think he should go for a short walk with his dogs along a very long pier.
2.Are you happy with the manager who’s name scores 82 in scrabble? Were any of you uncertain about him stepping up once action man with realistic gripping hands had gone? Kelly That's an amazing scrabble score! I honestly feared the worst for us though knew he was highly rated as a coach. However, he's worked under some good managers and obviously has a lot of experence - Keane had none. I was very surprised that he got the job permanently but he's proving people wrong and deserves the position.
Jimmy Monty73 We were very uncertain. We wanted another big name who would keep us in the papers and keep everything nice and exciting. However i think that was all a bit pathetic looking back and it feels like we have the old Sunderland back with Ricky in charge and not being in the papers for some crap soundbite every week anymore.
Lord Slynn I was furious when Sbragia got appointed and in my mind the jury is still out on him. He has managed with common sense, mostly picking our best 11 and gets on well with all the players, both of which Keane wasn't doing towards the end. I'm still not convinced he is the man long term though-if he stays, this summer's transfer window is big for him-he has to deal well.
Gucci massiveSo far I'm delighted with how well Ricky is doing, I just hope he can keep it up. I was dissapointed with his appointment to be honest and I'm sure many other SAFC fans were. I was hoping we would get in a big name established manager.
Tadge: Is that on a triple word score? Yours wouldn't be far behind I wouldn't have thought! I'm fine with Ricky. People forget that Keane had no experience too. Ricky has been around and worked with some good managers. He's clearly learned something along the way. Its his second stint at the club, I think he has the capability as well as our interest at heart rather than just his own. Just glad the media pundits were wrong about us getting Sam 'the hutt' allardyce. As for action man, he'd have to have been the sailor one with that beard! Probably had painted on pants as well.
Connolly_31 He's doing a very decent job and doing it quietly which may also help us as I think the Roy Keane limelight was a hindrance at times. And Rafael Benítez scores more than Ricky Sbragia in scrabble - Thats a fact
Professional Mackem Certainly everyone had some doubts esp as we were expecting Jol or Swen. But stability RS has brought is priceless.
seggaman What Scrabble rules do you follow? You can't have 'Ricky Sbragia' man. Yes, none of us were sure about him but so far he's done well - see above.
3.Who do you think has been your most important player(s) this season so far – you’ve signed Cisse, Ferdinand, Jones – any of them? Tadge: There have been a few key men this season so far. Malbranque has brought some class. Fulop has been fairly dependable. But I'll surprise myself by singling out Ferdinand. He's gelled well with Collins.
Kelly Obviously Cisse and Jones as they're scoring us goals but yeah, Ferdinand has been immense, a real rock in defence ....... what a great rhyme!
Doctor Mick We signed Jones last season . Ferdinand probably the most important, he has developed a good partnership with Collins and has helped steady a very weak defence.
Lord Slynn Cisse-finally gives us some real pace and a genuine goal threat up front (you Scousers may scoff at that, I don't know how you rated him).
Jones-did really well to get back so quickly from injury-bizarre season for him in many ways, his allround contribution is less than last season but he's scoring lots more goals. Definitely had his head turned by Spurs but he's pledged his future to us and that's good news.
Ferdinand-thought he was an overrated big time charlie at West Ham, he's been the exact opposite, mature, grounded, quality defender.
Hudson88 out of our signings in the summer, 3 have stood out for different reasons. malbranque is a touch of class in midfield, cisse has scored some vital goals for us and carried our forward line at the start of the season when jones was out. but by far our best signing is that of anton ferdinand. the lad really is brilliant, rarely puts a foot wrong and has struck up a fantastic partnership with danny collins. special mentions go to danny collins, dean whitehead, kieran richardson and kenwyne jones as well
4.And your Lucas Leiva? I meant worst player(s)? Tadge: Diouf was a big inconsistent disappointment. Wasn't too sad when he waved bye.
Kelly Would hate for injuries to defence and McShane to come back - the lad obviously tries but he's just too unpredictable. Murphy doesn't do too much when he's on and probably needs moving on. Wasn't sad to see the back of Chimbonda and Diouf.
Doctor Mick Whitehead, Collins and Gordon will probably spring up again and again but they aren't. Out of the players who get a fairly regular game I'd go with Nos (who probably won't feature much now).
Jimmy Monty Don't know who Lucas Leiva is, no doubt another crap player bought by Parry. It is funny that every decent player was signed by Benítez and every crap player was signed by Parry. Some would think it was just spin and wishful thinking from the fans, not me ofcourse. As for our worst player - Prica takes some beating. His name sounds like Paprika but believe me we would all rather have the signed a bag of crisps than that clown.
Lord Slynn Paul McShane-dismayed when we recalled him from Hull, he is woeful-how the hell did you let him score against you?
Diouf-troublemaker, could maybe be tolerated if he was any good but he was absolute shite, ineffective, disinterested, celebrated with the Bolton players when they had just beaten us 4-1.
Hudson88 paul mcshane. end of question
pedro_1879 Diouf was awful. No end product and only one remotely decent performance against Bolton in the cup - when he was eyeing a move! Of those still at the club I'd say Anthony Stokes is bad, very bad.
Connolly_31 Our Lucas is a difficult one at the moment as they're playing very well as a team, but Andy Reid has his moments of madness, but is by no means the worst, I would have said get at Phil Bardsley but I don't think he'll play after Ben Haim's performance against Arsenal, but if Daryl Murphy comes on he is a very weak link
Gucci massive Daryl Murphy. Championship player who is out of his depth at this level.
5. The disco king, Quinn has recently said he’d keep down the season ticket price to improve the atmosphere, has it worked and do you any of you old arses notice a big difference between the SoL and Roker Park? Tadge: You'll have to wait till next season for that answer as we'll not know till then. We have our quiet moments but the lads in crazy corner generally keep it bubbling. From time to time though you can still catch the full on roker roar. We'll never be like the whispering mancs whatever happens.
Kelly Hopefully we'll see a difference next season if people do take up the offer - I think there's been a lot of interest in the ticket offeres so we'll see what happens. A lot of people still say that the old Roker Roar rules over the atmos at the SoL but the day we beat the Mags 2-1 in October was the best I've expereinced so more of that please!
Doctor Mick We'll not know until next season when the new prices come in, it is flat as a fart at the minute tho. RP and the SOL are a whole world apart, both very different beasts but nostalgia means RP will always come out on top in any comparison.
Lord Slynn There is a difference between Roker years ago and the SOL now, but in all honesty for its final years, the atmosphere at Roker was pretty average for most games. The SOL has been like a morgue this season and we've even had idiots booing some of our players. Whether Quinn's commendable plan works remains to be seen but if it just attracts instant gratification Sky generation fans it is unlikely to help the atmosphere too much.
pedro_1879 A great gesture by Quinny and the SoL can be amazing. When in full flow it's one of the best stadiums anywhere in the world. Roker Park was a truly special place and the mere sight of it brings back fond memories, my eyes actually get rather full when people start talking about it. If you ever leave Anfield you'll get to learn the feeling.
Connolly_31 My first season supporting Sunderland was 2 years before Roker Park came down, main difference is the atmosphere, the Stadium of Light is a gorgeous stadium but knowhere near as loud as Roker Park in full voice. Keeping the ticket prices down is very admirable and it's only in concession areas so the youth will be able to see the game, hopefully without disrupting the already tame atmosphere
Hudson88 next season should tell us. hopefully it will bring in a new generation of fans though, as well as maybe bring back a couple of thousand who struggled to afford it recently. but with the current financial situation, nobody could really be blamed for giving up games for a lack of money (providing they ain't sitting in a bar in the city centre watching it on some foreign channel!!)
seggaman Who you calling an old arse. Wanna stepoutside? (Calm down, calm down)
6. And any get well soon messages you’d like to pass onto Joe Kinnear? Professional Mackem Fuck that, not even the saint Goodey gets sympathy from me.
Doctor Mick Get back to work as soon as you can please.
Tadge: Are you joking ere? Well it's not a nice thing to happen to anyone, even the dirty mags manager. we're missing his entertaining ways already, but as anyone up here knows there's still a circus in the toon!
Kelly No! I don't wish badly on the guy but he really is a joke. I miss his comments though and bet Insomnia et al do too!
mart Hurry up and get fixed up and take them fuckers down mate.
7.What sort of line-up do you expect Sbragia will set up against us? Tadge: I'd love him to play 4 4 2 as it sends out a message. And we can have a go as we showed arse-snail. But I think he'll go 4 1 4 1 and play counter attacking but aim for a point.
Doctor MickHopefully two up top, especially if you don't have Torres. We'll probably start with 2 defensive midfielders regardless. Will be interesting to see if Ben Haim keeps his place.
Kelly If Cisse's fit, 4-4-2 and I'd expect Djib to go all out to score (obviously). If not then I wouldn't be surprised to see the same set up we put out against Arsenal.
Lord Slynn Almost certainly 451, the only real talking point will be whether he starts Cisse or Jones as the 1-I think he'll go Jones.
Connolly_31 Even with Djibril Cissé back I expect us to line up as we did against Arsenal with a 4-5-1 formation, with Whitehead and Richardson breaking to support Jones, fortunately with Cissé being fit we have the option to partner him with Jones or use him as a sub for that bit extra pace if needed. Team will more than likely be: Fúlop, Ben Haim, Collins, Ferdinand, McCartney, Malbranque, Whitehead, Richardson, Tainio, Reid, Jones
realnutsport1-1-8... well thats what arsehole wenger thought we did
8.Do you have any new songs for us or about you since the last outing for Niall Quinn’s Disco Pants? Tadge: Well we could nick some more of yours! We've a few non Keane ones again now. Don't be too surprised to hear Super kenwyne Jones, super kenwyne Jones, Caribbean king, hear the sun'land sing, super kenwyne Jones as he nods one into your onion bag.
Professional Mackem We have stolen your torres song for cisse. Its class.
Kelly The Super Kenwynne Jones song which has already been suggested but expect your Torres song to get a run against our Cisse song
He's got designer facial hair, Cisse, Cisse
He loves his flashy underwear, Cisse, Cisse
He scores a goal with half a chance
We'll never send him back to France
Djibril Cisse, Sunderland's Number 9
Na na na, etc.
monkeyspunk His mane is like a highland cows...McShane, McShane
He went to Hull, he's back again...McShane, McShane
He'll kick the turf, miss-hit the ball,
He drives us up the fucking wall,
Paul McShane his number is unknown...
he cannot pass from A to B, Bardsley, Bardsley
he's got a touch like a donkey, Bardsley, Bardsley
he kicks the ball straight out of play
Chimbonda's better in every way
Phillip Bardsley, always tries his best!
His right foots only there for show, Murphy, Murphy
He never knows which way to go, Murphy, Murphy
He makes a run, he does a twist
Whatever he does he still looks pissed
Daryl Murphy, absolutely shite!
Nyron's got a massive cock, Nyron, Nyron
He tucks it in his football sock, Nyron, Nyron
He shagged a girl and now she's dead
He swings his cock around his head
Nyron Nosworthy, Sunlun's number 5
(Hinesy: this was just a wee selection from a massive list, very funny)murryout Harry Redknapp is a charlie uniform november tango, a charlie uniform november tango, a charlie uniform november tango
A dirty, sneaky fucking charlie uniform november tango, a charlie uniform november tango, a charlie uniform november tango
Harry Redknapp you're a charlie uniform november tango
Jamie lad, your dads a charlie uniform november tango,
Harry Redknapp, you're a fucking charlie uniform november tango
9.Where do you expect yourselves and Liverpool to finish come the end of the season? Kelly SAFC - 11th, LFC - 2nd. I just can't see Man U slipping up now, sorry.
Tadge: I'd say us 11th, you 2nd though I'd love it if you took the title.
10.Which Liverpool player(s) do you fear the most? Kelly Torres, Stevie G, Carragher and Reina.
mart Lucas. Ugly twat.
Connolly_31 Torres if fit, but definitely Alonso, if we let him run the game he will take the piss out of Deano and Kieran, that's why I think we will go 5 in the middle to stop him and Gerrard
max wartburg Gerrard cutting across the edge of our box and diving, cheating us, the ref, football, the respect campaign etc etc..... But hey ho, it appears to be written into the laws of the game nowadays that he is allowed to do it (along with the odd two footed challenge) and get away with it. I just wonder if he has to give the ref advanced notice.
WHEN he does it we should be allowed a free kick of his bollocks.
11. I notice on your forum many of you hate Carragher… Now he’s our hero, just as we hate Gary Neville, so who’s your local boy forever? Kelly Now - I think we only have Grant Leadbitter. Yesteryear - Lord Gary Rowell - hat trick hero against the mags.
mart Leadbitter is the only local lad in the team atm.... he's shite.
Doctor Mick We haven't had one for years, only possibility is Leadbitter but he isn't good enough to be classed as a hero. Danny Collins must be close to being a naturalised Mackem soon tho.
Gucci massiveI don't hate Carragher to be honest. He's got an annoying voice though. Much prefer him to John Terry. We don't have a local boy forever. I suppose Leadbitter is a local lad come good but the jury is still out on him.
pedro_1879 We don't hate him we just get annoyed by his dye in the wool 100% scouse commitment. We are lacking local heroes at the minute. Lord Cisse has earned himself a special place in my book.
12. Chopra: Did he miss on purpose against the barcodes? Kelly I don't think so but think he made a terrible decision which he will say would have won us the game had he squared the ball well cos Jones would have def put the ball in the net which then would have spared him the stick from his mag family and friends. He'll forever be a Judas to our fans now which is a shame cos he did ok for us.
Professional Mackem Big debate on here about that. The jury is still out. I say the fucker bottled it and probabley did it on purpose. The fucking scummer.
murryout Aye the fucking scummy, geordie twatfaced jizzcock.
mart No, bottled it.
pedro_1879 Only he knows for certain but the bloke saw his top flight career disappear on national TV. I don't think anyone in the Premier League will want someone who's arse dropped out like that so some justice has been served.
Jimmy Monty73Yes he is filthy scum. Here is a song we sing about him (Tune of O'Shea song):
He's one on one, he's in on goal, Chopra, Chopra
He looks up and sees Kenwyne Jones, Chopra, Chopra
Refused to shoot, misplaced the pass
I'd slit his throat with broken glass
Dirty Chopra, Maggie Judas C.unt
Doctor Mick I'm beyond the point of caring, it should have been dead in the water weeks ago but some people still can't get past it.
13.And to finish, what's the score? Care to risk a guess? Tadge: We'll grind out a point and get a goal. I'm going 1 – 1
KellyI'll be ecstatic with 1-1! (Even more so with a win but I've been to Anfield and know it's gonna be tough!)
Professional Mackem 0-0 just like that game a few years ago when macho kept you boys out single handedly. Not sure if you're going to be that dominant though.
mart Liverpool 0-2 Sunderland
Gucci massive 1-0 Liverpool.
And my favourite answer:
Keith.safcJust dont say anything bad about liverpool or a thread will be straight up on RAWK calling for a full mackem boycott.
