Sunderland AFC Fans 2009/10 Season Review

I was originally going to add my review to accompany these fine contributions, but both have done such a fine job of reviewing Sunderland AFC`s season it would be criminal to take anything away from them.

The first of our 2009/10 Season reviews comes courtesy of Jamie Hous follow Jamie on twitter @jhs2safc (just hover over the link and click follow)

The 2009/2010 season summed up the mentality of Sunderland AFC. We started well, beating some of the best teams in English football but our inconsistency came back to haunt us yet again.

Niall Quinn seemed to have fixed the ‘magic carpet’ after a shaky end to last season with Ricky Sbragia at the helm. Steve Bruce was brought in to help steady the ship and he made wholesale changes in the summer. Bruce’s ability to sell average players at a decent price got everyone at Sunderland excited for the new season. There was confidence, optimism and belief in the Sunderland fans once again.

Fantastic Signings

We made some fantastic signings, including stars Darren Bent, Lorik Cana and John Mensah. We thought this would be our year and we were hopeful that the top 10 finish we crave was in our sights. The season started well with a game away to Bolton Wanderers. Darren Bent’s back post header was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for the lads. We couldn’t ask for a better start.

The next ten games saw us accumulate 16 points, with a draw at Old Trafford against the champions, which could easily have been a win, if it wasn’t for an Anton Ferdinand own goal late in the game. We then went onto beat Liverpool with relative ease. Sunderland fans will never forget the Liverpool game for one reason; the infamous beach ball goal.

We then travelled to St Andrews to take on Birmingham. After beating Liverpool the previous game, the fans went down in numbers hoping that we put in a good performance. However, the game didn’t go as planned and we were beaten 2-1. After accumulating only one more point in October the optimism that was seen at the start of the season disappeared and relegation was well and truly in our mindsets.

No Signs

November started with a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham at White Heart Lane. We then went on to prove that on our day we were able to beat anyone by recording a 1-0 victory against Arsenal. What was round the corner I don’t think anyone associated with the club could have seen it.

Injuries and suspensions started setting in. We were extremely low on confidence and this saw us go 14 games without a victory in the Premier League.

Our first game in March saw us beat Bolton Wanderers 4-0 at the Stadium of Light. This was the much needed win, as going 14 games without a victory certainly took its toll on the fans. We gathered 5 more points in March which seemed to get many fans in an upbeat mood.

April saw us beat Tottenham, Burnley and Hull City to cement our place in the Premier League for another season. We could all relax and enjoy the sell out game at the Stadium of Light against Manchester United. However we saw our side lose 1-0 to a Nani goal.

We then travelled to Wolves knowing if results went our way, and we managed to get a victory we could have finished 10th in the Premier League. However what started off as a lively game went wrong and we went onto record a 2-1 defeat.

Decent Finish

Finishing 13th in the table is a decent achievement considering how long we went without a victory. Our mentality needs to change, something which Bruce and his team is working on. We have a very good spine to the squad, but more quality is needed in wide areas to enable us to win games. Defensive lapses at the latter stages of games came back to haunt us as we conceded too many sloppy goals.

I believe the biggest improvement this season was our home form. After only losing 3 games at the Stadium of Light, it is once again a fortress. Having such good home form needs to be backed up by a decent away form; unfortunately this was lacking this season.

Overall, id rate our season as 7/10. Relegation was avoided with relative ease and with a few quality signings this summer, we have an excellent chance of finishing in the top 10 of the Premier League.

Jamie Hous (@jhs2safc)

The Second of our 2009/10 reviews comes courtesy of Daniel McWaters (@DATM_91)

So another season is over, and I must admit I am left feeling quite optimistic about Sunderland’s ambitious push towards Europe. There were many high points and a few low points over the course of the season, but overall, I believe it has been a season of hope. There have been some standout performances from the team, and the occasional blip, namely being a winless run that lasted 3 months.

The season started so brightly, the signings of Bent, Cana and Mensah really stood out for me and I, along with many others, felt a top ten finish was inevitable.

Maybe I got carried away but when you see your team beat the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool and lead against Man Utd right up until the last minute, I don’t think anybody can really blame me.

Winter of Discontent!

In the build up to Christmas, Steve Bruce had moulded his team into warriors, and many people around the country, stood up and took notice of Sunderland. Then, like many times before, the winter period halted our fine start, the next few months were about to get tough, first blow came when we lost one half of our combative midfield pairing, Cattermole, to injury, this was shortly followed by a 14 game winless streak, and players morale was damaged, I remember going to games thinking

“this surely has to be the day we turn it around?”

and to be fair, we drew many of our games during this period, but conceding late goal after late goal was starting to effect the players, having threw away over 10 points, something that can make a major difference in the outcome of a season.

Our form dipped, and our position in the league fell. There was a feel of great concern around the Stadium of Light, and even more so when we had to play away from home.

Then, one joyous afternoon, we played Bolton at home, now usually I go to the games with my Granda and cousin, but this day I got a lift there with my mate Steve Turner, better known as the Mackem Mover, he had agreed to meet some friends and go for a drink around the bars prior to kick off, an enjoyable time was topped off by a brilliant game, in which we won 4-0, with Benty nabbing a hatrick, a well deserved hatrick that could have been more than just.

Campbell got the other, scoring exactly 41 seconds into the game; I hadn’t even made my seat by this point. From then on, I knew the winless curse was coming to an end... Maybe I should go see the strippers more often? For superstitious reasons only, of course! Despite the win, we knew relegation was a real possibility, as nobody can say they are “too good to go down”

(does Ipswich’s relegation in 2001/2002 season spring to mind after a 5th place finish the season before?).

Top 10?

On the other hand, reaching the top ten goal Bruce had set his players was also achievable, and if we could find the form we had shown at the start of the season, you certainly wouldn’t bet against us giving it a real go.

A solid end to our home form, albeit a defeat in our last home game to Man Utd, made it look more than likely that we would seal 10th place, given the fixtures the teams around us had.

But a disappointing defeat to Wolves prevented us from clinching Bruce’s target, but in the end a win would have made no difference as Blackburn victory over Aston Villa made it impossible for us to claim 10th anyway. But still, to finish 13th after a mid season crisis was reassuring and as a whole, an improved finish on last season was well deserved by the players, and not forgetting the staff.

The main disappointment for me, though, was not the self destruction over the 14 games without a win, but the away form. We were two different teams; at home, an ambitious team hungry for success, and away from home, a team with no confidence in their true ability.

Contrasting Form

To lose only 3 games at home, two of which came from the top 2 teams in the country; Man Utd & Chelsea, are remarkable. But a complete contrast in our away form, having just 2 wins all season, leaves Bruce with plenty to work on and improve, something I have no doubt in which we will do. An honest manager is Steve Bruce, the best Geordie to ever happen to Sunderland since the great Bob Stokoe, with his touchline reactions and humorous interviews, never fails to raise a smile, “that’s for sure”.

In my eyes he is the right man for this job, and he will take this sleeping giant of a club onto great things, and much credit has to go out to the men behind the scenes, Niall Quinn, Steve Walton, and more importantly, Ellis Short, who has bonded with the fans, and the club, and is willing to pump money into a club he now considers his own.

Next season will definitely be another season of progress, and hopefully without the hiccups, but its all part and parcel in football and it’s why we all love it. I already can’t wait for next season, and hopefully it kicks off on the back of a 3 lions World Cup win in South Africa. Hey I can dream can’t I?

Snapshots

Goal of the season – Bolo Zenden’s strike against Spurs at home was a moment of genius from a man who, in my opinion, is one of our key players.

Most memorable moment of the season – The Beachball Gate incident, never again will the beachball hit a winner like that!

Player of the season – Darren Bent, his goals say it all, justified his transfer fee five times over, find of the season in terms of what he has achieved.

Most improved player of the season – Craig Gordon, quietened his critics after a string of fine performances. Looks settled.

Best opposition player – Frank Lampard, I’m not his biggest fan, but in both games he was inspirational, has had a very good season.

Worst opposition player – Dimitar Berbatov, possibly Sir Alex’s biggest flop given the £30 million price tag?

Game of the season – Sunderland 3-1 Tottenham. Inspiring stuff.

Thanks for reading,

Daniel McWaters follow Daniel on twitter @DATM_91

Thank you to Daniel and Jamie for 2 great guest contributions to the blog.