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15 03 2008 Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1
This was the only stadium I hadn't visited in the Premier League. In the past Sky normally screwed things up with 4pm
Sunday kick offs at the Stadium of Light making train travel impossible, and a 500 mile round trip by car was
unappealing on a Sunday. So finally, a 3pm kick off on a Saturday, and the best thing I can say about the whole day is
that the train journey was extremely pleasant, especially the part the followed the East coast from Sunderland to
Hartlepool on the way back.
You gotta love fans from the North East - they must be the most partisan, one-eyed fans in the world. When things go
against them, it is always the referees fault, and not because their team is mediocre (the worst are Newcastle fans).
They are also among the loudest and most passionate - when they believed they deserved a penalty, the noise
eminating from the Black Cats faithful made me pray they didn't actually score a goal. Having said that, they are also
prone to the shortest memories in the world, chanting, "where were you when you were sh*t", when they couldn't sell
tickets under Mick McCarthy's tenure for £6! It was good to see that this time, however, it was nearly a full house -
unbelievably the Chelsea end was sold out. We must be gluttons for punishment!
Sunderland is a sad city. It is rare to walk up a high street and see four pubs forced to shut down in the space of a
hundred yards - and yet this was the case here. The two busiest pubs are the Yates's and Wetherspoons - not exactly
the classiest places to have a tipple in the world!
The match was truly woeful. Chelsea had so much possession, but had no idea how to convert it into clear cut chances.
When Terry scored with a brilliant header you though the floodgates would open. Instead, we sat back, and if it was not
for the brilliance of Cudicini (who easily made up for his mistake at Barnsley despite some woeful kicking) we could have
easily come away with only a point. I am sure Avram will keep saying how entertaining we are, but really mate, just leave
now before a lot of Chelsea fans do!
Now we have a few big tests. A win at Spurs and at home against Arsenal are vital. With the Champions League draw
meaning we will almost certainly go out by the Semi Final stage, the Premier League is our only possible avenue for
success. God forbid we play like this against the Gooners or ManUre, as we will get annihilated!
Sunday kick offs at the Stadium of Light making train travel impossible, and a 500 mile round trip by car was
unappealing on a Sunday. So finally, a 3pm kick off on a Saturday, and the best thing I can say about the whole day is
that the train journey was extremely pleasant, especially the part the followed the East coast from Sunderland to
Hartlepool on the way back.
You gotta love fans from the North East - they must be the most partisan, one-eyed fans in the world. When things go
against them, it is always the referees fault, and not because their team is mediocre (the worst are Newcastle fans).
They are also among the loudest and most passionate - when they believed they deserved a penalty, the noise
eminating from the Black Cats faithful made me pray they didn't actually score a goal. Having said that, they are also
prone to the shortest memories in the world, chanting, "where were you when you were sh*t", when they couldn't sell
tickets under Mick McCarthy's tenure for £6! It was good to see that this time, however, it was nearly a full house -
unbelievably the Chelsea end was sold out. We must be gluttons for punishment!
Sunderland is a sad city. It is rare to walk up a high street and see four pubs forced to shut down in the space of a
hundred yards - and yet this was the case here. The two busiest pubs are the Yates's and Wetherspoons - not exactly
the classiest places to have a tipple in the world!
The match was truly woeful. Chelsea had so much possession, but had no idea how to convert it into clear cut chances.
When Terry scored with a brilliant header you though the floodgates would open. Instead, we sat back, and if it was not
for the brilliance of Cudicini (who easily made up for his mistake at Barnsley despite some woeful kicking) we could have
easily come away with only a point. I am sure Avram will keep saying how entertaining we are, but really mate, just leave
now before a lot of Chelsea fans do!
Now we have a few big tests. A win at Spurs and at home against Arsenal are vital. With the Champions League draw
meaning we will almost certainly go out by the Semi Final stage, the Premier League is our only possible avenue for
success. God forbid we play like this against the Gooners or ManUre, as we will get annihilated!
