As bad as it gets - ROWELL REPORT
At the final whistle on Saturday, I thought that I might just have witnessed Sunderland's worst performance of the season.
By the time I got home, I was certain of it.
Like everyone else, I turn a game over in my mind on the way home and try to analyse whatever it throws up.
And the more I thought about the defeat at West Brom, the more I struggled to find any positives from it from a Sunderland point of view.
If there's a game it reminded me of, it was the recent away defeat at West Ham where Sunderland conceded just before half-time (again) and then failed to produce any sort of fightback in the second-half.
And to me, that was the most disappointing aspect of the game.
There was no response from the players in the second-half – if anything, we got worse.
And that's worrying.
I can't think of any excuses for the lameness of Sunderland's performance.
That's not taking anything away from West Brom, who deserved credit for the spirit with which they played, but where was Sunderland's spirit?
Where was their pride or their defiance even?
In the end we made West Brom look like Real Madrid – all the way down to their fans going with the "ols" for every successful pass their players made.
It's not easy getting points in the Premier League. There are no easy matches and there are plenty of teams that have found West Brom testing opponents this season.
But most teams have found that little bit extra to win or at least draw their games against Albion. Given the Baggies plight at the bottom, plus Sunderland supposedly coming into the game on a high after the Hull victory, we really should have had enough to ensure we wouldn't lose the game and certainly not in the embarrassing manner that we did.
I really thought Sunderland would come out in the second-half with all guns blazing after letting themselves down so badly in the first.
But losing the game damaged us in terms of an opportunity lost, damaged our goal difference and there's a danger it could even have damaged us psychologically, players and supporters!
I have no idea why Sunderland should have chosen that weekend to suddenly lose the plot.
It's almost as if Sunderland can't handle a comfortable end to the season.
They always seem to have to be involved in some sort of drama.
Why do they always have to put us through the wringer like this?
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Weather for Sunderland
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
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