Wise Men Say: Fearing West Brom is not a good place to be for Sunderland supporters

It's been quite a while since I've been as angry as I was at a football match this Saturday gone; it was disgraceful.
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Disgraceful to surrender so meekly.

Disgraceful defending.

Disgraceful tactically from start to finish.

What exactly were we trying to achieve?

Yes, some might say that at 2-0 we were well on course for victory, we were ‘trying’ to win the game.

In truth, the rabble before us managed to hack the ball into a reasonable area a few times. On one of those occasions Jermain Defoe managed to get Sunderland’s second and give us a cushion.

That didn’t last long.

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Frankly, we were nowhere near good enough for the vast majority of that match and I couldn’t quite believe we’d managed to get ourselves into the winning position which we so pathetically discarded within seconds of the restart.

It was woeful in so many ways across the 90 minutes and David Moyes needs to do something about it quickly.

Don’t get me wrong, I would have taken the win regardless of how we played. Anyone would have.

Unfortunately for us, and deservedly on the balance of play, we didn’t get that win. So I guess the “three points is all that counts” argument is completely moot.

It’s West Brom at home tomorrow.

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It’s a game to be welcomed season in, season out, yet it rarely yields anything other than frustration and disappointment.

It always seems to be the opportunity to kick-start our season, ultimately petering out into a 0-0 draw after a dreadful game.

We’ve seen it so often before, just like the start of this season, and I see nothing to suggest it will be any different this time. I fear it could actually be worse.

It’s often said that West Brom fans should just be happy to be in the Premier League if they level any criticism at Tony Pulis.

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However, how many of us could watch the football he produces every year. It’s horrible stuff.

On this basis, I think Saturday is going to be pretty horrible.

I think Pulis will get Rondon to run the channels and take a tumble or two. Winning free-kicks in wide areas will be the sole aim, and, with the Baggies’ aerial presence, I think we’ve got plenty to fear.

They’re canny operators and will take any opportunity to irritate us on the pitch and in the stands.

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Manquillo must not rise to the bait this time. Our central defenders, and full-backs if tucking in, must head the ball.

Be brave.

If not, then I fear a torrid afternoon and an atmosphere that could be termed as poisonous come the final whistle.

This piece is incredibly negative. I hope I see something tomorrow that makes me change my tune, because, at the moment, there’s little or nothing there to build my hopes.

I honestly don’t believe we’ve got enough to beat West Brom at the moment and I never thought I’d be saying that following our finish to last season.

I hope they prove me wrong.

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* The Wise Men Say podcast is available from every Monday, with SAFC debate from a variety of guests and post-match reaction. You can stream it direct from wisemensay.co.uk or subscribe to it on iTunes