Sunderland are finding League One a slog but there is one huge positive to playing in the third tier

The novelty factor of travelling to the likes of Accrington Stanley and Rochdale has long since worn off as results continue to take a turn for the worse.

However, no matter how bad things get on the pitch, we can still be safe in the knowledge that if we manage to force the ball into the back of the net against Fleetwood Town to secure a 1-1 draw we can momentarily leap to our feet and break out into a smattering of polite applause without fear of the goal being overturned by someone sat in a room hundreds of miles away while enjoying a cup of tea and a Kit-Kat.

After a number of ‘successful’ trials, we saw the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee at the FIfa 18 World Cup. After disrupting a number of games in Russia, the powers that be, decided to implement it for the 2019/20 Premier League season.

Since then we have seen an unprecedented level of chaos on an almost game by game basis.

Naturally, the old system was far from perfect and referee’s made plenty of infuriating mistakes, but bringing in VAR to address refereeing incompetence is the equivalent of bringing in Lee Camp because Jason Steele was out of sorts.

In a recent match between Spurs and Sheffield United, it took the VAR team almost four minutes to rule out David McGoldrick’s equaliser.

During those four minutes, the crowd are not privy to the replays being examined at Stockley Park and have no inkling as to what is going on.

Quite frankly, this is insulting to supporters and pushes football even further towards being an ongoing soap opera than a sport with the die-hard fan base in mind.

Despite being only 24 years of age, I am something of a traditionalist when it comes to football and I don’t like the concept of the sport I watch on TV being too far removed from the game I enjoy participating in with my mates on a park pitch.

While it is true that when I trudge to the nearest pub and watch Manchester City on the telly, after witnessing Sunderland battle through another drab League One affair; I do feel like I am watching a different sport, at its essence football should follow the same uniform set of rules regardless of off-field financial haves and have nots.

Why should we turn around and say, it is paramount that we get this decision right for those dining at the top table, but for the rest of us feeding of the scraps with our paper plates, it’s okay for the decisions to be left up to one man’s interpretation?

All of the points I’ve raised so far might be palatable if the correct decision was being made, but sadly we are seeing incidents being interpreted differently from one infringement to the next.

With anything new, you expect to see teething problems and I certainly hope in time that a middle ground is reached between getting things right and reserving the enjoyment of the beautiful game.

For now, though the lack of VAR is sufficient to justify Sunderland’s tactical double relegation to the third tier of English football.