Sunderland Won't Go Down - You Can Put Money On It
As I was flicking through my Sunday newspaper at the weekend I came across an article which suggested anyone looking to make a quick buck at the bookies should put money on Sunderland to go straight back down to the Championship.
There were a couple of things that hit me straight away. Given that there is no way Sunderland can be relegated until sometime next year, no matter how badly they do, it’s hardly a way to make quick money is it? The second was, I wonder if “I’m such a smug and clever gambler� would be so confident in his prediction if Roy Keane was standing next to him.
Apparently some bookies are offering odds of 4-1 on Sunderland returning to the Championship immediately after promotion for the second successive time.
As with most gambling predictions, there is some element of thought involved. The Black Cats have hardly pulled up any trees in the transfer market - an interesting expression although I have absolutely no idea where it comes from or what it really means, I mean who pulls up trees? - and the fact they are the typical yo-yo club.
However, you show me a successful gambler and I’ll show you millions of people who end up out of pocket. There is no exact science to it and, while odds of 4-1 might seem attractive to Newcastle fans desperate to see their rivals humiliated once again, there are other clubs the bookies feel are more likely to be relegated. The bookies, incidentally, aren’t often wrong and they are certainly right more often than the punters otherwise they’d be out of business wouldn’t they?
There is perhaps a sense on Wearside that the club have failed to deliver on their transfer promises. The likes of Russell Anderson, Michael Chopra, Dickson Etuhu, Paul McShane and Greg Halford are hardly the big name signing to send a shiver of excitement down the spine are they?
However, Keane is not the only manager to have struggled to make the signing he wants this summer - just look at Newcastle’s lack of defenders - and in Kieran Richardson I feel they have made an excellent addition to the squad.
In fact, while the above names are not likely to shift many shirts or have people gabbling with excitement on those tedious radio phone-ins - it is the quality of the squad and the strength of its team spirit which will determine Sunderland’s success, rather than the quality of a couple of high-profile individuals.
Certainly, I’d argue Sunderland’s squad - not that I’ve seen them play so far this pre-season - is better than the one Mick McCarthy threw to the Premiership lions two years ago. I’d also argue that Keane is a better manager than his former enemy.
More importantly, I’d say the squad is more united and that, despite the lack of big name signings, there is still a feelgood factor around the Stadium of Light which has been lacking for almost a decade. The lift that brings to everyone cannot be under-estimated
When Peter Reid took the club back into the top flight in the nineties, it wasn’t a side full of stars, but it was one which more than held its own and ended up making stars out of players like Kevin Phillips, Michael Gray and even, to a certain extent, Niall Quinn.
I don’t think Sunderland will go down, although I think a challenge for an European place is about as likely as Jose Mourinho keeping his opinions to himself this season!
And, while I’m not a gambler I’d put money on Derby, Wigan and Fulham to be relegated, with Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City hovering just above the dreaded drop zone.
I’d also put money on Leyton Orient - for whom former Black Cat Sean Thornton is already a crowd favourite - to get promoted, but then again, where they are concerned. my heart has always ruled me head!
Older/Newer
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Sunderland Won't Go Down - You Can Put Money On It.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.lukewhostalking.co.uk/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/35633
10 Comments
Leave a comment
Blog Authors
Luke Edwards - is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
the bookies are not often wrong, but you very often are.
Note From Luke
Charming! Only time will tell mystery supporter from south tyneside
Reading have no superstars and look what they did last season based on team spirit!!
Note From Luke
My sentiments exactly, although, on the flip side of that argument, Watford had great team spirit and look what happened to them
Mystery supporter is quite obviously a disgruntled Mackem, However trying to be objective I think they will struggle, and putting on my Geordie hat I hope they get relegated again with the lowest points ever recorded. Oh sorry my mistake they already did that one.
I'd imagine Derby are dead certs to go down but given Sunderland's last two "record-breaking" premiership relegation er.. battles, then if Roy Kean is found to be fighting out of his class next season 4-1 will be down to evens by September.
I hope that if things go wrong he gets better support from Quinnie and his players than he did in Mick Mccarthy's Ireland Squad. Well actually I don't but you know what i mean...
Note From Luke
I'm not going to make any bold bets like shaving my hair off (opps already do that) oh okay, if Sunderland go down I'll appear at the Stadium of Light for the final home game of the season in a pair of spiderman y-fronts! Although that is not a promise, in fact it's not worth the paper it's written on!
Yes they will Luke and I'll put money on it.
Whilst it would be humourous to see the mackems go down, I think it's more likely that Derby, Wigan and Bolton are the strugglers come May 2008.
However I also think that the unclean from down the Tees will be struggling (One turkish player and a premier league no hoper signed??)
Birmingham have made a few decent buys (Watch Kapo)
Fulham have too but probably won't do much.
But Im bothered not about who goes down (As long as it's not Newcastle)
But we need defenders then we will be looking at a different portion of the table come spring next year.
Paul.
To be honest, though it pains me to say it, I don't see Sunderland going down either.
I am surprised at the Derby comment though. Derby have a good team and will most probably be the new reading. Their manager is very astute and a great tactician. They will fare ok.
The boro on the otherhand, I see as relegation fodder. They have good players but Southgate seems unable to do anything with them. He reminds me of Roeder in this respect.
I also think Bolton will struggle because Sammy Lee is changing the style of play. They simply don't have the players or financial resources to play the way (and win) that he wants.
Birmingham are also dead certs. Bruce was accused of tactical Naivety by his own fans last season and they got promoted. He will be found wanting when he has to pit his wits against Britains finest managers.
This kind of speculation really is absurd. How can anybody predict the fortunes of a team full of new players before thy have kicked a ball in the Prem?
Take Newcastle for example. According to the Journal every player they have signed over the last several years has been a star, a coup, a wonderful addition to the team. Yet their performances have been pathetic over the last couple of years.
Even then the Journal was supporting their loud-mouthed fans' predictions of a top 6 place right up until the end of March. Talk about flying in the face of reality.
I realise that your paper will never say anything good about Sunderland, but to write them off as a lowly team before the start of the season is pathetic ... even if you predicted that they will stay up.
Stars are not borne as stars. It is their performances that create that status for them.
Note From Luke
Okay John, I'm sorry, i was just making a prediction on what I've seen so far. I just can't see them challenging in the top half of the table, but I'm more than happy to be proven wrong.
As for The Journal having nothing nice to say about Sunderland, that's just silly, did you read the promotion supplement we did by any chance? The coverage they have had over the last 12 months has been overwhelmingly complimentary.
Contrary to popular opinion, Sunderland get just as much support and criticism as Newcastle do.
As for me always supporting Newcastle, I wrote them off as a bottom half of the table side before a ball had been kicked last season so there
I have to agree with Luke, even though it pains me to say so. Sunderland's squad is poor but they have a manager who won't settle for relegation. I think he'll keep them up.
As for Luke not being complimentary towards Saunderland, I often accuse him of being a closet Mackem for what he writes....
Note From Luke
I think you've called me a closet Mackem once and that when I said I was happy they had gone up.
As Flo was to Reid so Mido will be to Keane! Cannot fathom the thinking behind paying £6 million for the fat idle waster. Martin Jol must be laughing his socks off!!If this layabout is the top international signing we were promised then "we are all doomed" to a swift return to the Championship.
Note From Luke
Chin up John, it's not that bad surely. Mido's a decent player and I can't imagine he will get much joy stringing Roy along. It'll be a big test of Keane's man management skills, but if he handles him well then Sunderland could have found the ideal foil for Michael Chopra/David Connolly.