Sunderland post match thread

[Falastur]

I agree the season's dead now but nip over to the official club site( mcfc.co)and read Pelligrini's after match comments they beggar belief. Apparently Sunderland are a difficult team to play after the Liverpool game and the players aren't physically tired they're mentally tired --thank fuck they've not got to go to work in the morning the poor darlings aaaarrrrggghhhh !

Yep, those players are pathetic. I mean, to think that someone who has hundreds of millions of people watching his every move, knowing that if he plays even a single ball out of place the fans will turn on him, not knowing if he'll be harassed in the street as he tries to live his regular life, unable to so much as go to an ATM for some cash without paparazzos stalking him and taking pictures of every last detail so that they can criticise it in a tabloid distributed around a country of 65 million people, getting home to find 20,000 people on Twitter have sent him insulting or even downright life-threatening messages over his performance, not knowing whether come the summer he's going to be told "you're not good enough for this team" and end up in a career slump which will see him playing for a mid-table German side or FC who-on-earth-even-knows-how-to-pronounce-their-name-let-alone-learn-the-language of Whereveria, getting into fist-fights with his teammates on the training ground because of a mistimed challenge because drunken hooligans yelled abuse outside his hotel window until 4am, reading every day his own national papers that he's either his country's one chance of rescuing their honour at the World Cup or he's the worst player to pull on their shirt in three generations, to think that he might be mentally tired?!? Thank goodness he doesn't do my regular 9-5 job, because I'm pretty sure that he simply couldn't cope with the stress of knowing that he's got a permanent contract for a company he's worked at for 7 years and knows he would have to screw up badly to be fired from, working in a literally zero-pressure environment with a grand total of three people who rely on his productivity and quality of work in order to get their own jobs done, coming home to a good three or four hours in front of the TV. My word, but he simply wouldn't be able to stand it!

Ermm try that explanation to the next family who's loved one is buried after serving their country!

I don't understand how that's relevant. My point was that I was arguing against mcfcgto, who seemed to be suggesting that professional footballers all live in a fantasy world where everything is amazing and they have no right to ever be mentally affected by adverse turns of events. Obviously being in the army is a high-pressure situation but I never compared footballers to soldiers. I compared them to the 99% of us who are bog-standard workers in 9-5 office jobs, who really don't have to deal with any of the situations in professional sports which most people seem unwilling to believe exist.

 

[80s Shorts]

Not sure if serious, but thanks.

My point is that even I am mentally tired - I just no longer have the energy to be upset about this result. If I can be mentally tired after the Liverpool result, I'm pretty sure a player can.

I don't give a fuck how much a player is paid but I do give a fuck if said professional is not mentally strong enough to play 90 minutes of football once or twice a week inbetween their visits to san carlo or whatever the fuck its called.

What is more telling is the fact that the holistic one is using this as an excuse. He is calling them out for their inadequacies in public.

Do you think that footballers are somehow created in test tubes or cloned from the best and brightest of the human race? If I were in their positions I'd be a gibbering wreck by now. You can't simply expect footballers to be able to tear the emotions right out of their head, just because they are professional footballers. It's not like we are going to go down in history as the first sports team in all the world to have ever struggled with the mental pressure of their situation, is it? Sports history is literally littered with examples of teams which collapsed under the mental strain of what they were trying to do. I mean heck. Look at Arsenal. They don't just bottle one key match every season when the pressure of possibly doing well gets to them - they throw entire halves of seasons away. They very nearly lost to Wigan on Saturday.

Oh, and I don't understand your last two sentences. Claiming that Pellegrini used mental tiredness and an excuse, and that he was calling them out on their inadequacies? Calling them out on their inadequacies would be an accusation, which is the exact opposite of an excuse. Which one do you mean?

I don't understand your last sentences either.

It is quite simple. He said they were mentally tired which therefore means they not mentally tough enough.

If they are not mentally tough enough then they should be out of the door. Simple really.

I could accept being physically exhausted as an explanation for a shit performance but not this bullcrap.<br /><br />-- Thu Apr 17, 2014 12:13 am --<br /><br />

Just in, so not had time to read the thread.

We were poor tonight, and don't deserve the title. It's over anyway, so we need to address the issues that have led to it.

My problem/concern is that you can't really put it down to individual players. It would be easier if you could. I'm not even sure it's a managerial issue, as we've not really progressed under Pellegrini. Feels like the problem is more deep rooted than that. Feels like there is a lack of belief through out the club, and it's not easily addressed.

Maybe that's melodramatic and over the top, but it feels like we're some way from dominating domestically, never mind on the continent.

Interesting. I was there tonight and there was definitely a collective lack of a winning mentality. What struck me was that pretty much every single player was poor tonight. Why?

They are all mentally tired. Did you not receive the missive ?

 

[Gelsons Dad]

We have become the football equivalents of Flat-track bullies. We look great when there is no jeopardy but lack the stomach on the big occasions. This is down to mentality. We allowed the players to undermine the last manager and now they have no fear for their positions. This problem is Tixis doing. He has shaped the authority map at the club and brought in a grey manager so as not to upset anyone.

It will take a lot of undoing because we can't buy our way out of it.

 

[Blue2112]

Just in, so not had time to read the thread.

We were poor tonight, and don't deserve the title. It's over anyway, so we need to address the issues that have led to it.

My problem/concern is that you can't really put it down to individual players. It would be easier if you could. I'm not even sure it's a managerial issue, as we've not really progressed under Pellegrini. Feels like the problem is more deep rooted than that. Feels like there is a lack of belief through out the club, and it's not easily addressed.

Maybe that's melodramatic and over the top, but it feels like we're some way from dominating domestically, never mind on the continent.

There does seem to be an inherent problem at this club, that despite who runs it, plays for it, owns it, pervades like a disease. So, no it is not melodramatic, as I have witnessed 40 years of it and it is showing little sign of abating in the long term.

I would say Mancini was the first manager in my lifetime of watching City whom addressed this problem. He wasn't fazed buy United for instance and went toe to toe with Fergie never backing down. In the end that appeared to be his problem that he wouldn't back down according to the club but I can't help being left feeling that it's always only one way. I don't believe there's something more deep rooted although my old man always said there was. The manager of the team can set the standard, look at Rodgers this year, talks his players up at every opportunity, Fergie was the same always had the best players in the world, always scored the best goal ever in the world etc. I know a lot of us don't want to cheat our way to success but we're far too nice, far too polite and nowhere near street wise enough. From Pulis to Mourinho there's managers using every trick in the book to gain an advantage, any advantage but can anybody honestly say any City team from any period has ever done this, used it as part of our armoury because I can't think of one.

 

[Londonblue20]

Can you imagine if we hadn't won it in 2012!!!!! That would have been 3rd/ 2nd/ 2nd & wherever we finish this season. We would all be suicidal by now instead of just fucking pissed off. Should we be winning it? Have we the best squad or just the best first 11? I think it's the latter and without yaya,silva and playing aguerro who just doesn't look upto it, we're just not good enough.
Are the team tired?
Have they the desire?
Are they motivated?
We deserved nothing but got a point.
Chelsea 5-0 v Sunderland at the weekend?

 

[80s Shorts]

We have become the football equivalents of Flat-track bullies. We look great when there is no jeopardy but lack the stomach on the big occasions. This is down to mentality. We allowed the players to undermine the last manager and now they have no fear for their positions. This problem is Tixis doing. He has shaped the authority map at the club and brought in a grey manager so as not to upset anyone.

It will take a lot of undoing because we can't buy our way out of it.

I fear that you are correct.

It has nothing to do with being mentally tired, but egotistical and mentally weak.

 

[VOOMER]

WTF has that got to do with anything? You don't have to be a footballer you don't join the army either!!! We all have a choice.

Yep, those players are pathetic. I mean, to think that someone who has hundreds of millions of people watching his every move, knowing that if he plays even a single ball out of place the fans will turn on him, not knowing if he'll be harassed in the street as he tries to live his regular life, unable to so much as go to an ATM for some cash without paparazzos stalking him and taking pictures of every last detail so that they can criticise it in a tabloid distributed around a country of 65 million people, getting home to find 20,000 people on Twitter have sent him insulting or even downright life-threatening messages over his performance, not knowing whether come the summer he's going to be told "you're not good enough for this team" and end up in a career slump which will see him playing for a mid-table German side or FC who-on-earth-even-knows-how-to-pronounce-their-name-let-alone-learn-the-language of Whereveria, getting into fist-fights with his teammates on the training ground because of a mistimed challenge because drunken hooligans yelled abuse outside his hotel window until 4am, reading every day his own national papers that he's either his country's one chance of rescuing their honour at the World Cup or he's the worst player to pull on their shirt in three generations, to think that he might be mentally tired?!? Thank goodness he doesn't do my regular 9-5 job, because I'm pretty sure that he simply couldn't cope with the stress of knowing that he's got a permanent contract for a company he's worked at for 7 years and knows he would have to screw up badly to be fired from, working in a literally zero-pressure environment with a grand total of three people who rely on his productivity and quality of work in order to get their own jobs done, coming home to a good three or four hours in front of the TV. My word, but he simply wouldn't be able to stand it!

Ermm try that explanation to the next family who's loved one is buried after serving their country!

Fine I have no problem with your opinion. just as see no to defend someone who is paid by an organisation who's existence was brought to be, by a long line of generous and not so generous benefactors and supporters many who have supported City and done more good in the world than kick a football around. Yet despite their luck, deside they don't feel like it today. I agree it's their choice.

 

[Wretched Vengeance]

Just in, so not had time to read the thread.

We were poor tonight, and don't deserve the title. It's over anyway, so we need to address the issues that have led to it.

My problem/concern is that you can't really put it down to individual players. It would be easier if you could. I'm not even sure it's a managerial issue, as we've not really progressed under Pellegrini. Feels like the problem is more deep rooted than that. Feels like there is a lack of belief through out the club, and it's not easily addressed.

Maybe that's melodramatic and over the top, but it feels like we're some way from dominating domestically, never mind on the continent.

There does seem to be an inherent problem at this club, that despite who runs it, plays for it, owns it, pervades like a disease. So, no it is not melodramatic, as I have witnessed 40 years of it and it is showing little sign of abating in the long term.

I would say Mancini was the first manager in my lifetime of watching City whom addressed this problem. He wasn't fazed buy United for instance and went toe to toe with Fergie never backing down. In the end that appeared to be his problem that he wouldn't back down according to the club but I can't help being left feeling that it's always only one way. I don't believe there's something more deep rooted although my old man always said there was. The manager of the team can set the standard, look at Rodgers this year, talks his players up at every opportunity, Fergie was the same always had the best players in the world, always scored the best goal ever in the world etc. I know a lot of us don't want to cheat our way to success but we're far too nice, far too polite and nowhere near street wise enough. From Pulis to Mourinho there's managers using every trick in the book to gain an advantage, any advantage but can anybody honestly say any City team from any period has ever done this, used it as part of our armoury because I can't think of one.

Rodgers and Suarez can rot and I hope they are found out next year.

Something needs to change I feel, what I do not know, there does appear to be a mentality issue with everything at the club. that team tonight looked bereft of confidence, heart and energy. Why?

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Can you imagine if we hadn't won it in 2012!!!!! That would have been 3rd/ 2nd/ 2nd & wherever we finish this season. We would all be suicidal by now instead of just fucking pissed off. Should we be winning it? Have we the best squad or just the best first 11? I think it's the latter and without yaya,silva and playing aguerro who just doesn't look upto it, we're just not good enough.
Are the team tired?
Have they the desire?
Are they motivated?
We deserved nothing but got a point.

Chelsea 5-0 v Sunderland at the weekend?

Same for any team though, if you took messi or Ronaldo out of there teams they'd be shit. Take Suarez out for liverpool they wouldn't be anywhere near 1st. They are big players who any team would miss

 

[LoveCity]

This has gone viral on Twitter among the haters. I guess it was taken early or late, but to be honest it was awful for a title run-in (or what was a title run-in till the game ended). The game was nearly sold out, there must be a lot of sick dogs and night shifters.