Spurs Preview

Sunderland travel to White Hart Lane today looking for their first away victory since the opening day win over Bolton. Manager Steve Bruce has admitted that his team need to address their form away from home, if they are to progress to that 'next level'.

One man who will be determined to put that right for the Black Cats is striker Darren Bent, who has hit eight league goals this season and is the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League. Bent signed for Sunderland from Tottenham Hotspur over the summer, after his infamous post on Twitter criticising Spurs chairman Daniel Levy forced the transfer.

But it will be the North London boss Harry Redknapp who Bent will really want to get one over. The Sunderland number 11 was never given a fair chance at Tottenham and played a bit part role behind other strikers, Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe amongst others. Though it was comments made by Redknapp which were the final blow and that really dinted Bent's confidence, after their game against Portsmouth when Bent missed a very good chance, Redknapp turned to his coaching staff and said, "How the f***ing hell did he miss that?" then later stated, "My missus could have scored that."

According to recent reports, Bent claimed that he does not see this game about him, which many could understand if you watch him week in, week out, where he always works hard for the team, the goals just come because of his fantastic ability.

There are also a number of other players involved today who have past Spurs connections. Frazier Campbell was on loan their last season, whilst Andy Reid, Marton Fulop and Steed Malbranque have all played their trade at some point in the Capital.

Sunderland will be missing a number of key players this afternoon. Kenwyne Jones is suspended after his push on Herita Ilunga last week against West Ham, as is captain Lorik Cana who has a one match suspension since collecting five yellow cards. Lee Cattermole is still out for a couple more weeks. Bolo Zenden and John Mensah are carrying minor knocks and are likely to miss out.

Keep a look out for Tottenham's David Bentley who has been linked with a move North for as long as I can remember, he is set to play if winger Aaron Lennon does not recover in time.

Finally on another note, can I say well done and good luck to ex-safc striker Kevin Kyle who has gained another call up to the Scotland squad, he always worked very hard as a Sunderland striker and deserves his chance, hopefully he gets it this time.

sportsdirect.com@St James' Park Stadium

Can owner Mike Ashley make any more of a mockery of Newcastle United?

Just as things are starting to settle on the pitch, with the appointment of Chris Hughton on a full-time basis bringing some stability to the team. As the players look focused and steady at the top of the Championship. Mr Ashley makes another decision which destroys another part of this fallen giant.

After recently taking the club off the market, again. Mike Ashley's latest announcement has angered the Toon Army further when he decided to change the name of St. James' Park. Many fans believe that the name of the stadium is a historic part of the club, a name which people from all over the world recognise and associate with Newcastle United. Yet Ashley has used this as a marketing opportunity by simply adding his other companies name to the stadium, just for an extra bit of publicity.

This may actually work in the club's favour, if Ashley's other business 'Sports Direct', the cheap sportswear retailer, increases their revenue, then he may decide on investing that money back into the club. Any extra cash should surely be given to Hughton to spend on players who could help push United to promotion.

But this is Mike Ashley we are talking about. Does he really have the club's future in his best interests? Or is he really just that greedy and want to make more money?

Whoever has future naming rights for the club should seriously consider naming a stand in tribute to the late, great Sir Bobby Robson.

Steve Bruce similar in character to Sir Bobby Robson?

I recently read an article on the Daily Mirror's website wrote by North East reporter Simon bird, which compared current Sunderland manager Steve Bruce to ex-Newcastle legend, Sir Bobby Robson with the same style of management.

The article acknowledges the similar personalities the two North East managers share. Bruce like Sir Bobby has a warmth to his persona, two very polite men with fantastic leadership qualities, the ability to act as a comforting father, or the tough drill master. Perhaps it is their North East roots which makes them stand out from other managers and what has helped develop their shared passion for football.

When I worked on a placement at the Newcastle Evening Chronicle earlier this summer, many other journalists that I spoke to were delighted that Bruce had been given the managers job, firstly as he achieved considerable success in recent years and was an excellent choice. But also because Bruce is known to be media friendly, he is an honest man who states things as he sees them, not frightened to praise or criticise in public, which is why many people feel as though they can trust and believe in his plans.

This honesty and charm is what made the footballing world fall in love and be deeply saddened with the death of Sir Bobby Robson. Sir Bobby worked hard and expected the same of his players and if he felt you weren't doing so, you would soon find out!

Have a read and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks Mark

Blowing Bubbles or Causing Trouble

Are West Ham now bitter towards Sunderland?

After the Black Cats put in a tremendous second half performance against the Hammers over the past weekend to gain a point, recent events would suggest that West Ham, in particular Steve Clarke are trying to disguise that disappointment, as really they should have held on to win that game.

I say this after Clarke has replied to Steve Bruce's post match interview with a load of rubbish. After the match the Sunderland manager questioned the West Ham defender Herita Ilunga, when he fell to the ground dramatically following a push by Kenwyne Jones. Bruce said "'why does he need to roll around like that?"

He then referred to some players as pansies and play acting in order to influence the referee. I agree with this, too many times, too many players go over easily and look to get the opposition into trouble. Diving and rolling around after a challenge is not acceptable. A lot of players (and I include past and present Sunderland players) need to learn what sportsmanship is.

However these sort of problems will carry on to occur if players think that they can get away with it and gain their team an advantage, as officials, fans, players and managers need to stand up and address the situation.

Steve Clarke has done the complete opposite by protecting Ilunga insisting that there was no over reaction, whilst questioning Bruce's comments.

Clarke said "I find it incredible that the player who was the victim is the person that everybody is talking about. You have to correct me, tell me what Ilunga did wrong? Someone pushed him in the face, he's just recently recovered from a triple fracture to the jaw, maybe he thought there was a punch coming."

"I find it incredible that we're sitting here speaking about our player who was the victim, this is wrong. It's completely wrong. He's a big boy Kenwyne Jones, he's a very big boy. He had to look after himself."

"I find it incredible that he (Bruce) gets so much time, so much airtime if he wants to speak about people from the opposition."

I agree that Jones should have been sent off and I agree with Bruce. But perhaps Steve Clarke and West Ham are just bitter towards the mackems, after it was revealed today that former Hammers boss Alan Curbishley won his case against the former club for constructive dismissal, remember that occurred when the club sold defenders Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney without his permission to of course Sunderland AFC.


Quotes taken from www.skysports.com

Key Clash

Newcastle United claimed all three points at Bramall Lane thanks to a bit of luck, when Ryan Taylor's shot took a wicked deflection of Sheffield United defender Chris Morgan to find its way to the back of the net.

But it is young striker Andy Carroll who is getting most of the praise after the game for his strong and determined performance against Morgan, one of the hard men of the beautiful game.

The Blades captain has a mixed response from football fans all over the country, some refer to Morgan as an old school centre-back who plays to his strengths, he is strong, committed and tough in the tackle as he doesn't mind getting dirty. Which is what majority of people see him as, a dirty defender who is physical in an extreme way, many think that he basically just kicks people. Which is why he holds the record for being sent off the most times as a Shef Utd player!

However last night Carroll stood up to him and treated the defender to some of his own medicine, as he hassled and hurried him, mixing it up with his own physical presence. The lad from Gateshead almost scored a deserved goal, when he out jumped and muscled his way between three Sheffield defenders, only for his header to hit the post.

Late in the game that miss could have proved costly as the Yorkshire club pushed for an equaliser. Steve Harper was having none of that, he produced three fantastic saves to keep his clean sheet. He was adamant that he would not concede, perhaps he wanted to impress his mate Shay Given who was in the stands watching after years of being in the opposite position with Harps watching on.

Blades Preview

Newcastle have a tough fixture against Sheffield United tonight, an away game at Bramall Lane is always physical and Newcastle will have to match their oppositions efforts if they are to gain anything from the game.

The Toon could return to the top of the Championship tonight with a victory, whilst a draw would put them level on points with West Brom, who have a higher goal difference after the Albion demolished Watford 5-0 over the weekend.

Tonight's game is also the first for Chris Hughton as full-time manager, after owner Mike Ashley gave him the permanent position because he failed to sell the club. Hughton has done remarkably well so far this season as caretaker, he has been able to unite his players and get them performing as a team.

Many people would have loved for Alan Shearer to take over as manager at the start of the season, however after months of speculation it never occurred and so Hughton went on quietly to do a dignified job. Whether the ex-Spurs coach has the ability to lead Newcastle to promotion is on most people's minds, but he is now responsible for results, starting with tonight.

The Blades are faltering at the bottom half of the table but with Newcastle's recent poor away form, they will fancy their chances, so it is shaping up to be an interesting encounter on Sky.
What do you think the result will be?

Character

To be a successful football team, one attribute which is needed is character!

Most professional players have fantastic technical ability, they can pass, shoot, dribble and tackle. But it is their character which determines how great a player or team they are. How they react to a setback or defeat.

Sunderland simply did not perform well against Birmingham over a week ago, then they were knocked out of the cup as they were unable to take their chances against Villa and it looked as though it would be a disappointing end when West Ham took a surprising 2-0 lead at the Stadium of Light. Even though Sunderland pulled a goal back in quick response with an exquisite Andy Reid free kick, many people would have questioned whether the Black Cats could gain anything from the game as they were reduced to 10 men, Kenwyne Jones being sent off for pushing Herita Ilunga.

However under Steve Bruce, Sunderland have a bit more character within their team, squad and club, professionals who won't stop driving forward and are willing to take risks to achieve success. It was a different sort of character under Roy Keane a few seasons ago, players would run as they were fearful of Keane, whilst under Ricky Sbragia, the players were individuals and once things went slightly wrong they could not cope with the pressure,simply giving up. Bruce has unified his squad by reducing the numbers and bringing in the right sort of characters. He expects a lot from his players, he drives them on to produce their best, both for themselves and for each other as a team and this is exemplified on the pitch by the captain Lorik Cana. He gave the West Ham midfield very little time on the ball, chasing them all over the pitch and snapping in to tackles to make up for being a man short, (this whilst having been booked early in the first half).

Sunderland showed their character and produced a brilliant second half performance, playing with a really high tempo with lots of movement meant plenty of chances were created. The equaliser came through Kieran Richardson tapping to earn his side a point. Many people felt as though three points were deserved, but it wasn't to be and West Ham did have a number of opportunities to win the game, so Sunderland fans should be pleased with a point in the circumstances and the knowledge that Steve Bruce's red and white army have character.