It's The Hope I Can't Stand, Again
Strange things happen towards the end of football seasons. Very strange things are happening towards the end of this one. Ten days ago I was convinced Sunderland would be relegated, having finally found themselves in the bottom 3, a position they largely deserved due to their insipid performances in the previous 33 matches. A narrow win at home to Southampton gave a smidge of hope. Yesterday's deeply implausible 0-2 away victory at Everton lifted them out of the bottom three, courtesy of a first Sunderland goal for Danny Graham and a late second for Jermaine Defoe.
Last year, Graham found himself in the wilderness after a very poor start to his Sunderland career. It's a credit to him and his character that he's come out from the shadows to provide a catalyst for a surprise upturn in fortune. He probably knew very little about the goal, deflecting a wayward Jordi Gomez shot past Tim Howard, but try and find a Sunderland fan who cares. It was a somewhat fortituous victory, given Everton's chances and domination of possession. But as the cliche goes, sometimes you make your own luck. We deserved ours yesterday with a dogged defensive performance with a particularly excellent showing from the returning Wes Brown.
Problem is everyone else around the bottom had a positive result this weekend, with the exception of Hull who suffered a potentially fatal defeat to Burnley (who have now gone down with Hull this weekend). Three more points from the last three matches should see us over the line. Unfortunately, we have to play the three form sides in the league, Arsenal, Chelsea and (less predictably) Leicester, who seem set to pull off an act of escapology to rival our own last season, with five wins in the last six matches. It's an absolutely enormous fixture. If we win, we'll be safe. If Leicester win, they'll be safe, leaving Sunderland to stare down the barrel of the two most difficult away fixtures we could have.
Hull meanwhile need to find at least two and maybe three points from matches against Tottenham and Manchester United. My gut says that Sunderland will just about pull it off. But strange things happen towards the end of football seasons.
Last year, Graham found himself in the wilderness after a very poor start to his Sunderland career. It's a credit to him and his character that he's come out from the shadows to provide a catalyst for a surprise upturn in fortune. He probably knew very little about the goal, deflecting a wayward Jordi Gomez shot past Tim Howard, but try and find a Sunderland fan who cares. It was a somewhat fortituous victory, given Everton's chances and domination of possession. But as the cliche goes, sometimes you make your own luck. We deserved ours yesterday with a dogged defensive performance with a particularly excellent showing from the returning Wes Brown.
Problem is everyone else around the bottom had a positive result this weekend, with the exception of Hull who suffered a potentially fatal defeat to Burnley (who have now gone down with Hull this weekend). Three more points from the last three matches should see us over the line. Unfortunately, we have to play the three form sides in the league, Arsenal, Chelsea and (less predictably) Leicester, who seem set to pull off an act of escapology to rival our own last season, with five wins in the last six matches. It's an absolutely enormous fixture. If we win, we'll be safe. If Leicester win, they'll be safe, leaving Sunderland to stare down the barrel of the two most difficult away fixtures we could have.
Hull meanwhile need to find at least two and maybe three points from matches against Tottenham and Manchester United. My gut says that Sunderland will just about pull it off. But strange things happen towards the end of football seasons.
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