A win away at last .... and I was there!

Dear Coxhoe Branch,

It could have been 5, 6 or 7-1 tonight - the number of chances we created in the game.

You always feel you're going to get a few chances, but we missed chance after chance, yet we got away with it.

I’m sure it was a great game to watch for a neutral, but not from our point of view, and probably not for the supporters, but we got there in the end.

I wasn’t too happy with the incident [the delay in first half], it seemed to take ages, and it went flat, it did affect us.

It stopped the game for four or five minutes and it slowed things a little. But then I suppose the referee has to look at the security issue and had to deal with it.

I’ve not seen the goal [Murphy’s] properly - you don’t get a great view from the dug-out - but if the referee’s assistant has got the decision right then well and good, that’s what he’s paid to do.

We did get off to a good start, we knew they’d come and have a go at us, I’d have been happier if we’d got the third goal, then maybe we could have relaxed a bit.

Credit to the players - they dug deep, the only disappointing thing was that we didn’t kill the game off.

Don’t worry he [Ross Wallace] will be getting plenty of stick over that [missed chance]. We’re lucky we got away with it.

We can laugh and joke about it now, but they could have scored near the end but we got away with it. He reckoned it bobbled, but he got away with it.

We had chance after chance, I think their manager was quite understanding and agreed it could have been a lot more.

That’s my only criticism - we should have killed the game off. But credit again to the lads, I changed it around again, we had lads come in, changed the midfield a little, and credit to them they did very well. We played some very good stuff.

I’m delighted with the performance, we just need that cutting edge.

There’s definitely a few more grey hairs! It would have been great to get the third goal and we could have enjoyed it – but it’s no good for my health I have to say.

All the best,



Roy Keane

QPR 1 Sunderland 2 Click here to visit the match centre.

Next match
Sunderland v Norwich City, Saturday, December 2 (3pm).

Click here to buy tickets online.

Message from Roy ...... good night all round

Dear Coxhoe Branch

A lot of it was self-inflicted. The first 20 minutes we kept it and passed it well without really creating too much.
And then we were our own worst enemies by giving the ball away cheaply and giving them lots of opportunities to score.
You can legislate for their goal, by closing the player down. If he's going to shoot from there, you try to block it, it's simple.
"He [Darren Ward] was man of the match, that says a lot; and credit to him, we could have been dead and buried.
We were leaving gaps at the back but fortunately for us Wardy was in top form and he has been recently, I have to say.
If they had got the second we probably would not have got back in it but again credit to the lads, they kept going and Stevie [Elliott] deserved a goal, I thought he was outstanding.
Maybe we have earned that. In a few of our away performances we have not really got anything, like at Norwich and Stoke, so maybe we deserved the rub of the green tonight.
When we got the goal we started having a go, but we still left gaps at the back; we seem to give every team a chance, that's just the way we are at the minute.
"Overall we have got to be more than happy with the draw."
All the best,
Roy Keane
Wolves 1 Sunderland 1 Click here to visit the match centre.
Next match:QPR v Sunderland - Tuesday, November 28 (8pm).
Next home matchSunderland v Norwich City - Saturday, December 2 (3pm).
Click here to buy tickets online.

Late signing on loan of a keeper - but don't we also need a striker?

SUNDERLAND SIGN TOTTENHAM GOALKEEPER

Sunderland tonight made a beat-the-deadline emergency loan signing, bringing giant goalkeeper Marton Fulop in from Tottenham Hotspur.

The 6ft 5ins Hungarian international has been brought in as emergency cover after a recent injury to Ben Alnwick left Darren Ward as Sunderland’s only recognised senior ‘keeper.

Fulop joins the Black Cats on loan until January, subject to Football League clearance, although he is not available for tomorrow night’s Championship match against Wolves at Molineux.

Boss Roy Keane said: “I’m delighted the deal has been completed. Marton is someone we’ve been looking at for a while – he’s young, hungry and just the type of player we’re looking for for this football club.”

Fulop spent the most of last season on loan with Coventry, where he made 33 appearances, including two against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round, keeping six clean sheets.

The 23-year-old began his career with MTK Hungaria in 2001 before being loaned out to BKV Elore and then Bodajk FC in his homeland.
He joined Tottenham for a nominal fee in July 2004 after a three-day trial at White Hart Lane. He enjoyed a brief loan spell with Chesterfield between March and May 2005, making seven appearances for the Spireites, keeping two clean sheets.

Fulop represented his country at Under-21s level and then made his full Hungarian debut as a half-time substitute in a friendly against France in May, 2005, keeping a clean sheet for the second period. He was also a half-time sub in a friendly against Austria in August this year.

Night cap after the match

Andy Jones from the ticket office Black Cat House SAFC after the match showing that duvel is strong beer - no it's his mate not his "friend" who he has his arm around.

 

The only way to travel to and from matches

Pictured from my hire car the day after the match as I travelled on the A4 between Amsterdam and Rotterdam? Prize for the most humorous suggestion who was in the limo!


 

The Amsterdam Arena - home of Ajax

Nice stadium - pity about the football that was played on the night!

 

SAFC in Amsterdam

Sunderland and Chester-le- Street lads plus me having a good sup before the England match in Amsterdam  

Emily Kate Metcalfe

Our first Grandchild - Emily Kate showing her true colours! 

Clive Clarke Loan Extended

CLIVE CLARKE LOAN EXTENDED

Defender Clive Clarke has extended his loan with Championship side Coventry City.

Clarke had signed a month-long deal with the Sky Blues, which expired at the weekend, and the two clubs have agreed to extend the deal until January.

The Republic of Ireland international originally joined Sunderland from West Ham in the summer but made just four appearances before moving ton the Ricoh Arena. He has played five games already for City.

- ends -

Message from Roy ..... and 3 points in the bag

Dear Coxhoe Branch,
I think we deserved the win overall but, as usual, we made it very hard for ourselves.
They got the goal and we invited pressure. In parts of the game we were really good - outstanding. We passed it and moved it well.
If we got the third goal [when it was 2-0] the game is dead and buried, but when it's 2-0 and you concede it seems to be natural instinct that you drop back and try to hold on to it.
It would have been nice to get the third goal earlier but we didn't.
I thought Stevie [Elliott] was outstanding - he's a threat. He had a few shots before his gpoals. Dave [Connolly] came on and scored and he's earned that. I'm pleased he's off and running.
We played Stephen [Elliott] on the right, you have to try these things and I thought it worked Ok
Liam [Miller] and Grant [Leadbitter] had not had a fair chance of playing in the middle of the park and I thought they did well, especially in the first 70 minutes. They lost their way a little bit.
Generally speaking I thought we were outstanding today, I'm not going to get clouded by the chance they had near the end.
I'm looking at all the positives - we won 3-1, our strikers scored and we played some great stuff.
There were a couple of spells in the second half that were as well as we have played all season, they couldn't get near us.
All the best,
Roy Keane
Sunderland 3 Colchester 1 Click here to visit the match centre.
Next match:Wolves v Sunderland - Friday, November 24 (8pm).
Next home matchSunderland v Norwich City - Saturday, December 2 (3pm)
Click here to buy tickets online.

Burnley v SAFC

Need final names for this away match - please confirm no later than Tuesday.

Regards

Jim Gilling
Secretary

Message from Roy - how did you see it??

Dear Coxhoe Branch,
I was disappointed to concede a goal so late in the game but I wasn't disappointed with the effort of the players.Last week we played a lot better and ended up with nothing. Today we might have ended up with three points that we didn't really deserve, that's football. Overall, it wasn't too bad.Kavanagh has got a gash, he may need a few stitches, but he'll be OK.It's a quiet dressing room - the players feel like it is two points dropped but that's football, they should not be too down.Their goal took a couple of deflections and that was the only way they were going to beat Wardy today.In the overall play, I think Southampton deserved it, they had 24 shots on our goal, the law of averages says that one of them is going to go in.Credit to Southampton, they played well and deserved the draw.We didn't play as well as we'd have hoped but we kept going, got our noses in front; unfortunately we couldn't stay there.It was an excellent goal from Ross, but I don't think there was any danger of him taking his shirt off, it was too cold. Ross is a threat and we missed him in the last couple of games.
The last player I wanted the ball to fall to was the left-back, because he looks an outstanding player, I'll give him that.
Ward has had a confidence-booster this week, getting called up for the Wales squad and he's done well for us.
He made a save from a header in the second half and it was one of the best I've ever seen - he kept us in the game.
Stephen Elliott had a great chance when we were 1-0 up, that would have killed off the game.All the best,
Roy Keane
Sunderland 1 Southampton 1 Click here to visit the match centre.
Next match:Sunderland v Colchester Utd, Saturday, November 18 (3pm).
Click here to buy tickets online.

SAFC v Norwich

Anyone interested let me know: -

Dear Branch Secretary,

SAFC SUPPORTERS BRANCH DAY – SAFC V NORWICH CITY

I am pleased to announce that we have designated that our forthcoming match against Norwich on Saturday 2nd December 2006 will be ‘SAFC Supporters Branch Day’.

As I’m sure you will remember, we have extended this offer in previous seasons and it proved to be very popular with our branch members and are therefore delighted to be able to repeat it once again.

All branches are invited to apply to purchase a number of special tickets (1 pair for £16) for their members on a first-come-first-served basis on the enclosed form.

(Please note that applications must be received no later than Monday 20th November and full payment must be enclosed with the application form. All tickets will be registered to individual branches for security purposes and each branch is responsible for the appropriate issue of these. All seat tickets will be located at the Club’s discretion and cannot be exchanged.)

I do hope you and your members will be able to take advantage of our Supporters Branch Day and on behalf of the Club we thank you for your continued and valued support.


With kind regards,





Louise Wanless
Media and PR Manager

Message from Roy as the lads fail again.

Dear Coxhoe Brancg,
Credit to Robbie Earnshaw, he had one chance and took it. At this moment in time there's a fine line between winning and losing.
We were comfortable at half-time, but there's always a danger in football that you get hit with a sucker punch and we did, then we were chasing it.
We had one or two shouts for a penalty but it wasn't to be.
We can't feel sorry for ourselves, we've got to bounce back. It just seems to be going against us at this moment in time, but we hope by the end of the season things will pan out.
Sometimes you need a bit of guile in the last third. We had decent possession but we lacked with the final ball and that's the hardest part in football, that's what we need to look at.
We played into their hands a bit. You need a bit of cleverness. We got the ball into the box and they defended well.
There were a few pluses - Kav's had 70 minutes and Stevie Caldwell's had a game.
I can't fault the lads for effort and determination, we're just lacking a bit of quality in the last third; but that's the most important part of any football team.
All the best,
Roy Keane
Norwich City 1 Sunderland 0 Click here to visit the match centre.
Next match:Sunderland v Southampton, Saturday, November 11 (3pm).
Click here to buy tickets online.

Emily Kate Metcalfe

I am pleased to announce that after Emily Kate was rushed back to hospital on Tuesday she is now back home (Friday) and all is well. Looks like she was full of morphine after Melanie was given morphine for her pains. X-rays, blood tests etc confirm she is a beautiful healthy baby girl.

Meet the Lads

Black Cats stars will be spending time in the club’s retail stores over the coming weeks as the countdown to Christmas begins.

Players will be on hand to sign club merchandise, pose for pictures and chat with supporters in the Stadium of Light store, Debenhams in Sunderland and Sainsbury’s, The Galleries, Washington.

Midfielders Ross Wallace and Liam Miller will be at the Stadium of Light store from 5.30pm until 7pm on Thursday November 9 and the following week will see Graham Kavanagh and goalkeeper Darren Ward visit the clubs’ concession store in Debenhams in Sunderland from 5.30pm until 7pm on Wednesday November 15.

Ross Wallace said: “It is always nice to be able to meet the fans and it’s a great opportunity for us to be able to thank them personally for all their fantastic support.”

Chairman Niall Quinn and Black Cats legend Kevin Ball will be signing copies of the club’s new book, Match of My Life, from 5.30pm until 6.30pm at the stadium store on Thursday November 16, with Daryl Murphy and David Connolly making an appearance at Sainsbury’s in Washington from 5.30-7pm on Thursday November 23.

Dwight Yorke and Tobias Hysen will be at the Stadium of Light store from 5.30-7pm on Thursday November 30 and the final session takes place on Thursday December 7 at Debenhams in Sunderland with local lads Chris Brown and Grant Leadbitter visiting from 5.30-7pm.

With Christmas fast-approaching, SAFC club stores have a huge selection of gifts in-store for all the family. Supporters can also shop online via safc.com.

· Ross Wallace & Liam Miller
Thursday Nov 9, Stadium of Light, 5.30-7pm.

· Graham Kavanagh & Darren Ward
Wednesday Nov 15, Debenhams, S’land 5.30-7pm

· Niall Quinn & Kevin Ball
Thursday Nov 16, Stadium of Light 5.30-6.30pm.

· Daryl Murphy & David Connolly
Thursday Nov 23, Sainsbury’s, Washington, 5.30–7pm

· Tobias Hysen & Dwight Yorke
Thursday Nov 30, Stadium of Light, 5.30-7pm

· Chris Brown & Grant Leadbitter
Thursday Dec 7, Debenhams, S’land 5.30-7pm


-ends-

Todays Northern Echo

Check the link in the title guys - its not only Huyton who gets a mention in the Northern Echo!

Regards

Grandad Jim

I'm pleased I missed this one Roy!

Dear Coxhoe Branch,
It's disappointing, the goals we gave away, our passing, our tackling, our movement - everything really. There's a long way to go.
I can't explain Chopra's goals. I've said a few things to the players, but they need to say it to each other.
Players need to get a hold of each other sometimes, not be pals with each other. I've played with lads for five years and I've never spoken to them, but I was glad they were on my team.
Players can go out for a meal with each other five nights a week, but real team-mate have a go at each other.
I've been here and lost four, and they lost four or five before I took the job. That's eight defeats this season and we're still in October, that's not acceptable, some teams go through a season and lose only two.
Even on your bad nights, you try to get something out of the game, you've got to have that pride in your performance.
I've just met Charlie Hurley who was a top player at this football club. I had a chat with him after the game, he spoke more sense that anyone I've met in a long time.
We did mention Chopra before the game. I don't mind teams opening us up but the goals were poor.
The two teams we've played against in terms of teams near the top are Cardiff and Preston and the table doesn't lie, they're there on merit.
Cardiff had two centre-halves who are aggressive defenders, they seemed to have a bit of pride in their defending and their goalscorer was intelligent, he makes good runs which I've seen many times before.
It was just a very, very bad night, no plusses whatsoever.
We lost it everywhere, I'm not sure any of our players won their one-v-one battles.
What do you do? Feel sorry for yourself? We'll look to kick on and get ready for Saturday. The least I expect is a reaction against Norwich, I expect a reaction tomorrow.
All the best,
Roy Keane
Sunderland 1 Cardiff City 2 Click here to visit the match centre.
Next match:Norwich City v Sunderland, Saturday, November 4 (3pm).
Next home match:Sunderland v Southampton, Saturday, November 11 (3pm)
Click here to buy tickets online.