Soapbox: Blackpool illuminate the Stadium of Light

Any hope that meek capitulation at Old Trafford would at least be followed by six home points was swept away in a torrent of missed chances against Blackpool. And, with the exception of Darren Bent’s well-struck free kick against the bar, badly missed chances (“my granddaughter would have saved most of them and she isn’t one yet,” said someone at the Blackcats list). Pete Sixsmith sees our supposedly sleek Mercedes of attacking might cut up by the Skodas of the Premier League … 

As the teams were read out before this fiasco, I mentally scratched my head to try to remember something about those who made up our opponents. Taylor-Fletcher – former Huddersfield Town; Campbell – Yeading and Brentford; Vaughan – Crewe and Real Sociedad. None of them names that trip off the tongue. They do now. 

What we sat through yesterday was a mixture of all that was good about football and all that makes me wonder why on earth I wonder to spend the neck end of £500 to watch it. 

As this is a Sunderland site, let’s deal with our inadequacies first, and believe me there were plenty. 

We rarely opened them up with incisive passing. Our game was based on strength and running and was seriously lacking in guile and craft. The midfield three were there to push the Blackpool midfield back and to get the ball to the £30m alleged strike force we turned out. 

The plan failed. Cattermole, Henderson or Meyler were consistently unable to make a telling pass or dominate the midfield. Their game was based on physical strength and the perceived ability to bully opponents, who simply refused to bow down and just kept on playing their normal game … 

http://salutsunderland.com/2010/12/soapbox-blackpool-illuminate-the-stadium-of-light/