TK-421

Brighton usually win when they go a goal up... we usually struggle when we go a goal behind. Stats are there to be broken... that was a massive win tonight. Lets just hope we can carry it on into Saturday, and hopefully we dont have to fight back again.

GTFI!!!! Honestly didn't see us winning that, but looking forward to work tomorrow now!!!

Please please please baby jesus... lets just hold on!!

PEREZ!!!!!!!!

k-nockheart hauled off

Howay.... Nowt stupid... and lets see if Murphy can nick it for us.

Hopefully we've settled a bit and can come out and start quicker in the 2nd half... ended that half slightly on top. Could do with better than Gouffran up top though... maybe Murphy... horses for course and that?

Aye, given their run this season, you could argue they are due one more than us. Will they get it tomorrow? Who knows. The big factor is that they are playing with confidence, but we seem to play differently away from home - still not fluent, or blowing teams away, but we seem to set up better away from home, and seem to have more ability to grind the results out. Hope it happens again tomorrow night, if only to shut my gaffa up, who is quite cocky about tomorrow - saying he'd be happy with a draw but you can tell he expects them to win, and easily.

The Brighton game was rescheduled. Why couldn't it have been rescheduled to a different date? Sure I read we tried to have it pushed back further/played later in the season, but the EFL and Brighton rejected that.

Gone for a draw. Despite them being at home and their recent form, I still think/hope our away form can get us something out of the match.

Disappointing today (unless we can turn it round), but with our away form, we are just as likely to go unbeaten in the next 3 away games too.

Some club staff being threatened with redundancy now.... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4245240/Sunderland-staff-fear-jobs-risk.html

Just seen on FB, apparently there's a new Sports Direct 'Megastore' opening in Sunderland town centre tomorrow. That will do well... are they not still boycotting them, along with Sugar Puffs??

Every keeper makes a horrendous rick like last night at some point, so I'm not gonna worry too much (yet). The options if he drops him are Sels (flapper) or Elliott who hasn't played at all this season, so better to stick with Darlow than potentially knock his confidence. But having watched the incident again, Lascelles is also culpible for the resulting goal... he is alongside Jerome, then as Darlow slices it, he stops and Jerome is away for the tap in. If he stays with him, he has a chance to get there and clear/block it and/or tackle Jerome.

Given the recent form of Norwich, I'd have probably taken a point beforehand. The goals we conceded were of our own doing, and hopefully wont happen again (too soon). Its just a pity that we (well, Mitro) wasted some decent chances. Have said it before, we need to be more ruthless and take more of the chances we get. Anyway, lets hope we can win the next 2 matches at home, and then if we can avoid defeat at Brighton and Huddersfield (possible with our away record), then things should still be ok.

Lambert talking bollocks. nee sour grapes or owt??!!

0-4 FT.

In fairness, would any of us have put money on him staying past the end of last season?

Ashley is making a mint out of us and has been from near enough day one. For starters, If he was interested in us being successful then our income would have been maximised instead of as much as he can get away with being diverted elsewhere. Things like stadium sponsorship and club merchandise. There's also the small issue of attaching pretend debt to the club accounts to the tune of £129m and the soon to be added £33m no doubt. All done to put bidders off and allow his exploits free reign. This is also a reason why Rafa and any ambitious type will never have any sort of full control here because once they know the true picture of diverting or missed income opportunity, they'll be on it like a short. He's making a mint?.. can you explain that in financial terms please? Because being relegated twice doesn't make you a mint like. The "fake debt" you're referring to are basically losses covered. I mean I get the whole "you can't owe debt to yourself" thing, but the fact is that debt is still money spent to cover losses. I mean the blokes a c*** yes, would I like him to suffer a heart attack? yeah I would. But the stuff you're coming out with is a fantasy. Are the 'loans' not also a way to satisfy FFP rules? i.e. a Millionaire/Billionaire owner cant just lump their own money in as/when he wants or needs to, hence making it a 'loan' from him to the football club even though he owns it? I agree he'll also probably want that back if he ever sells the club as part of the asking price, but again, I doubt he would be allowed to just throw his own money into the club coffers and forget about it, even if it is to cover losses/keep things running. Therefore the 'loans' and the 'debt' are real.

It's not too much of a concern when we're still left with the best team in the division . Sure Rafa will realise this too. If it happens again in the Summer, then aye. i saw the pre-game presser with rafa and he seemed fairly relaxed about it all, until i see or hear something that suggests otherwise i'm fairly relaxed as well tbh ^ This.

But, Townsend aside (as we don't truly know who/why the plug was pulled on that one), should the club pay over the odds for players, just because the manager says he wants/needs players in? I'm sure Rafa would understand this - that while promotion is still far from certain, there are some players and fees the club cant realistically justify paying. Or the flip side being, we sign (more) average squad filler, just so we can say the manager wanted them, so we got them?? January is a crazy window to be buying players, as selling clubs know the buyers tend to be desperate, so the prices are artificially inflated.

Surely that depends on if it results in 2m being knocked off the asking price in the summer? That seems to have been (one of the) issue(s) though... It was reportedly £2m now as a loan fee, then the £13m release clause in the summer. Don't think Ashley would ever be happy spending more on a player we sold just a year earlier. Also, if Palace were now agreeing to an initial loan, their terms may have been an obligation to buy in the summer regardless of promotion. Guess we'll never know the ins and outs of the deal being thrashed out. But, we need to win the next 2 games at home, and then take it from there - hopefully keep that gap to 3rd place for the rest of the season.

Downey on SSN saying its off, but we may revisit the deal in the summer.

Whats Yakubu up to these days?

Means nowt really. Carroll fee was agreed at about 5.30pm, and he still had time to travel to Liverpool and undergo a medical. Pretty certain Townsend could easily be withdrawn from their squad and a medical happen if a deal can be sorted right up to the teams being submitted to the ref.