All looked lost after last weekend’s result to Bolton, some called it an embarrassment, many were expecting to see the back of Jack Ross rather quickly and a fanbase seemed to be set on Sunderland swapping managers once again.
The reaction on Twitter following the game was bleak, it was the same on the forums, fans asking for his head – awaiting confirmation that Ross had been shown the door and told where to go. The only positives it seemed, we’re if we sacked him and moved on.
Come Tuesday, another game, and ahead of it I was thinking ‘this is a free pass for Ross whatever happened’. If we play badly it doesn’t really matter. It’s inevitable that he’s gone, but then just as the crows looked to circle, up jumped Jack Ross and his boys in red and white to scare us off once again. All of that negativity buggered right off, and here I am, bleeding with positivity once again and looking for Sunderland and Jack Ross to show us what (I think) we all really want them to do.
Whatever anyone’s opinion of us may be, we’re still a League One side at the moment, and to go away to a club who are massively on the up and full of life, thanks to their decent start in the Premier League, and get a result is brilliant.
Down in the dumps after the Bolton game, we were met with a breath of fresh air in terms of the performance. Intensity all over the pitch. Albeit Sheffield United had a load of chances and Lee Burge was quality between the sticks, the way we kept our shape and continued to hassle and hurray and create chances, was class.
It turned out to be more than that ‘free pass’ I was talking about and only because Ross and the team made it more than that. Putting in a shift that Sunderland fans can be proud of and have some kind of optimistic feeling about.
Whatever anyone’s opinion of us may be, we’re still a League One side at the moment, and to go away to a club who are massively on the up and full of life, thanks to their decent start in the Premier League, and get a result is brilliant.
Credit to Ross, he’s ignored the jibes and digs at him from the fanbase and in the media and he’s kept his head right to keep the group solid enough to do something like they did on Wednesday.
Chris Wilder came out after the game and said that he didn’t expect his team to get back into it. I think that speaks volumes for the type of Sunderland that went onto the field – inspired.
I must mention the debutants, Joel Lynch and Laurens de Bock. They played their part and put in a healthy display and it’s also given me high hopes for Lynch. I think he’s someone who can come in and without sounding too positive, change the back four in a way Younes Kaboul did under Allardyce.
Lynch is an experienced head, he’s been around the game for a while and played in the league above consistently. Ross has come out and spoken about his organisational skills, how good of a communicator he is and how much he wants to be involved, and for me that is something we can only reap benefits from. A prominent centre half partnership is a biggie if you want to get out of this league, and I reckon Lynch, alongside Willis could be just that.
There were good showings all over the pitch, and Sheffield United fans on Twitter sang praises about the team’s shape. This isn’t something I would usually put next to a Ross team. We’ve often been caught out due to it, and gaps have shown, but if we can do it away to a Premier League side, why can’t we do it at home to a League One side?
Time will tell if this was a just a freak performance, but now Ross has a chance to get us back on-side. He’s re-galvanised that fan following that was critical of his and the team’s showing at Bolton slightly and allowed himself a second pop at the cherry to change the view on what we’ve been seeing so far this season.
Come out all guns blazing on Saturday at home to MK Dons and it’s a completely different story again.
Lewis Newton