He will be always remembered for the fact that his goal helped the Black Cats win their last trophy, the 1973 FA Cup.

1) Scoring the winning goal for Sunderland in the 1973 cup final against Leeds.
2) Drawing with Portugal whilst manager of Armenia (seriously Armenia!) only a month ago.
3) Being hard enough to manage a Chelsea squad that had Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise, and Stan “The Man” Ternant causing havoc in the dressing room.
4) Becoming the first manager ever to be sacked in the Premier League (an odd achievement, but hey he’s in the record books).
5) Winning Division Three with Rotherham 1980/81 season.
6) Winning Division Four with Sheffield United 1981/82 season.
7) Promotion from Division Three with Sheffield Untied 1983/84 season.
8 ) Starting the rebuilding the Zambian team after the tragic plane crash in 1993 that killed many of the nation’s best players
9) Winning the Korean FA Cup with Busan I’Park in 2004
10) Winning the Korean K League with Busan I’Park in 2005

It’s a shame he never came back as a mananger, then again he did follow Sir Alex at Aberdeen, which didn’t last long. He also has the stupid record of being the first manager ever fired in the EPL. Ian, would have still in that time period been our best manager too. Which is scary, but almost way too true. Outside of Bob Stokoe can you name any other really good managers the club has had? hmmmm maybe that could be another blog post for me.

I’ll write as much as my time lets me, and will give you the coverage that all Black Cat fans need and want.

I do think that, this is a good draw for the club. West Ham has been in the EPL for a while, and to get a point off of them is a good thing. It would have been better to win against Aston Villa at mid-week, but I’m still mad about that match. Overall, this is a step up.

SAFC: Gordon, Da Silva, Richardson, Turner, Nosworthy, Malbranque (McCartney, 81), Reid, Cana (C), Henderson, Bent, Jones.

Subs Not Used: Fulop, Ferdinand, Bardsley, Healy, Meyler, Murphy.

Booked: Cana (11), Bent (25), Turner (40).

Sent Off: Jones (45).

West Ham: Green, Franco (Hines, 72), Cole, Kovac, Upson (C), Noble, Spector, Behrami (Diamanti, 67), Ilunga, Tomkins, Collison.

Subs Not Used: Gabbidon, Jiminez, Faubert, Kurucz, Stanislas.

Booked: Kovac (37), Ilunga (45), Cole (60).

Sent Off: Kovac (87).

Words from an SAFC Player young middie Jordan Henderson.

“I thought the whole team worked very hard. We looked the better team even with ten men and showed good character to come back from 2-0 down.

“In the end we probably should have won the game but the lads can take positives from today and kick on from here.

“The gaffer told us at half time to keep going, keep working hard and doing what we’d been doing. We did that, the crowd got right behind us – they were brilliant – and it was a good performance.

“Reidy got us back in it with a great free kick – he does it all the time in training. It was a brilliant goal which picked us and the crowd up from there.

“I felt we were always strong and going to get something from the game – I had a couple of chances but we did well at the end of the day.”

Next up for Sunderland – Spurs on the 7th.

As some of my other blog posts show, I don’t like certain teams, and show how low class I can be. To fans of other clubs, I don’t care. I’m a Black Cats fan, and if you don’t like us, that’s fine.

With that being said, I love Gianfranco Zola. Maybe it’s because when I started watching football, I was only able to watch through Chelsea matches. But Steve Bruce is GOD!!!! Well we know that I go overboard.

So what will happen tomorrow night?

Sunderland 2 – 1 West Spam United

Darren Bent (5)
Steed M (55)

See you all tomorrow, and remember always root for your Black Cats. I’m Stephen Brandt, and that’s my view from Buffalo NY.

Oh and my boy Kenwyne? Try a little harder on your shots please? We need goals. Just because we beat Liverpool, doesn’t mean we can start acting like we don’t want to put the foot on the ball. Yes I know it’s hard to score, but still it should be a tad bit easier to put a couple passed a second choice keeper. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGh.

SAFC: Gordon, Da Silva, McCartney (Ferdinand, 79), Turner, Nosworthy, Murphy (Reid, 73), Campbell (Malbranque, 95), Henderson, Cana (C), Richardson, Jones.

Subs Not Used: Healy, Reed, Meyler, Fulop.

Booked: Henderson (71), Ferdinand (82).

Sent Off: None.

Aston Villa: Guzan, Dunne, A Young, Milner, Agbonlahor, Heskey (Carew, 78), Petrov (Sidwell, 116), Reo-Coker (Delph, 90), Cuellar, Warnock, Collins.

Subs Not Used: Friedel, L Young, Shorey, Beye.

Booked: Warnock (15), Petrov (45).

Sent Off: None.

Penalties:
1 – SUNDERLAND – Andy Reid – Missed
1 – ASTON VILLA – John Carew – Scored
2 – SUNDERLAND – Lorik Cana – Missed
2 – ASTON VILLA – James Collins – Scored
3 – SUNDERLAND – Steed Malbranque – Scored
3 – ASTON VILLA – Gabriel Agbonlahor – Missed
4 – SUNDERLAND – Jordan Henderson – MIssed
4 – ASTON VILLA – Ashley Young – Scored

And now a word from our amazing, super manager Steve Bruce: (as always credit SAFC.com)

“It simply wasn’t our night – it’s a cruel way to go but in terms of the performance I thought we were terrific from start to finish.

We deserved it but we had to take our chances at this level and against a team like Aston Villa. A penalty kick with four minutes to go, Kieran Richardson in extra time; it was all there for us.

Unfortunately, whether it’s through luck or bad play on our part, we’re out of the Cup. I couldn’t fault the performance, though, make no mistake. Villa are a top-six team and we should have beaten them on the night.

The lads are disappointed because they were so close to getting to a quarter-final, but it wasn’t to be.

I’m not going to say anything about the Jordan Henderson penalty incident in the first half [with Richard Dunne]. If we’d have got that we’d have probably missed it as well, the way the night was going.”

Well at least the Black Cats get to play a walkover team in West Ham on the weekend. Oh wait, I could have said that about Birmingham City, but we won’t get into that.

Birmingham City FC 2 Sunderland 1.

And we didn’t score any of the goals, all came from BCFC players. And that doesn’t bode well for Darren Bent and his drive to be on the England Squad. (Which regardless of this result shouldn’t be a problem). In order to be the club that we need to be, beating Birmingham is something that has to be done. Face it, they’re a club who are beneath us in talent, and everything.

I’m afraid that this is what we’ll get this year. Two very good matches, and then one down. It’s part of the learning process for the club right now. I’ll take this if it means we finish in the 10-15 range.

SAFC: Gordon, Bardsley, Richardson, Turner, Ferdinand, Malbranque (Campbell, 68), Reid, Cana (C) (Zenden, 68), Henderson (McCartney, 68), Bent, Jones.

Subs Not Used: Fulop, Nosworthy, Da Silva, Healy.

Booked: Gordon (90).

Sent Off: None.

Birmingham: Hart, Carr (C), Bowyer, Ridgewell, Larsson (Carsley, 83), Jerome (McSheffrey, 77), Chucho, Ferguson, Johnson, Dann, McFadden (O’Connor, 76).

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Phillips, Queudrue, Parnaby.

Booked: Johnson (24), Ferguson (82), McSheffrey (90).

Sent Off: None.

Post Match Interview with SAFC.com:

Steve Bruce
“We didn’t really play until the last half-hour. If we played like we did in the last half-hour with something about us it might have been a different story.

“But we waited until we were 2-0 down and if you play in the Premier League that makes things very difficult.

“We made a fist of things in the last half-hour; we should have taken that attitude in the first half where, let’s be fair, we were poor.

“The lack of consistency must be eradicated. We did so well last week and everything seemed great, but the first half was not acceptable.”

“At half time we said we had to get the early goal, but instead they’ve got it. If we’d have scored earlier then I knew for a fact that with the run they’ve been on Birmingham would become anxious.

“But it wasn’t to be. There were two glorious opportunities at the end but to be fair it would have been unjust if we had taken something from the game.

And Bruce has tasked his side with shrugging off the defeat and bouncing back to the form which saw four points taken from two meetings with top-four sides, adding:

“The big concern for me is we have to repeat the performances against Manchester United and Liverpool.

“To take this club forward, we have to have the mentality where we’re not going to just show up for the big boys, but arrive at places like this and show the attitude to get a result.”

Next up for the Black Cats? Aston Villa at mid-week.

What did the MLS think they were getting with Beckham? The next Pele? Well if the MLS knows the sport so well, then they would have known, he’s not a goal scorer, or someone who dictates the game. David is the type of player who blends in with the team. When has he ever been the focal point of a team? Never, he’s always had great players around him.
He doesn’t have any stars around him. Ok so they have Landon Donovan, be he’s no Raul or Teddy Sherringham. Or even a Steve Bruce, yes Beckham played with our manager while they were both at Manchester United. As an American I’m supposed to like Donovan, and hate on Beckham, which isn’t fair. If you look at the grand scheme of the sport Beckham still means more than Donovan has ever meant. Call me a hater with Donovan, but the global aspect of the sport Beckham is much more relevant.

Now, we do know that, despite what the Beckham camp says, he’s coming back to Europe full time. Yes, yes I know he has these loan agreements with AC Milan, but let’s be honest, AC Milan isn’t what they used to be. Now where does this lead to on this blog? I would love to see Beckham in a Black Cat shirt. Realistically, can that happen? At this point, yes, I think he could because of Steve Bruce, we could see the return of team Beckham to the UK! Plus I think at this point of his career he’s not going to end up at his family’s favorite club Spurs, or that level, but we’ll take him.

Now, for words from Steve Bruce!

“I thought we deserved the win, I hope that [the goal] isn’t the headline – in the second half we had three one-on-ones.”

He went on to say further: “Obviously our thoughts are with these two because the equivalent of Jones and Cattermole, is like our Torres and Gerrard. Kenwyne has an ankle and Cattermole has twisted his knee and we just hope it isn’t a cruciate.”

WE WIN! WE WIN! Next onto Birmingham! (should be an easy match!)

SAFC: Gordon, Da Silva (Ferdinand, 75), Richardson, Mensah, Turner, Reid, Malbranque, Cana (C), Cattermole (Henderson, 46), Jones, Bent (McCartney, 90).

Subs Not Used: Nosworthy, Campbell, Healy, Fulop.

Booked: Turner (20).

Sent Off: None.

Wolves: Hennessey, Elokobi, Edwards, Henry, Keogh (Maierhofer, 77), Halford, Berra, Jarvis, Mancienne, Doyle (Ebanks-Blake, 77), Castillo (Kightly, 46).

Subs Not Used: Craddock, Milijas, Foley, Hahnemann.

Booked: Doyle (21), Henry (39).

Sent Off: None.

The Scorers

Bent, Jones (twice), Michael Turner, and then an OG by Wolves.

From the Gaffers

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce:
“It is just an incredible result but at times our defending was comical. The coaching staff have to sort out the situation defensively.

“Thankfully at the top end of the pitch we have a genuine threat and have used them to get out of jail.

“But we have got to be delighted with the start we have made to the season.”

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy:
“It will be a talking point that a promoted team got slapped for five but we had lots of chances.

“We had them by the scruff of the throat at 2-2 and there were lots of positives from the performance.

“All of us thought that we could go on and win the game but unfortunately we lost it in the process.”

Well it’s good to go into Manchester United week solidly at 8th, but I’m worried, how hard will Sunderland have to work to get anything out of the Man U game? We’re much more talented this time around than the last time we met. Also this time around we have a manager who knows the game. Either way, it shouldn’t be a fun game, but now with the ESPN (I hate them) contract, maybe I can watch the game live here in Buffalo NY.

Kenwyne came to us from Southampton, and has taken off from there. Now he has a great partner up front with Darren Bent, and I have a feeling he could take off like anyone not named Wayne Rooney. However, Kenwyne is stronger, and more importantly he plays for us.

What he’s missing is a media campaign behind him, and I’m not meaning at the club level, because Sunderland does very well with that. I’m saying the national media has to get behind the club, and I think with Mr. Short’s move into the club, we could be talked about the in the same way as Fulham. With the national media behind him, maybe he can get some calls, and some more players of the week. I do think that Kenwyne is one of the best strikers in the EPL who aren’t on a big four team or Arsenal.

I just can’t wait when his career is over when Rob Mason does his profile of Kenwyne. As a man who has his degree in History, I love reading about the old boys, and Rob’s articles are great.
That’s my view from Buffalo, as always I’m Stephen Brandt, and I love my Black Cats.