Cursing that I’d knocked my SoL coaster off the back of my desk, I had to scrabble around among a few other odds and ends that were “stored” there and managed to locate it, along with a match ticket that must have fallen off a shelf above. I was in the habit then of trying to save memorabilia that my children might appreciate later in life. And this is the ticket:
Now this brings back so many memories, not all good. The first thing is that this must have been part of an exciting birthday weekend for
my son, whose birthday is on 16 February. Oh, the things we do to our children.
Part of my pre-match ritual was going to Fitzgerald’s, as it was then, to meet up with a group of friends from Morpeth and Wearside, and my son loved joining us. He was always treated well by a good friend I used to sit next to in the North Stand when we had season tickets there, who would often give him pocket money. However, he had quite a wicked sense of humour and had decided my son was old enough to cope with some more advanced teasing. So as I was trying to enjoy a pint, my son was having these cards forced upon him and was getting advice to do something about being dragged to watch Sunderland by a clearly negligent parent.
Sadly, this friend died a few years ago, but here’s the thing – the dulcet tones of Andrew Smithson on the podcast remind me very much of his accent and measured way of talking. Those then are the emotional ties linked to this game, but of course there is a lot more.
Obviously the Lads were in a desperate position at the foot of the table, but I was ever hopeful that a win could kick-start a recovery. I really wasn’t prepared for what I saw, partly because in my mind Brentford was just a small club who had no right to upstage Sunderland – but upstage them they most certainly did.
Brentford played exactly as you would expect them to play now. They were organised, had clear patterns and systems, and were hungry. They were two up within half an hour and never looked in trouble. Neal Maupay was playing up front and caused loads of problems, scoring the second goal. Ollie Watkins was also playing that day, and Chris Mepham was on their bench. Fair play to Brentford, however, for the way they have worked to earn the right to be in the top flight and how well they have managed the succession of managers and recruitment of players. I remember coming away from that match wanting Sunderland to be that organised and committed to the cause, as I’m sure did the 27,000 others who were there that afternoon.
But sometimes in life the Rolling Stones’ refrain “You can’t always get what you want” is not accurate. Eight short years later, just look at what has happened. Chris Mepham played his part in getting us back to allow us to show we could match Brentford. We now have a revitalised club with clear values, connected to the fanbase and the community it serves.
The 20,000 empty seats in February 2018 were all full for the visit of Brentford this time round and the atmosphere was crackling. My son and I were there in the Premier Concourse, close to where we sat for the Coventry second leg, and we celebrated wildly like we all did when Wilson headed home the winner.
Sunderland had shown the skill, dogged determination and collective will that we as supporters appreciate – we can’t ask for more, although maybe Granit Xhaka would have something to say about that. This is some turnaround. The last time we saw Brentford was a low point, yet fast forward to this season’s review and the Brentford match is now one of the top ten moments. You couldn’t write it, could you?
And as to my parenting, I don’t think my son will be using that card now. He has said how much he loves the generational aspect of going to the match and hopes I’ll hang around long enough for three generations of us to support the Lads. I’ll take that.
