After two weeks of back-page murmurs and speculation, Sunderland finally ‘joined the chat’ in the January transfer market, announcing the acquisition of Jocelin Ta Bi — a reportedly crafty winger from
Israeli side Maccabi Netanya.
Fashionably going by his first name on the back of his shirt, à la trendsetters ‘Virgil’ van Dijk, as well as most of the Brazilian national side, the forward has averted any prospective mix-up with our other right-winger Chemsdine Talbi, much to the relief of commentary teams across the land.
This Christian-name-on-back-of-shirt fad had me thinking: imagine our entire squad followed suit, all in the name of self-promotion and personal brand.
We’d have a trio of Brian, Simon, and Wilson leading the line – names of middle-aged fellas you’d find perusing the Daily Mail down at any Wetherspoons, lapping up the latest Reform UK drivel. Not forgetting their mate, Dennis, who, unlike the rest of them, still has all his hair and teeth.
Yet, perhaps the best of the lot would be the outgoing Blondy. Presumably, a player named after either Debbie Harry or his definitely-not-dyed peroxide hair.
Anyway, enough on player first names and more on Saturday’s game with Crystal Palace: a side who ended last season with an FA Cup triumph, and started this campaign with a Community Shield win and European qualification.
On paper a very solid outfit, but contextually anything but. They are a club seemingly in free-fall, with stalwart Marc Guéhi poised to join Manchester City, while boss Oliver Glasner tendered his resignation in midweek.
That said, while Régis Le Bris has worked wonders in distancing us from that Sunderland-y reputation that once preceded us, Yeremy Pino’s opener following our pretty solid start was very on-brand for the Sunderland of old.
There were several dips in concentration, with Robin Roefs being called into action on a few occasions, including to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta early on. A rare defensive lapse saw Palace’s only real creative outlet on the day, deftly place it beyond Roefs. It was a pretty sloppy goal to concede, made more frustrating by the fact that it was straight from a set-piece.
Nevertheless, this is ‘New Sunderland’. We are a side whose heads are incapable of dropping, and as a result, seem to almost be galvanised by conceding.
It took just three minutes for Enzo Le Fée to restore parity. Following an intricate bit of interplay down our left side, the Frenchman guided Nordi Mukiele’s low-driven cross into the bottom corner with effortless finesse.
After the break, there was only one team out to win it. Our second-half display really exhibited us at our very best; defensively solid, tenacious in midfield, and potent in the transition.
In the 71st minute, Noah Sadiki’s line-splitting through-ball put Brian Brobbey in on goal, and with a sublime stroke of his right boot, our £20 million Dutchman half-scooped-half-thumped it over Dean Henderson, who was left helpless as the ball satisfyingly sailed in off the bar. 2-1.
While our visitors probed in the dying embers, we remained dogged at the back, and could so very easily have made it three via a sumptuous back-to-front move which ultimately saw Trai Hume clip the top of the crossbar.
With three points under our belt, breaking the string of five games without a win, and protecting our unbeaten home record, this was another superb afternoon on Wearside.
Rumour has it that Brobbey would not have had to be surgically removed from his back if he had not been substituted, as Maxence Lacroix would have had to be removed due to the defender’s persistent, unpunished fouling of our number nine.
Brobbey cramping up after his goal was actually due to the fact he had been supporting the body mass of two men all game.
Although Granit Xhaka had a poor afternoon by his impeccably high standards, I was, once again, left speechless by the collective effort of the team. From Mukiele’s marauding runs down the centre of the pitch, Noah Sadiki’s unrelenting press, and Le Fée’s class to Omar Alderete’s trivela cross, I thought there were standout moments for all involved.
A victory that propels us up to eighth, three points off fourth and back above those lot up the road (even if it’s only temporarily) — the boys in red and white have delivered once more.
