The performance and result against Fulham was deeply disappointing, and far below the standards that this Sunderland squad has been setting for most of the season.
But the abuse aimed at individual players was utterly appalling, both in the stands and on social media. I am not referring to the online racial slurs — anyone who engages in that behaviour has no place in our club, and should never associate themselves with the vast majority, who are decent Sunderland supporters. It was the general nature
of the comments, aimed particularly at Romaine Mundle. But I also saw similar posts towards Nilson Angulo and Jocelin Ta Bi — two young lads who are so new to the club that they are probably still working out where the toilets are at the Academy of Light.
Very few of the team emerged from Saturday with any credit, and Mundle was far from the only one to disappoint but his glaring miss put him squarely in the spotlight. Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki never seemed to get going at all. Lutsharel Geertruida struggled to replace Nordi Mukiele’s drive and energy, Omar Alderete wasn’t his normal dominant self and Brian Brobbey was left feeding off scraps. Arguably the most effective players were the three who came up from the Championship with us — Dan Ballard, Trai Hume and Enzo Le Fée.
But the online meltdown which followed was almost unhinged, laying into young players who are very much trying to find their feet at this level. It’s the fact that all this has come as such a surprise to some of our fans that I find bewildering.
The investment in the summer focused on bringing in a core of experienced players, mostly to form a strong defensive unit — Mukiele, Alderete, Reinildo, Geertruida — together with Granit Xhaka as a midfield fulcrum, and Bertrand Traoré to add a bit of nous to the forward line. It took Traoré some time to settle back into the Premier League, and he was on the receiving end of a lot of stick from the keyboard warriors before he properly found his rhythm.
The upside of that investment is that there are still only six Premier League sides who have conceded fewer goals than we have after 27 games. The downside is that we will be lucky to recoup the money spent on those players — Xhaka is 33, Mukiele is 28, Alderete is 29 — let alone bring in the substantial transfer fees that would allow further investment in the squad. Of the defensive players, only Robin Roefs and Dan Ballard are likely to attract big-money moves.
It is the younger midfielders and attackers on whom the financial future of the club depends — Diarra, Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi, Angulo, Ta Bi and Brobbey. From the promotion squad, Mundle and Eliezer Mayenda both fall into that category.
The simple fact is that none of them are proven at the top level — they all need time on the pitch to show what they can do. Some will get there quicker than others, some will make a promising start then hit a plateau. And patience is not a virtue that a section of our fanbase possesses. Brian Brobbey had barely stepped onto the pitch before he was labelled the new Jozy Altidore.
These are all kids — Brobbey is 24, the rest are 20, 21 and 22-year-olds — trying to find their way in probably the most demanding league in world football, in front of massive crowds and in the glare of live TV watched by millions around the globe.
There will be days like Saturday when they will disappoint and frustrate us. But is calling them a “useless fcking cnt” either from the stands or online really going to help them fulfil their potential in the Premier League?
These kids are our kids, and a couple of them will hopefully become the financial bedrock on which Sunderland can firmly be re-established in the Premier League. If you are disappointed, frustrated, or angry with them at times, that’s football, and it should be a passionate experience. But each and every supporter has control over how they act, within the ground and online. What took place this weekend was far beyond what should be acceptable. Some people need to take a long, hard look at their own behaviour before criticising our players’ performances.
