(A) Sunderland - Pre Match Thoughts

                                           Premier League

                                        Saturday 15th September 2012
                                       The Stadium of Light

                                   Sunderland VS Liverpool

Momentum is a strange thing.  Some people debate over whether it has any real effect on anything.  In the world of sport nothing - good or bad - is sustainable.  When things appear to be on the downward trend, bouncing back becomes ever harder as things go on.  Collectively we need to get to our feet as quickly as possible, in order to get back onto the road we were meant to be on at the start of the season.  However, the task we face today is far from straightforward.  A win here would do as much for confidence as it would for the points tally.  At the end of the season however, only one of those will count.

The Stadium of Light is the ground where it all started to go wrong.  Beachball-gate and the horrendous dip in form that followed make the trip we're embarking on today an unhappy one, despite the fact that our record up there isn't as bad as it first appears.  Two years ago Luis Suarez had happy memories of scoring a wonder goal from the edge of the penalty area and prior to the incident with the inanimate object, we'd won three in a row here.  Last year however was a particular low point with Nicolas Bentnder scoring one of those incredible goals that only we could have conceded last year with it going off the post and onto Reina's back along the way.  If nothing else, our performance has to be infinitely better than it was that day or we will ultimately suffer a similar fate.

Martin O'Neill is one of my least favourite - direct rivals aside - managers of recent times.  His hummingbird like movement along the touchline coupled with a style of play that at times makes Roy Hodgson look expansive mean that he's not exactly at the top of my Christmas card list.   What he is capable of however, in spite of the aesthetic style of the play, is making teams very efficient and hard to break down.  Fortunately the horrible team that Steve Bruce put in place of mostly former Manchester United reserves is slowly dissipating.

One player they did manage to acquire over the summer was Steven Fletcher.  The argument over whether Sunderland overpaid or not withstanding - and far be it a Liverpool fan to suggest a team may have paid over the odds for a player - there was a long portion of the season where he was one of the best finishers around.  In a better organised team that will almost certainly have much more confidence than the seemingly forever damned Wolvers players that he played with last year will mean that he's going to be as big a threat as any to our gaining something out of this fixture.  Agger and Skrtel will have to be at their best but it's possible that with everything surrounding Pepe Reina recently that they adopt a shoot on sight policy.  If we keep our composure then there's every chance of both nullifying their threat as well as applying our own.

As far as we're concerned, the form of Steven Gerrard - having been sent off in addition to an under par performance on Wednesday - could go either way.  He'll be as determined as ever to prove a point but maybe it's for the best that he keeps things ticking in midfield the way Rodgers wants.  Other than that Raheem Sterling will be full of confidence and keen to be unleashed on the Sunderland defence, buoyed from having been called up into the England team.  All around the park there will be players looking to improve on what was a bad performance all around against Arsenal.  The one bright spark from that game in Jonjo Shelvey would certainly have earned a starting place, having played so well last time out but unless Gerrard gets moved forward it's unlikely he'll come into the midfield unless Sahin still isn't quite up to match fitness.

Whatever team plays, it feels a little strange getting back to football.  The international break not withstanding, the events of the last few days and the results of the Hillsborough panel have still yet to sink in properly.  It's been an emotionally draining week and whatever happens I hope nobody gets too carried away.  We've seen a prime example over the last seven days of where exactly football is placed in the grand scheme of things.  It may be the beautiful game, but it is still just a game.