Diary of a Sunderland fan: #28 - Becoming the twelfth man again; this manager needs our support!

Dear diary...

It’s been a while since I last wrote a diary entry. In fact, it’s been that long that I had to do a search back to see the last time I uploaded an entry - it was the 20th of October, and I was begging Simon Grayson to give us something to cling on to as we teetered on the edge of what seemed like oblivion.

That was... what, just over two months ago?

God - times have changed quickly, haven’t they? It feels like Chris Coleman has been here far longer than seven weeks but that’s the truth of it, and what a seven weeks it has been.

Coleman isn’t a miracle worker - we know this. We’ve suffered some pretty dismal defeats since he arrived here, and it’s still the same squad of players he’s working with (minus the ridiculous amount of players that fill up the treatment room - all twelve of them), but something just feels different about having him in charge.

We’re desperate for new players and even having admitted that no significant investment in the playing squad is forthcoming, Coleman remains incredibly calm.

He’s not interested in age, or experience - he just wants to be able to select a team of eleven players that are prepared to run through brick walls for him and this football club.

Fair enough, I suppose. That’s certainly the least that I demand as a fan.

And that’s why I decided at last minute to arrange tickets and travel to go to the game this afternoon.

Regardless of what I think about the current owner, CEO and some of the players that are conspicuous by their continued absence from the squad, the players and manager need our support today at the Riverside, and they’ll need it every week between now and the end of the season.

Chris Coleman does not suffer fools gladly and you can guarantee that every player that steps out onto the pitch under him will be well-drilled in what to do and how to carry themselves when they represent this football club. Whether their best effort is good enough is an entirely different matter - though you have to hope that the team spirit that Coleman manages to foster amongst the players will contribute massively if we are to eventually survive come the end of the season.

I’m not suggesting for one minute that we all just forget about our problems and happy clap our way out of trouble, but we need to give this manager our full backing.

He needs us more than we probably think, and his cause is one that’s genuinely worth getting behind.

A win this afternoon would do us the world of good as we head into the massive Cardiff game next Saturday.

Haway, lads - let’s go there, smash the Boro and send the fans home happy.

God knows that we all need the boost that a victory would bring.

Gav