Sunderland

Steve Bruce was spot on when he said that he was embarrassed by the attitude of the West Ham players and particularly the role Herita Ilunga played in the sending off of Kennwyne Jones.

While Jones’ red card was understandable as he raised his hands, the playacting of Ilunga was a disgrace and sadly there’s far too much of this unacceptable behaviour in the Premier League these days.

While Sunderland’s impressive comeback was a real team effort, I feel three of the Wearsiders line-up earned extra praise. These being Craig Gordon, Kieran Richardson and Andy Reid.

Gordon has had his critics from certain elements of the Wearside crowd but he proved once again his value to the team with some excellent saves to keep Sunderland in the game.

Richardson showed a lot of bottle and talent, switching from left full back to a more advanced position which paid off when he anticipated the cross from Darren Bent to notch a vital welldeserved equaliser.

Reid produced yet another man of the match display and is on fire at the moment.

I loved Northern Echo reporter Will Scott’s description of the skillful Reidy in his match report.

“The Irishman’s left foot is so cultured it could paint the Mona Lisa while he enjoyed a half time orange.” A quality quote, which was picked up on an Irish football message board, and a top quality player.

There is still a long way to go in Bruce’s masterplan but the signs are looking positive.

Tony Ratton, Sunderland

TEAMS win and lose games and are judged on results, but so often we see teams putting in a performance deserving of praise if not victory or a result.

Sunderland’s season has generally been successful but poor results have been down to a lack of motivation or commitment. Last week’s game against West Ham represented a change in the tide.

A Sunderland team a year ago, being two goals down and reduced to ten men, would have probably put their heads down and blamed it all on misfortune and possibly the injustice served by Kenwyne Jones’ sending off. There’s no doubt that Jones’ sending off was a point for debate after the match, but Sunderland rose to the challenge before them and fought like lions, if not cats!

At Sunderland I do believe that the new sense of direction and vision includes a changing spirit, not only a desire to win but a belief that a below par performance is not acceptable and players know this.

The supposed fearsome tactics adopted by previous managers, like Peter Reid and Roy Keane, might appear appropriate because players do need more than a reminder of what is expected but badgering on its own simply doesn’t work.

Yes, I do think that Steve Bruce is someone who won’t take prisoners but what he expects is realistic.

Sunderland fighting back will win praise from fans. It will generate a spirit and while not always carving out the victory we all want it helps them believe that a team has belief.

Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe