Reds roasting shows how far we have to go
THRASHED, crushed, battered, or thumped – take your pick.
But whichever option you take (feel free to add one of your own), there's no getting away from the fact that we just weren't at the races at Anfield.
It was disappointing to watch, as we never really looked like competing, never mind stemming the tide of seemingly endless Liverpool attacks.
For most of the afternoon yesterday, we were chasing shadows (and showing no signs of catching them).
Of course, Fernando Torres's opener was world-class, and gave Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon no chance.
That came as early as the fourth minute, but even before then there were warning signs, sadly we were unable to heed them.
Still, it's difficult to be too downhearted – this was a defeat against a Liverpool side possibly at their best.
The Reds haven't been in the best of form this season, and yet they are still in the hunt for fourth spot (although I wouldn't put my mortgage on them).
If anything, yesterday helped to highlight how far we still have to go before we can really start to make our mark as a Premier League force.
At times Liverpool can afford for several of their players to have an off day, knowing that should their star duo of Torres and Steven Gerrard sparkle, it should be enough to carry the others.
Sunderland on the other hand need to have 80 or 90 per cent of their stars firing on all cylinders to have any chance of competing with the top teams.
We had nowhere near that at Anfield, but with Rafa Benitez's men in such form and their whole team (not just Gerrard and Torres) on form, we could have been on the receiving end of a cricket score.
I have no doubt that Steve Bruce will continue his rebuilding job in the summer or that we will be stronger next term.
But it's a marathon not a sprint, and it may be some time before we can compete with the likes of Liverpool when they are their best.
One of the real disappointments (apart from the performance and result) is that it brought references to the beach ball, and claims that without the inflatable we would have fared similarly at the Stadium of Light.
However, the truth of the matter is, that while we may not have scored without the beach ball, there is no doubt that we were by far the better side on our home turf.
Liverpool deserve credit for yesterday's display, while the Black Cats deserve the criticism that comes their way.
But let's not try to re-write history, beach ball-gate did happen, but Sunderland were by far the better side when the pair met on Wearside, and let's not forget that.
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Weather for South Shields
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
