Gyan Gyan, Super Gyan Gyan,
Scores from one chance, Asamoah,
One chance, Asamoah…

Get it sung ladies and gents! We welcome your comments.

Finally Asamoah Gyan has signed for Sunderland. Gyan has signed for a fee in excess of £13 million and in doing so has become our 2nd record breaking signing within 12 months after Bent was acquired last season for £10 million (plus add ons).

Gyan has signed a four year contract and joins fellow Ghanaian John Mensah at the Stadium of Light. Gyan’s record for Ghana is very good as he’s scored 22 times in 44 appearances for the Black Stars. Lets hope he can produce that goal to game ratio for the mighty Black Cats and become a fan favourite in no time.

Gyan is expected to make his debut against Wigan after the international break and SunderlandFootball will be there to support him, you never know we might even have a chant for him by then so watch this space.

Who would have thought it? After dropping two points at home to Birmingham and gifting West Bromich Albion a win at the Hawthorns I think even the most optimistic of Sunderland fans would not have bet on us beating Manchester City yesterday.

There’s no doubt that Man City had the better of the first half but they managed to spurn the few good chances they had. Most notably was the embarrassing miss from Carlos Tevez. Man City hit Sunderland on the break, as Yaya Toure decended on the Sunderland goal with three on one City looked a certainty to score only for Tevez to receive an intelligent pass from Toure and sky the ball straight over the bar. It was an open goal and really looked harder to miss but luck was obviously on Sunderland’s side.

In the second half Sunderland looked a different team. They battled for every ball, passed well and attacked with intent. However for all of Sunderland’s play it was Manchester City who again had the better of the chances. Adebayor’s clever flick from a Manchester City corner was superbly saved by Sunderland’s new keeper Simon Mignolet.

The fans were tremendous yet again, really getting behind the side and making it even more difficult for the Man City players to get a foothold on the game. In comparison the Manchester City fans were rather subdued with a small and rather out-dated array of chants to offer.

As time ran out, it was Sunderland who were firmly on top and continued to attack the flanks with pace. Ahmed “Elmo” Mohamady had the beating of Gareth Barry who was operating on the left hand side. As the clock ticked on and we entered injury time, Elmo got hold of the ball, flicked it past Barry (yet again…he really made him look average) causing him to slip over and crossed the ball in for Darren Bent who was clumsily grappled to the floor in the penalty area by Micah Richards. A penalty was the only outcome. At the time I couldn’t believe it, we had managed to keep ourselves in the game and were rewarded at the very death. It was quite an emotional moment as Darren Bent stepped up and smashed the ball underneath Hart, effectively marking an end to the game and winning all three points for Sunderland.

1-0 the Full-Time score.

I thought the players were great, Cattermole was back to the Cattermole of old, covering ground, constantly harrassing the City players and constantly regaining possession. Richardson was very good and is beginning to look like the left-back we all want him to be. I thought the stand out performance come from Titus Bramble who was dominant at the back and didn’t really put a food wrong all game.

Next up, a tough tie away to Wigan.

Landing at destination West Bromwich at approximately 1330 hour we made the ten minute stroll to the Hawthorns and then enjoyed a first (of many) over priced, poor quality lager! There was a feeling of optimism in the air as the sell out away following (who were in fine voice) began filtering into the ground.

Soon the concourse was awash with the usual Sunderland and anti that lot up the road ditty’s, before a huge rendition of a new song for our latest Paraguayan went up. The chant has a real South American feel to it and is obviously keen to point out the wonders of magical exactness. (woooah-woooooah-wooooooooh)

As kick off approached it was time to take to the stands. It was refreshing to see that the vast majority of our followers possessed the ability to remain on their feet whilst watching a football match. I think it is no coincidence that a crowd who by and large stood throughout produced an atmosphere we were once accustomed to (it was loud and it was constant).

The first 45 sailed by without much incident, although the home side managed to miss a decent chance in front of goal. The debutant somehow pushing a ball well wide of Mignolets right hand post when well placed. Despite the lack of entertainment on the grass the away section was bursting with colour and passion, as the home fans (sat in silence) were privy to an array of chants from the ever growing Sunderland song book. Riveros’, Da-Silva’s and Frazier Campbell songs seemed to be on a loop at times and the ground was rocking to the sound of Gary Rowell’s anthem.

Half time was spent queuing for more essential fuel and singing. It is away crowds like the one at West Brom which makes following Sunderland worthwhile. Let’s face it, it certainly isn’t about results. Henderson’s banana splits tune was given its first airing (that I know of anyway) and is likely to be a terrace favourite. (who wouldn’t want to proudly declare a player of theirs to be just like them and hates the mags!?).

The second 45 was a little better in terms of goal mouth action for the away side. Bent headed a half chance wide, Bent failed to get a solid touch on a Campbell through ball which would have seen him in on goal and Onouha directed a tame header straight at the home keeper. Richardson also had a snap shot which was tipped away (apparently) for a corner.

The winning goal for the home side came with less than 9 remaining. We had been warned first half and we weren’t about to be let off for a second time. Da-Silva and Bramble left enough space for a bus to pass through (this time it wasn’t a bus, it was a slide rule pass from Morrison) to allow the new un to poke home on debut. In all honesty it wouldn’t be Sunderland if a lad on debut didn’t score! There was still enough time for Hunt to almost break the bar from distance before the referee brought things to a close.

1 from 6 but still, we have two home games in a week to look forward to. A cup tie against Colchester and a Sunday afternoon stroll against City.

Highlight: Sunderland’s travelling band
Lowlight: Our lack of ideas in the final third

‘The Beginning of the Twist’ is a welcome change. Not only is it an uplifting tune but the band originally hail from Sunderland. If you were finishing your drink and happened to miss it, here’s the video below:

After such a great start to the game Sunderland were eventually undone by a conspicuous refereeing decision. The game changed as a contest as soon as Lee Cattermole was sent off but before that we absolutely dominated a very average looking Birmingham City side. I think Birmingham can count themselves very lucky today because had Sunderland played with eleven men it could well have been a cricket score. Before Cattermole was shown the red card Darren Bent dispatched a 24th minute penalty after Stephan Carr upended Frazier Campbell in the box.

However, for all the pressure Sunderland piled on Birmingham’s goal we failed to make our chances count. Sunderland passed the ball around well and attacked with tenacity, whilst defending the hoof ball which appeared to be Birmingham’s only outlet for attack. When Cattermole was sent off the writing really was on the cards but when Sunderland managed to go two nil up in the second half it looked like we were home clear. Stephan Carr embarrassingly headed the ball into the back of his own net 11 minutes after the break.

Birmingham battled on but you felt it was more to do with the fact Sunderland had been playing with a man short for an hour and when they finally pulled a goal back from Scott Dann they began to get hold of the game and the equaliser seemed certain to come.

Overall I think Sunderland can take a lot of positives from the game. We looked dangerous going forward and played well as a unit. Sure enough Birmingham City equalised a few minutes before half-time when Liam Ridgewell scuffed home an effort from a dangerous Larrsson free-kick.

Lots of positive to take from the game though. The new signings played well and as a team we looked very solid. Obviously the sending off had a major part in the result but I feel we have enough in us to really put on a show this season. If we can add to our current side with some quality signings I think we’ll be laughing.

Fingers crossed we don’t see that ref any time soon.

Kenwyne Jones our “Caribbean King” has said his farewells today and moved on to pastures new, reuniting himself with the Sunderland B team in the Potteries. Good luck at Stoke City big Ken.

I realise many fans are up in arms over the decision to sell Jones but the fact of the matter is; he is replaceable. I don’t necessarily mean like for like but in terms of quality, there are better players out there. Players who will come in and help add a new dimension to the side as opposed to the kick and punt option we were accustomed to when Jones was leading the line. In the three seasons he’s been at the club we’ve battled relegation twice and finished (for us) a rather respectable 13th place. He’s never really set the world alight and at the back end of last season I felt he was extremely frustrating to watch. He was finding it difficult to control the ball, half-attempting to win headers here and there and seemed more intent on ploughing up the football pitch with his JCB-like boots as opposed to putting his foot through the ball and hitting the target.

His goal return has been sufficient to keep us in the Premier League but I think our over-reliance on Jones at times has actually led to our downfall. When we went on our what seemed like a neverending winless run last season it took a Mr. Frazier Campbell to step up to the plate and really put in some classy displays to get us back to winning ways. I’m not saying Campbell is the answer but his attitude eventually saw him displace Kenwyne from the side and in doing so added a whole new state of play to the Sunderland team. I’d like to think we can develop a pacey, attack-minded formation, offering lots of movement in the final third.

I firmly believe Bruce will bring in some quality signings to put our minds at rest. Along with Quinny and Short he’s a very ambitious man and immature ‘mag’ references aside only wants what’s best for the club. I urge fans to sit back and see how the transfer window unfolds before making a hastey reaction which could be detremental to the teams performance this coming Saturday. It’s the first game of the season and I for one am itching to get into the ground and behind the lads. They need all the support they can get and it’s up to us as the fans to roar them on to Victory against Birmingham City.

Heads up…Haway the lads!!!

Cristian Riveros Chant

To the tune of ‘Another One Bites The Dust’

Cris, Cris, Cris, Cristian Riveros
Cris, Cris, Cris, Cristian Riveros
He’s a superstar, from Saldivar
Can pass it, shoot or cross
And, he’ll take the ball off you
Cristian Riveros

I was shocked when I first learned of Lorik Cana’s transfer to Galatasaray. He’s been quite an enigma throughout his short spell at Sunderland, starting the season extremely well and contributing with a stand-out performance at home to Liverpool. Unfortunately, like the rest of the Sunderland team Cana’s form began to suffer. He missed games through injury and suspension until ultimately he struggled to regain his place in the first team line-up.

It can be argued that Cana is not the perfect partner to play alongside Cattermole and as I side we could be a lot more dangerous with a more creative central midfield player. Cana like Cattermole is first and foremost a ball winner, he prides himself on giving his all, putting in battling displays but his attacking play was questionable. It would be rare to see a defence splitting ball or even a goal from Cana and since we relied heavily on Bent’s goal-scoring prowess it would make sense to replace him with a more attacking minded midfielder.

No doubt Cana will go down as a cult-figure on Wearside but I don’t think he’ll be greatly missed (His chant will most certainly be missed though!). I wish him all the best at Galatasaray, I’m sure the fans will quickly take to him when they see his battling displays and warrior like attitude on the field.