Sunderland game

Their obsession with playing down the game is bizarre to me. Surely as a football fan you want as many rivalries and games with added spice as possible.

I'd take playing Sunderland, Newcastle and Leeds over playing Reading and Swansea etc any day. Always spicy affairs and a cracking atmosphere.

Some of them say playing Boro can never compare to playing Newcastle because before that game they're nervous the week leading up to it, but never experience that when playing Boro. Well yeah, it's the same for Boro fans but that doesn't mean it's just like any other league game when we play each other.
 
Their full backs are their weak point, which is good news for us. They’ve been playing Gooch as a left back lately and their fans hate it.
 
Lemmy_kilmister said:
You wouldn't believe it 🤣, but there's a 500 reply post about us (expect many, many more this week) on their message board about the attendance for this game. There are a fair few other posts about attendances too.

They're utterly and completely obsessed with it.
Badge of honour? Yes.
Well supported? Yes.
By rights should be a guarantee of three points at home because of it? "Forty thoosand roaring the laaaaads on"...they truly seem to think so.

But they don't care about us. 🤣
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The home crowd have been very quiet on the last couple of visits.
The away crowd, not so much.
 
parmoboy said:
Some of them say playing Boro can never compare to playing Newcastle because before that game they're nervous the week leading up to it, but never experience that when playing Boro. Well yeah, it's the same for Boro fans but that doesn't mean it's just like any other league game when we play each other.
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Exactly this. When some say games against Boro are just like any other, it's clearly not. Teesside is 20 minutes down the road from Mackem supporting Peterlee. Mackems work on Teesside and I'm sure plenty of Teesside folk work at places like Nissan. The regular interaction between the two sets of fans sets it apart from other teams except Newcastle.

The fact is it's a regional rivalry that doesn't compare with their game against Newcastle. It's far more than any other game.
 
Personally I don't have an issue with Sunderland fans never ending bleating about it not being a derby. We all know its just their small-minded way of trying to portray themselves as a big club - which anyone with more than a walnut between their ears knows they most certainly aren't.
What I'll never get is their assumption that those of us privileged to born in Yorkshire are desperate to dis-associate ourselves from the worlds greatest county to be part of their and their human rights abusing owned sister club's Geordie nation? Strange people.
 
Jedi boro said:
Look at yesterday if Chuba puts that chance away early in the game then it’s a different game I reckon we’d have gone to get three or four. It’s fine margins.
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I absolutely thought we would get a few goals and we probably should have been at least 1 up before half time
 
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Diego said:
I knows it’s just another game of championship football.

It feels massive though, local derby, 2 teams with the intention of finishing in play offs, ex Boro legend managing Sunderland. Players who have played for both clubs. Live on Sky.

Most importantly a chance for us to try and extend that gap between 7th place and where we are and keep picking up points.

Come on the Boro. Can’t bloody wait.
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Obviously a massive game but like you say there's opportunity to start working a bit of daylight to 7th. A draw wouldn't be a bad result but home to Watford will be tougher and I fancy us for 3 points
 
Sunderland home form isn't great, but then it's a derby (no really, it is) so form is often irrelevant.

I think the Mackems will be pushing for a play off place during the run in, as long as they start clear of injuries to key players - keeping Stewart fit is key, or maybe just keeping him full stop.

It will be tight, but we're in an exceptional run that has to end at some point soon. Too close to call for me.
 
Nero said:
Exactly this. When some say games against Boro are just like any other, it's clearly not. Teesside is 20 minutes down the road from Mackem supporting Peterlee. Mackems work on Teesside and I'm sure plenty of Teesside folk work at places like Nissan. The regular interaction between the two sets of fans sets it apart from other teams except Newcastle.

The fact is it's a regional rivalry that doesn't compare with their game against Newcastle. It's far more than any other game.
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Yeah, in fairness I remember some of them on their board saying that it's probably a big game for Sunderland fans living in towns like Peterlee and Easington, which is close to Middlesbrough, whereas Sunderland fans living in towns close to the actual city probably won't know any Boro fans, hence why it doesn't feel like a big deal.

If I'm honest I haven't met many Sunderland supporters myself in my lifetime. A game vs Newcastle always felt like a bigger deal back in the day because I had mates who were Newcastle fans, so I'd dread having to face them if we got beat.

Games against Sunderland still feel like a big deal to me though. I've always hated them because of the way their fans behave whenever we play them, so it always means that little bit more to beat them than it does to beat most other teams.
 
Jonny Ingbar said:
I think the Mackems will be pushing for a play off place during the run in, as long as they start clear of injuries to key players - keeping Stewart fit is key, or maybe just keeping him full stop.
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It will be interesting to see if the traditional Mogga New Year collapse kicks in.

In fairness to Sunderland, the league one playoff winners are usually the favorites for relegation. Now, some might respond "but we're Sunderland"; but if being Sunderland counted for anything, they wouldn't have been in league one for 4 seasons in the first place.

Even if they do slump, they'll be well-clear of relegation, in which case, I think they'll have done quite well.
 
Nero said:
Exactly this. When some say games against Boro are just like any other, it's clearly not. Teesside is 20 minutes down the road from Mackem supporting Peterlee. Mackems work on Teesside and I'm sure plenty of Teesside folk work at places like Nissan. The regular interaction between the two sets of fans sets it apart from other teams except Newcastle.

The fact is it's a regional rivalry that doesn't compare with their game against Newcastle. It's far more than any other game.
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I agree, old timers in that area used to go to Sunderland one week and Newcastle the next.

Yes, big rivalry!

We’ve never had that carry on, we support the Boro and that’s the end of it.
 
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