Fan Letters: "We are Sunderland — and we're feckin' fantastic!"

Yesterday at 01:00 AM

RR reader Alan Haddick is excited about the direction in which this group of Sunderland players is heading! Got something to say? Email us: RokerReport@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Roker Report,

There's a lot of stuff flying around about good times past - remember this, remember that?- and I remember a lot of it.

But the past has become the past right now.

In years to come, people will be asking 'Do you remember Neil, Patterson, Rigg, Bellingham and oh my god, did we really have Wilson Isidor?'.

It's time to live in the here and now!

Honestly, the way it's looking we could go up while the Mags go down, but who cares?

We are Sunderland, we are Sunderland and oh my god - we're feckin' fantastic!

Alan Haddick

Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, Alan. Thank you for your letter.

It's certainly exciting times at the Stadium of Light, isn't it?

We're setting the pace at the top of the league under a head coach who's looking ideally suited to the role, and with a group of players who are improving at a seriously impressive rate.

Of course there'll be setbacks along the way as we continue to mount a promotion challenge, but under Régis Le Bris, we've already shown that we can recover from poor results and respond strongly next time out, and that'll be key as the season unfolds.

Let's enjoy the good times but also keep a balanced perspective when things get tough, because the goal of bringing Premier League football back to Wearside won't be achieved easily, and nor should it be.

Dear Roker Report,

I just wanted to share my appreciation for the resilience Sunderland showed at Loftus Road on Saturday.

A 0-0 draw might seem underwhelming at first, especially as we went into the game with high expectations against a struggling QPR side, but considering the circumstances, I think it was a good result.

The sending off changed everything.

Losing Jobe Bellingham for the last half hour could've been the turning point for us to drop points entirely, but the team rallied and every player stepped up.

From Luke O'Nien's incredible work rate to the composure of our defence, this was the type of team performance that we would've lacked in previous seasons.

I also have to mention Régis Le Bris.

His calm yet focused approach was evident in the way we adapted after going down to ten men. He's cultivating something special here, and while a point might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, it could be crucial at the end of the season.

Moments like this highlight the depth of character this squad has developed under his management.

Looking ahead to Preston, I'm a bit concerned about missing Bellingham, but I trust that Le Bris and the coaching team will find a solution. We've seen young players rise to the challenge, and I'm excited to see who steps up this time.

Onwards and upwards — let's keep this momentum!

David from Seaham

Dear Roker Report,

Saturday's match at QPR was a bit of a letdown for me.

I get that playing with ten men is a challenge, and it was a gritty performance from the Lads to see out the draw, but I can't help feeling we missed a chance to pull further ahead, as the game was there for the taking if things had gone our way!

QPR have been struggling all season, yet they seemed to outwork us at times, especially in the first half.

Our usual tempo was missing and it was clear that Jobe was our biggest threat up until his red card.

I'll be honest: the sending off felt harsh, but that's football. It's frustrating, though, because you can tell Jobe's growing into a key role in this team, and missing him for the next three games will hurt.

I hope this serves as a wake-up call for us, especially going into a tougher run of fixtures.

We can't afford lapses in concentration or discipline. Let's get back on track against Preston and show that we can overcome these bumps without losing our edge at the top of the table.

Ian Hughes

Ed's Note [Phil]: Hi, David and Ian. Thank you for getting in touch, and it's good to hear such contrasting views on our 0-0 draw with QPR on Saturday.

Personally, I wasn't too dissatisfied with the outcome at Loftus Road, and given that we played for half an hour with ten men against a side who were certainly up for it, I was inclined to view it as a point gained rather than two dropped, although I do understand that many fans would've expected us to see off a team who've found the going tough this season.

What Saturday's game highlighted was the fact that this is shaping up to be a very, very open Championship, and that any team will fancy their chances of taking something against any given opponent. QPR kept Burnley at bay on their own patch prior to playing us, after all, so perhaps it wasn't entirely surprising that we had to settle for a draw.

On the other hand, it also extended our unbeaten run to six games, and an eighth clean sheet in thirteen league matches shouldn't be overlooked either.

We're going along quite nicely, and a positive result at Deepdale will send us into the weekend's clash with Coventry in very good spirits!