Fanzine Fanzone - Times Online - WBLG

Same old story?

“I've had it on good authority there were journalists in the press box on Saturday at the SoS, who were genuinely gutted Sunderland didn't beat NUFC. I'm not talking about the guys from the Sunderland Echo - others, locals and nationals, and I'm pretty confident you'll have a good idea who I'm talking about.

"The football press is an inane circus which needs its stories to pursue and one of those at the moment is Sam Allardyce. Frankly, it’s pathetic and it seems the culture of Big Brother infests their world view.”
This may not be the kind of opinion you are likely to read in The Times tomorrow (or any other day this week), but that’s precisely why it’s here in Fanzine Fanzone. Honest, articulate, well-reasoned and as far from the mainstream morass as you could imagine.

Are journalists deliberately missing the point to peddle an agenda (in this case, sacking Big Sam)? Or is it a reality of the hurly-burly modern-day world that managers are under pressure from the kick-off – particularly if their tactics are as sophisticated as Mike Ashley’s dress sense?

A word of warning to readers before they click on this link, this is the voice of the terraces and the language is as honest and uncompromising as the opinions…
http://www.true-faith.co.uk/html/tbawe.htm

The Enforcer responds

James Henderson, our Sunderland man, is fretting about whether Michael Chopra should play in the Tyne-Wear derby. Will the forward relish the chance to put one over on the boyhood club who discarded him - or will he dissolve like Disprin when he sees those black and white shirts?
As Henderson puts it, “Will he play with his Newcastle heart or realise he's in Sunderland sleeves?”
But while Sunderland fans may be right to wonder how Chopra will feel when (or if) he lines up against his old club, they’re wrong to worry about how he will cope on Saturday. The list of players who’ve scored against their old clubs – or even the list of former clubs that Nicolas Anelka has scored against – is too long to go into here. It’s the immutable law of the ex and it’s Newcastle who will be worrying most.
Besides, if they say you can judge a player’s loyalty by his goals, Chopra has already shown he is more Sunderland than Newcastle. Two Premier League goals in 12 games may not be many, but it’s more than he managed in all those years with Newcastle – and he won’t have forgotten how he was discarded without getting a decent opportunity. It’s his big chance to prove that he could have cut it and he will be desperate to grab it.
Henderson warns that “the consequences of his every action on Saturday will not be fully realised until after the game. When the heat dies down both sets of fans will work out who got one over on who, with Chopra being the stick to hit them with.”
But that’s not for Roy Keane to worry about - his concern is getting points now. He certainly won’t think about leaving Chopra out to protect him from what may or may not happen. After all, Chopra is 23, not 17. If he can’t cope with the flak he shouldn’t have signed the contract.
What do you think? Should Chopra be thrown into the cauldron or should Roy Keane protect a crucial player from a barrage that could ruin his season?