Pain Relief

It didn't sound like the most accomplished performance, but after a month of pain, it was a relief to get back to winning ways and with a clean sheet and a first 'double' to boot. We are blessed with two genuinely natural goalscorers in Darren Bent and Darren Ambrose (I would prefer my goalscorers to have macho names like 'Dave' or 'Mick' but Darren will do for now), and they did the job again for us today.

It was notable that nine of the ten outfield players also began the season at Sunderland, and the 'back to basics' approach served us well on this occasion. It was also notable that JJ and Spector were nowhere to be seen, having rightly took the brunt of the criticism for the dire Man City performance. Whilst Spector may still have something to offer at centre-back, JJ should be put on Ebay in time for the transfer window.

The win neatly leapfrogs us above the other North-East representatives in the Premiership, and back into the top half. We now have five vital games in sixteen days beginning with a very winnable fixture against a rapidly fading Wigan side, and it would be nice to think we might return to the type of away form that led to such early-season optimism.