BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Blackburn fans point way to obvious weekend bet

WHENEVER you hear football pundits complaining about supporters it's always about how fickle they are.

So how come they complained even more bitterly last Saturday when Blackburn Rovers fans showed they were anything but fickle?

Rovers followers are probably being a little harsh on Steve Kean, but at least they stuck to their guns and didn't let one result completely change their opinion of him.

And, to be honest, when you're as opposed to a manager as they are why on earth should one fluky win against a team with the worst away record in the division change your mind?

Compared to the Ewood Park faithful my view of Kean is positively glowing, but even the casual observer can see that he looks well out of his depth.

The board are probably more to blame than him in that respect, but he has to partly carry the can for so publicly denouncing the style of football employed by Sam Allardyce and then resorting back to the long-ball game when things went wrong.

The difference is that Kean has packed the team with ball players- Junior Hoilett, Ruben Rochina and Mauro Formica - whose talents aren't best served by hoofing the ball into the box from all angles.

And he seems clueless as to how to sort out a defence that has
conceded at least two goals in 11 of their last 13 matches.

Sunderland are short of confidence, but a change in manager often works well in those situations as it gives all the players a fresh start.

Unfortunately my attempts to persuade Mrs Bunter that a similar (albeit temporary) change in personnel might give us a boost has fallen on deaf ears.

Anyway, in a game that should throw up plenty of chances, I'm backing Sunderland to put away more of them.