A bit about you:
Name: Gordon McFarlane
Current home town: I live in Bedfordshire
Birthplace: I was born in Scotland, but moved to the north east of England when I was 15
How long have you supported your team? I’ve supported Sunderland for around 33 years – the highs (a few) and the lows!
Overview of your club:
Favourite thing about your home ground: Generally the atmosphere in the Stadium of Light is great, and can be quite intimidating for the opposition! It’s also a modern, roomy stadium.
Favourite match played by your team & why: Any one of the last 5 straight wins against Newcastle! I also saw Sunderland beat Liverpool at Anfield in the early 1980’s – a very rare event.
Favourite player of all time who played for your club: Gary Bennett – great defender who played for us from 1984 to 1995.
About our forthcoming match against you:
Your favourite current player in your squad and why? Seb Larsson – works really hard for the team, and there’s much more energy about the team when he plays
Player in your squad we should most fear and why? Lee Cattermole – he’s outgrown his reputation for yellow and red cards (well, reds) and is a passionate, committed midfielder
Player in our squad you most fear and why? Shinji Okazaki looks to have an impressive scoring record
Up and coming prospect in your squad? Duncan Watmore (striker) – only on the fringes of the first team at the moment, but one to watch for the future
How do you think you’ll do against us? At the moment, I’m confident that we can get something from the game, so I’ll go for an away win to kick start the season
General Questions:
What do you think of the summer transfer activity so far both in and out of your club? – really pleased – we desperately needed to strengthen, and Jeremain Lens is the star transfer so far
Where do you think you’ll finish this season? I’m hoping for mid table mediocrity – would make a pleasant change!
Which three teams do you think will go down? Watford, Bournemouth (possibly not enough strength in depth for the whole season) and an outside chance – Aston Villa
Who do you think will win the league? Arsenal