McCarthy is tempted by sherbet dab

Mick McCarthy was in need of a drink on Saturday night. A man who had forsaken alcohol for Lent had good cause. Last week McCarthy celebrated his second anniversary as Sunderland manager while in his personal life he will soon be marking his silver wedding anniversary. And Sunderland are top of the Football League.

“It’s God’s game and His rules,” $950 new celine us 5 eu 35 turquoise pony hair espadrille loafers slip McCarthy said of his fast, “but I might have a sherbet this week. In fact it’s a racing certainty. I’ll only have one but it’ll be four feet high.”

McCarthy was feeling considerably taller on Saturday night. He knew this Monday morning will be unlike any other since he landed on Wearside. This Monday morning is the first to show Sunderland $890 celine python and leather loafers shoes at the top of the division.

Sunderland had briefly gone 0 celine a scene 75 cleveland top after a Friday night victory at Burnley at the beginning of the month but this feels different. To use a word McCarthy repeated on his first day at the Stadium of Light, this feels “proper”.

Serious caveats have to be inserted, just in case people start getting carried away. One is that, after a first half 0 celine bag 17727 3abe 070c-13 McCarthy described as “garbage”, few of the 29,000 present would have anticipated the atmosphere as five o’clock called.

Coventry City how to spot fake celine belt bag, about to drop into the bottom three, were the better side. Richard Duffy, Trevor Benjamin and Claus Jorgensen all had good 0 celine a scene 75 hours chances to give Coventry’s depressingly small number of fans something to cheer.

Sunderland, searching for their sixth successive win, were restricted to one shot – from Julio Arca $770 celine c – and, when Kevin Phillips, up for Southampton’s match yesterday at Middlesbrough, appeared on a balcony at the start of the second half, it was both uplifting and saddening for home supporters. Those were the days.

But then McCarthy introduced Chris Brown and Andy Welsh and Sunderland had more conviction. As Coventry’s woodwork was buffeted, first by Stephen Wright, then by Brown, the noise grew.

Finally Brown scored from 20 yards with 14 minutes left and, when news came through of a late Nottingham Forest equaliser against Wigan Athletic, the volume was in crescendo.

Wearside has a fortnight in which to come down. On April 2 Sunderland travel to Loftus Road and three nights later they are at Wigan. Portman Road is yet to be negotiated, as is Upton Park, and the memory of Steve Caldwell heading just over his own crossbar in injury-time should remind folk that Coventry came close to taking two points.

Another memory lingers here and is one reason why the disappeared fans have not yet returned. Last season Sunderland finished third and 0 celine 173823ska 18cc carolina were beaten in the play-offs by Crystal Palace. Consequently there were around 18,000 empty seats, though only Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham had more through their turnstiles on Saturday.

Faith has not been restored by a side even biased fans can see would struggle $950 new celine us 11 eu 41 black leather platform wedges ankle sandals shoes bx to cope with Norwich or West Brom. If Sunderland do go up – and there is a five-point gap to Ipswich in third – the club $1450 bnib celine off will have to balance the need to invest with their £40m debt.

It may seem churlish to mention it but it is significant, as is Sunderland’s improvement. Last season Sunderland reached 79 points. Today they have 78 with seven games remaining. In the past five seasons a total $800 celine reddish colors 4′ logo clogs covered with emblems e37 6 of 88 has been the maximum required for automatic promotion.

Not that McCarthy wanted to study such statistics. He was off to catch a plane to see his wife Fiona, still living in Kent. Married in May 1980, the two have been practically separated since McCarthy moved north. “Absence makes me think she’s blonder,” he said.