Niall Quinn will be hoping for more days like Saturday if his decisions are always greeted with similar performances.

 

The Sunderland chairman has stated that season ticket prices will fall in a bid to encourage as many supporters to follow their team in person. He is keen for the atmosphere at the Stadium Of Light to be as much of a boost to the home team as it can be hostile to visitors. Recalling his own experiences, the former striker said "I've played the game and I know what it was like when the stadium was full, and I know what it was like when there were 6,000 or 7,000 people missing, there was something missing in our performances."                                        

Meanwhile, the 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Stoke City was shrouded in controversy for both sides. Whilst Tony Pulis fumed over the second half sending off of Matthew Etherington, Black Cats boss Ricky Sbragia refused to be drawn over another questionable performance by Rob Styles. Sunderland should have been ahead well before Kenwyne Jones’ 78^th minute strike when defender Danny Pugh blatantly handled the ball but Styles missed the incident. David Healy’s late strike secured the points for the home team but Sbragia acknowledged that Styles “is off the hook. If it had ended 0-0, we might have complained a little bit more about it."