Bardsley’s Hollywood script – but will there be a happy ending?PHIL Bardsley admits the last year of his life would make a pretty good film script.
But now he just wants a happy ending to the story!
“I’d probably get Tom Hardy to play me because he can look a bit daft as well!” smiled the 28-year-old, as he looked back on a tumultuous few months in his career.”
But that smile masks the pain of the journey he has been on
“No, it has been quite a time,” he acknowledged.
“But things have picked up for me and for the club and after a bad start and we have a great opportunity to end the season really well.
“I’d love it to end on a high in both the cup and the league and that’s what I’ll be trying to do.”
The long-serving Black Cats’ defender made unwanted headlines last May when he was pictured on social media lying on a casino floor surrounded by money on a late night out.
Then Sunderland boss, Paolo Di Canio, dealt with the transgression severely, making a public example of the former Manchester United man, banishing him from the first-team squad and suggesting he would never play for the club again.
Other trials followed for the former Sunderland Player of the Year but he was brought back into the fold by caretaker manager Kevin Ball, as was former skipper Lee Cattermole.
And that rehabilitation has gathered pace since Gus Poyet too charge of the club in October – handing the 28-year-old a place in his very first starting line-up and showing faith in the player’s ability to contribute to the cause.
Bardsley needed no second invitation to take his chance and has been pretty much an automatic choice under the Uruguayan ever since.
Along the way there have some fine performances from the full-back with goals against Manchester City, Southampton, Chelsea and a late, great cup goal against Man United at Old Trafford being highlights.
A great performance in the 3-0 win over Newcastle United also helped earn the respect of Sunderland fans afresh and now Bardsley wants those final few steps on the road to redemption.
“It has been a strange time and it is ironic that if I hadn’t broken my foot last summer then I probably wouldn’t be here,” he reflected.
“But what I’m after now is a great end of the season and we’ve got some great games coming up to hopefully enjoy.
“We’re all buzzing about the cup final and we’re all determined to give a really good account of ourselves; to give a performance that everyone can be proud of.
“But beyond that, we’re also very much aware of the importance of cementing our place in the Premier League.
“We’ve come a long way but we’re not there yet and now we have to give it one final push to make sure the campaign ends well.
“Everybody just needs to give everything between now and the end of the season.”
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Sunderland ace up for fans awardDAM Johnson is in contention to lift another award after making the shortlist for a supporters accolade.
Johnson was named Premier League player of the month a fortnight ago after producing a dramatic turnaround in his form since the turn of the year.
And the winger, who is hopeful of earning a recall to the England squad this week, is one of seven players in contention to win the FTBPro PFA Fan Player of the Month for February.
The 26-year-old has been nominated, along with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Tottenham’s Emmanuel Adebayor, Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge, Southampton’s Adam Lallana, Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla and West Ham’s Kevin Nolan.
To vote, visit
www.ftbpro.com/FanAwards.
One lucky fan will win two tickets to a Premier League game, where they will present the winner with their award. Voting closes at midnight on Friday.
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Sunderland star Marcos aims to lay Wembley ghost to restMARCOS ALONSO hopes to banish some ghosts in this weekend’s Capital One Cup final after enduring a miserable first Wembley experience three years ago.
Spanish left-back Alonso was dropped from the Bolton starting XI for their FA Cup semi-final against Stoke City in 2011, despite appearing in every previous round in the Trotters’ march to Wembley.
But that pain was nothing compared to the misery Bolton endured when the game got underway – they were thrashed 5-0 by the Potters.
Alonso is desperate for a more memorable afternoon on Sunday when Sunderland look to follow the achievements of last year’s FA Cup winners Wigan, by upsetting the odds against Manchester City in a Wembley final.
The on-loan Fiorentina defender told the Gazette: “I’d played in the whole cup run, but when we got to Wembley, I didn’t play.
“And then we got beat 5-0, so it was a bad day!
“But football always gives you another opportunity, so we will see what happens on Sunday.
“Wembley is one of the top stadiums in the world, and playing in the cup final, the atmosphere is going to be great.
“It’s an opportunity to show what I’ve got. I won’t get a better chance to play in a better arena.
“We saw last year with Wigan that it’s possible.
“We just have to play how we did away at Man United in the semi-final. If we do that, then we will have a chance.”
Alonso insists Sunderland have been giving “200 per cent” on the training ground this week after a harrowing 4-1 thrashing at Arsenal last Saturday.
The 23-year-old realises the Black Cats must raise their game significantly against Man City after admitting Gus Poyet’s men had half-an-eye on the final at the Emirates.
But Alonso believes Sunderland can learn from that experience as they prepare to face another of the Premier League title contenders.
“We’ve learned, and we are more ready for this Sunday I think,” he said.
“After watching back what happened in the 90 minutes on the pitch, it’s the best way to learn, rather than talking about it.
“We’ve also had to train 200 per cent this week and be ready to go on to the pitch on Sunday with more hunger than we showed at Arsenal.
“We gave away the first half and then, it was too late after going 3-0 down at the Emirates.
“Watching it after the game, maybe our minds were on Wembley a little bit. We were maybe more focused on this Sunday, which was our big mistake.
“We didn’t want to press too high, but on the other side, we were not 100 per cent alive in our defending.
“We also made some silly mistakes, which can happen to anyone.”