Lost in the Supermarket...

Surely Gordon Brown’s credit crunch calamity will have little bearing on Sunderland shoppers, as Roy Keane robustly points out.

However Sunderland fans can surely take some consolation from recent revelations in the press that it’s not just the fact that they have a ‘shit’ football team that’s driving away big name signings and their birds.

Last year the Mackems manager made a fuss when an array of high profile players turned down a trip to the Stadium of Shite, preferring the burley boroughs of London. Keano, callously branding those in question “weak and greedy!” because their other half didn’t fancy shopping on Wearside.

"We had one player this summer who didn’t even have the courtesy to ring us back because his wife wanted to move to London. And shopping was mentioned.

If they don’t want to come to Sunderland because their wife wants to go shopping in London it’s a sad state of affairs."

Does he have a point or is it simply an excuse? As a Black and White it’s inevitable that I would regard it as merely making allowances for the small club’s excessive ambition, however shopping in Sunderland IS shite!

With an abundance of charity shops and pound shops to boot many would wonder what’s not to love about shopping in Sunderland? Snotty celebs however think differently and the array of ‘Aladdin cave-esque’ trinket stalls and gritty markets don’t really float their boat.

Page 3 goes shopping in Sunderland

Sporting the usual commodities, Primark takes centre stage in a pretty much lack lustre Fawcett Street, however The Bridges shopping centre pushes the boat out with the inclusion of a Debenhams and a H&M. London on the other hand has 11!

The capital boasts a tidy range of shopping, from small boutiques, monstrous department stores, shadowed by an eclipse of high fashion designer outlets favourited by the high fashion elitist.

Sunderland however shows little promise of an upheaval covertly remaining in the dark ages when it comes to over-the-counter culture.