Another Gray day for sorry Sunderland
Forget about six-pointers. This, according to a Sunderland fan on a midweek radio phone-in, was the definitive nine-pointer. Two sides, one with a penchant for shipping three goals or more a game, the other having failed to score in the Premiership since September, both looking to end a miserable sequence of five league defeats on the bounce with a win. Draws just won't do when you're this far adrift of the pack. The Observer
Gray lifts gloom for Bruce
Points have been so elusive for these beleaguered sides that, even in a match against each other, they contrived to look as though they would emerge with nothing. The Times
Gray day in grim fight for top-flight survival
According to whispers circulating on Wearside last night Sunderland are poised to be taken over but any would-be buyer could be forgiven for taking fright after watching a truly appalling encounter involving two sides who definitely appear bad enough to be relegated. The Telegraph
Bruce's inspired switches leave McCarthy blue
Sooner or later, it seems Sunderland will have to face the facts: the Premier League is not the place for them. They can lose to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool and no one is going to think the worse of them, but if their prospects of survival are to retain any credibility they must beat the sides close to them. Yet even against opponents immediately above them at the bottom of the table they were found wanting. The Independent