Bolton Wanderers’ Karl Henry has told Chronicle Live that he would hate to play for Sunderland due to the toxic atmosphere at the Stadium of Light.
While it was widely acknowledged by fans that their first season in the Sky Bet Championship was going to one where the team rebuilt for the future, no one expected it to be as bad as it became. They are currently 22nd in the Sky Bet Championship and could end up suffering the embarrassment of a double relegation. This bad form has already led to the sacking of Simon Grayson just a few months after he was appointed.
Henry played for Bolton in the game that got Grayson sacked, a 3-3 draw at the Stadium of Light which ended with the home fans booing the team off. Even though Bolton are doing worse than Sunderland right now, they are at the bottom of the Championship, Henry said he would hate to play for Sunderland due to the toxic environment that exists there after their horrid run of form.
He said: “Every time I go to Sunderland think the same thing – it’s a toxic atmosphere for the home team,”
“I wouldn’t want to be a player here with those fans. Obviously they have got high expectations, and there are a lot of clubs who feel they should be in the Premier League, but unfortunately only 20 teams can. The league tables don’t lie.”
“It’s an atmosphere that doesn’t help the home team and it’s something we say as the visitors to try and use against them. You can get fans on their back.”
