There is commotion on Wearside and the locals know not whether to laugh or cry. Sunderland supporters will travel to Goodison Park today in the knowledge that a 26th league defeat of the season could mean relegation from the Premiership is confirmed by the time they get home. A combination of Everton winning and West Bromwich Albion beating Liverpool in today's 5.15pm kick-off is required to send Sunderland down. Anything else and the Black Cats live in the top flight for another week.
Today could therefore condemn Sunderland or bring a stay of execution. But as relegation will come regardless, the latter scenario hardly counts as consolation.
"We just have to fight against the drop for as long as we can," said the caretaker manager Kevin Ball. "If people say that's putting off the inevitable, then so be it. We've got to go out there and have a right go and Everton will expect that from us."
And yet simultaneously there is a mood of pleasant anxiety around the Stadium of Light. This week's news that Niall Quinn is quietly working in Ireland on a package to try to rescue his beloved former club, and is making progress, has given Sunderland fans a sense of hope. It has been missing since it became clear after the first five matches post-promotion - all lost - that the squad was nowhere near good enough to survive.
"King Quinn", "the perfect man", and "let's hope it's true" were just some of the messages posted from supporters on websites and elsewhere in response to the news of Quinn's intention, with one correspondent speculating that Quinn could be in situ by next Saturday's home game with Fulham. "Does he have a helicopter?" was an additional question.
That was a reference to Kevin Keegan. When Keegan finished his playing days at Newcastle United, having been greeted as a saviour and then had the desired effect, he departed after his final match at St James' Park in a helicopter. It is a landmark north-east image.
Quinn is known to view Keegan's subsequent return to Newcastle as manager as the example to follow and those who maintain Keegan failed at St James' do not understand that achievement is not solely measured in medals. Before Keegan Newcastle players left the club - Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle among them; during his management and since players have made the opposite journey.
It is just one example of how Keegan altered the culture and that is what Quinn would seek to do at Sunderland. Debt and defeatism have plagued the club ever since Howard Wilkinson succeeded Peter Reid in 2002. There were highs under Mick McCarthy and, after Sunderland won promotion seven points ahead of Wigan Athletic last season, genuine optimism.
Despite the chronic start to this season some kept faith into the autumn. The 4-1 home defeat by Portsmouth on October 29th, however, left Sunderland on the floor of the Premiership and they have never got off it. Sunderland were 1-0 up at half-time but it will be recalled as the day a fan ran on to remonstrate with the goalkeeper Kelvin Davis. That rancour has persisted and culminated in angry protests after the last two home games demanding the removal of the chairman Bob Murray.
With only 10 points they are nine off equalling the lowest Premiership tally - set by themselves in their last relegation three years ago. Since three points for a win was introduced they are seven off the top-flight lowest set by Stoke City in 1984-'85. Stoke won three of 42 games and conceded 91 goals. The team immediately above them was Sunderland.
A worry for Sunderland fans must be that, if Quinn is unable to enact a takeover, then the club will list just as badly as it did in the mid-1980s. Two seasons after they went down with Stoke, Sunderland were in the old Third Division. And they did not have £40 million of debt hanging around their neck.
Guardian Service
