Lads Terrible result from a winning position again. I have sat through the last few games and listened to all the crac at stoke about the failures of the defence and the keeper. Last week at stoke a old mate text me and said " Count how many tackles Hendo makes" I did`nt but did watch him struggle a similar story against Essien and Chelsea. Yesterday I did watch his every move for the whole game, believe me he did not make one single tackle, never mind a successful one. I can honestly say, I believed he had what it takes, but after watching his every move he is not giving us anything. I dont believe as Brucie suggests he is tired if that is the case drop him. I am leaning to the side of the many that are of the opinion that he is overated. Thought lads
Well, i will start by saying i think the stick Jordan gets is over the top. However, he IS overrated, i don't think WE did it, he seems to have been one of the blue-eyed boys for the national press, who have given him this massive, and as yet undeserved reputation. That said, Jordan IS a very good player, and considering his youth, he will improve both physically and in ability. He doesn't tackle, but then he's always been a RIGHT MIDFIELDER, that's not his job out there, that's not what the lad would have spent his time working on. I like Jordan, and i hope he makes the step up to the plate, the gripe i have with Jordan is not his lack of tackling and defensive work, as i don't see him ever being cast in that role, my gripe is his absolutely woeful delivery, time and time again, from dead balls. His crossing on the run is excellent, but a dead ball is either flat, or long, 80-90% of the time. He needs to stop taking them, and he needs to be utilised on the right and running at players, whipping balls in. I think the supporters of ours that are on a homegrown kids back constantly because he isn't a Lionel Messi/Michael Essien combo need to stop and think. We're used to failure, does that mean we need to crucify and knock one of our own because he's played out of position most weeks? Final thing, i bet you Jordan would play every week for 13 or 14 teams in the league, the lad has played more minutes than anyone else for us this season, and he loves the shirt. Why don't we focus on the good points and build the lad up, he's patchy at the minute, only encouragement is going to give him the confidence to fulfil his undoubted potential. Jordan, you have my full backing mate, as a right midfielder
Well said BruceysBeak, I hate the way we all have to sound out one player all the time and this season it seems to be Young Jordan. Give the lad a break for gods sake, we all know he is not the best player in the team, but he is a good player and will only get better, so what he doesn't tackle, he has other qualities, Muntari and Catts are the tacklers in midfield.
Henderson seems to be on the verge of being the fans number one boo-boy. The poor kid has been asked to do Cattermole's role in front of the defence and it simply isn't his game. At least he didn't hide away from taking on the responsibility of being the link between defence and midfield. Maybe his boo boys may wish to consider the contributions of Muntari, a player who looked bemused by the pace of game or Malbranque who gave us his usual sexy little cameos without much in way of end product.
Let's be honest, Jordan get's extra gip for being a Mackem. It's absolutely extraordinary, rounded on for being one of our own. Surely he should get extra patience and backing? I tell you what, if we'd bought him in, he'd get a lot more patience. I'll say this for him, he's got 100% support from our corner of the North Stand, i've never heard him slated once, although we all agree a) he's not a centre mid, and b) he needs a rest. We seem to always need to be tearing into someone, why?
my problem with the lad is that he doesnt put his foot in at all, he runs to a player then tries to block him off, and i think he has been found out, don't get me wrong the lad is quality but he needs to learn how to tackle, and with mensah, muntari and cattermole in the squad he should have more than enough experience around him to learn
I see your point Redflag and agree that Jordan is no tackler; however, he does have other qualities that make him a very good player for our club. I too watched him closely yesterday and I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with BB's comments and would say to all of the critics that complain about him passing the ball backwards, that it is far better that the team maintains possession than to loose possession by attempting a dodgy through ball. If you watch him closely, you will notice as I did, that Jordan has good movement, is very rarely robbed of the ball and has great awareness that allows him to see and deliver a quick and accurate pass to a team mate on a regular basis. The figures being quoted for him were ridiculous and maybe this got into his head? We don't know, but it appears to me that his form dipped the minute ã20m was quoted! I can just imagine some of the taunts about his price tag from the opposition terraces when he is playing, so the last thing he needs to hear is criticism from his own club fans. I mean, will taunts from us SAFC fans make him play any better, or will it make his head drop and affect his confidence?, the latter has occurred in my opinion. Constructive criticism is never a bad thing and I agree that all players deserve to be criticised at some point during their careers, but being over critcal to the point of calling him "****e or "useless" is not going to achieve a positive reaction from the player. I just want to see the boy back to his best, playing with a smile and with confidence out on the right (because it is his best position) and whipping the ball into the box for the likes of Asa. The smile and form will only return with rest followed by some hard work from him, the coaches and management, backed up with the full support of us fans.
TBH i did a similar thing and came out with the same result but like BB i think he is quality and being played out of position. Also watch how many forward passes he make as opposed to back or sideways passes, i think the lad might be struggeling with a lack of confidence at the minute. The amount of times he was going forward but when faced with the opposition he did an about turn and passed it backwards putting us under pressure all the time. I also thought he was at fault for their second goal, he let Kranjcar have a free run into our box when he should have been tracking back with him.
The 'passes backwards' thing is an absolute myth for me anyway, he plays backwards to keep posession, but that's no bad thing, people who say every pass is backwards, i'm sorry you're wrong. Jordans ball retention is very good, and although he doesn't hit 70 yarders and neat through balls, that's not his game, not what he's done through the youth teams and so on. When Catts is fit, i think we'll rarely see Jordan in the centre, we need a natural left sider to compensate for Bardsley being right footed at left back, and i can see Kieran leaving IF Spurs do come in for him. N'Zogbia, i'm sure, will land here in the summer, along with a quality striker, that's all we need, assuming we keep Ned, and i expect Welbeck may be here for another year if we can't get him permenantly. This would make the midfield N'Zogbia Sessegnon Cattermole Jordan. Maybe Muntari if a) He's kept and b) We go 4-5-1/4-3-3. That's a quality midfield, make no mistake, and i'm gonna go against what seems to be the grain and say we DO need a 'target man' style striker to go alongside Gyan, it doen't need to be to the detriment of the good football we play, but Gyan's movement , and a good supply of crosses from the wings, could see a lot of goals. Jordan's delivery would be a weapon from the right if we had a striker who could win headers and go for goal, or look for Gyan's runs. We'll see the best of Jordan when everyone's fit, and the team is more balanced, i don't doubt it for a split second.
The backpasses do alolow us to keep possession but it instantly puts the defence under pressure which i think is a bit negative and it does show a lack of confidence. I'm not knocking the lad but i do beleive he needs a rest, he was found wanting quite a lot yesterday, didn't track back as often as he normally does and Spurs capitalised on it, second half they just waltzed through our midfield. We missed the steel that Catts provides yesterday. I think Steve Bruce has already said he is looking for a striker to 'compliment' Gyan so it looks like he is thinking of bringing in a 'target' man, any thoughts on who would fit in? Also share your thought on Nzogbia, think he would be an excellent signing for us and he would compliment Bardsley perfectly. I thought we had a "buy" option on Muntari? he looked really good yesterday, played some quality balls through for Sess & Gyan.
Striker wise for me the ideal would be Andre Pierre Gignac, we were heavily linked in January, there were even rumours he'd been to the AOL, they were false, as when he was allegedly there i was watching him play for Marseille against Nice! There's no one in England who i think fits the bill, so we're gonna be looking abroad in my opinion, the benefit to Gignac is that he ain't gonna struggle with the physical side, as he is an absolute hulk of a man! Bruce's hint that the transfer record may go suggest we can expect someone really top drawer, Gignac would cost ã18million-ish i imagine, but if i was gaffer and it was my money, i'd be after him Another player, who i personally don't rate, but who's likely to be a target would be Klaas Jan Huntelaar. I've never seen him have a good game, but he must have something about him based on his reputation, i think he'll be in the mix because Schalke aren't going to get in the champions league, after massive investment in the summer, and they started culling players in January. They let Ivan Rakitic, one of the most sought after players in Europe, go for ã2million, strikes me they are DESPERATE for cash. They paid ã12million for Huntelaar, he'd probably sell for around that again.
I think he plays alot better when Cattermole's playing, that lets him roam about, which is what he's good at. That's why he had such a ****e England game, they stuck him in a defensive midfield role. Once Catts, Turner and Welbeck we'll be playing normally again.
Taking into consideration what Liverpool paid for "my little pony" and what we got for Bent, ã12m would be a good price for Huntelaar IMO, good times ahead BB. When you think back just a few seasons ago we were being linked with the likes of Hunt, Johnson and Co, what a turn around eh?
It's unreal mate, people are saying about the likes of Muntari, Mensah and Gyan being at the club, it goes a lot further than that. Cast back 5 years, we wouldn't have got players like Catts, Turner, Gordon, even people like Chimbonda and Diouf, we wouldn't have got them because we were a club in ruins, and if someone else was interested, it would have been 'anywhere but Sunderland'. Even Keanes early signings, Connolly, Kavanagh etc, good players, but 'journeymen' types, players who'd go somewhere, do a job in the short term, and move on. It's an unbelievable turnaround, i shudder to think where we'd be without Quinn, Drumaville and later Ellis. Doesn't bare thinking about. To sit here and say to you i think, and i know that doesn't make it fact or even likely, that 2 of our targets will be an ex Madrid and Milan, Dutch international, and a young France international playing for Marseille, and genuinely think we have a chance, even just to believe that is fantastic. My god we've had some **** to put up with, for my whole lifetime bar 3 years under Reid, i'm thankful, and ecstatic the boat we're in now, despite the 'mini rut' we're in!
I'm feeling a little bit sentimental right now mainly due to too much red wine but i can't help thinking that we are in for some real treats in the next 6 months. Even on MOTD we were mentioned as Europa League candidates and while i don't honestly think we are, i am well chuffed at the standards we have, as a club, achieved so far this season. All credit to the management, Short, Quinn, Bruce, as my signature sugests, "The futures Brught, it's Red & White"
Living in Holland, watched Huntellar, suarez etc, Dutch league poor by EPL standards, but a different sort of league, the EPL is more demanding, also longer, Hendo is a raw young tallent, give him his head, **** me he is only a kid, but our kid, so all you perfect people out there, why are your boots not on the pich at the SOL, because you talk a good game.....................IS ALL.
Living in Holland, watched Huntellar, suarez etc, Dutch league poor by EPL standards, but a different sort of league, the EPL is more demanding, also longer, Hendo is a raw young tallent, give him his head, **** me he is only a kid, but our kid, so all you perfect people out there, why are your boots not on the pich at the SOL, because you talk a good game.....................IS ALL.
Must admit feel exactly the same...PRAISE YOUTH & IT WILL PROSPER...somebody started a 1973 thread here just recently...have a dodge through and check out the local youth in that team....The difficulty is getting people to realise it could be done....Thats got to be a prority in any club I think...whether youre Barca chasing to bring back Cesc or any body else....It even makes sense if youre trying to persuade people to leave the pub and watch it live!!!! Youd come out to see one of your own and feel great about it ....Can you imagine going over to the SoL with nobody local....As much as I loved Porterfields goal ........... ...Monty`s save....
Mate been on the piss for 14 hours, and still cant get your thread in my mind, can you do it again, will gladly respond.......no offence intended.
