There's the league table after today's defeat. Dunno about you but I reckon we're still in with a shout of promotion
It wasn't good to watch on TV...but here's what I think I saw Goalkeeper and defence played well enough. I like the way Cirkin is developing Midfield seem a bit imbalanced. Dan Neil is excellent. Pritchard is decent. Luke did a job as a niggly, horrible bar steward to play against. Luke is struggling though, and it seems we lack a player to grip midfield either as a defensive control or a playmaker to bring the ball out. The trio though made an above average contribution (Dan Neil way above) The forward line lacks the combination we need IMHO. Ross and AOB are too similar, AOB has a great work rate but very poor composure more often than not. Geads had a stinker today with poor shooting, poor decision making and perhaps his age is catching up with him. There wasn't really any pace once we got up top, except for Ross Stewart, but he was way too often found out on the wing. Every individual put a shift in but it didn't work as we were too slow up top. The only real chances we made were from the creativity of Pritchard or what cam from the quite superb Dan Neil. We were 2 - 3 players short of being the better team today. The penalty decision was poor. It was a penalty. The ball hit his bicep. Gooch was fouled twice in a potential goalscoring situation. The ref early days tried to let the game flow and not give soft decisions, but then seemingly ignored any foul or infringement. We, however, were still marginally second best. I was just frustrated today that we had so many players with blistering pace on the bench and they were ignored
Or at least guilty of assuming that we don't have much to worry about from teams on a ****e run of form!
I thought Pritchard and Neil stood out for trying to pick out passes, playing in triangles to create space etc but we need pace out wide to stretch defenses and play a bit quicker tempo. Players to come back from injury and suspension so it's not all doom and gloom, but a frustrating performance
When you came to our place (Gills) we were on dreadful form, but you scrapped a win. Today you played a team, that's struggled to pick up three points all season. It seems to me all your excitement is premature again and that you've learned nothing in your three seasons down here. You might be able to pass it about pretty on a slick pitch, but that will earn you nowt more that another season in league one, because as Charlton proved today, they've sussed you out. Pompey showed them the way, another team that is not even a shadow of the team they were last season.
Of course we are, and I've never said we weren't. I just said it was a very Sunderland thing to have a run of form ended by a team who have been on a run of bad form. We then pick ourselves up and carry on as normal, with this reversal being a blip. I have never even intimated that we then go on a run of bad form and I can't see from where you get your impression that I'm slagging off SAFC. Neither do I see anywhere any reason for your shoving our league position under my nose. Let me just clarify my previous comment, at the end of the normal season I expect SAFC to be in a promotion place, not still battling for promotion via the playoffs but in a position where we have already secured promotion - ie 1st or 2nd place.
One of the most ridiculous things I’ve read. Charlton and Pompey won because we were poor. We’d have comfortably beaten Portsmouth on a normal pitch. We could still be playing now and we wouldn’t have scored today.
Nowt ridicuous about it but even if I were to agree with your view, and you were poor, this is a terrible league this season and if you don't make top two this season then you never will. Anyway, I said you needed a slick pitch, you said you needed a normal pitch, which is practically agreeing with me, unless you're just clutching at straws. Winter is coming, you best get use to it.
i still wonder how nothing was done for the blatant body check on onien right after the kick off...will need to watch the full 90 again but it looked like a deliberate run into him from behind, looked to me like an early hit on his shoulder and that would not be the first time, players are making a point of 'going for it' and that is not fair on onien or the team as he is less effective after a clout. been thinking over MotM and i reckon there are only two real choices, cirkin or pritchard, but both appeared to fade a lot 2nd half cirkin probably the best of the two.
TBH, we were never going to win, fannied ( football technical term for messing about with no end product) about on their 18 yard line. They roughed us up and we did not deal with it. They scored a bundled goal... should it have been allowed? They also missed a sitter an open goal. One of the worst refs ever. Need to assess what went wrong today, including only starting to play when we went 1 down. Bit pizzed off...
