He’s an absolute breath of fresh air from what we got used to in the premier league days, limited but I absolutely love him
He's impossible not to like, he is limited as a footballer but love players that just give everything and maximizes their ability
Damning with faint praise for me, he's not a bog standard footballer with a great attitude. He's two footed, can play a variety of positions, mixes great passing accuracy with great defensive instincts. Reads the game well or he wouldn't be in the right place to put the quantity of blocks and interceptions in that he does. Probably the best player at the club for putting in accurate long balls forward. Consistently one of our best performing players statistically.
Seriously though, it was worth standing through a poor first half to see that goal scored right in front of us ... ... just like Reading. I had to drive over, on my own, through some ropey conditions and could've easily watched at home on Sky. But it was the Clarke goal, at Reading, that pushed me over the edge. I said to the lads, in the pub, that you wouldn't want to miss another like that through being a bit lazy. You'd hope there's at least one more of that quality before the end of the season ... ... wherever we finish it'll be worth all the travelling to see Sunderland play that way and receive the praise it deserves.
Exactly this, Lukes a player ( as does Jack Rudoni ), both outstanding and Men of the match for their respective for sides imo. Another outstanding contribution in that game came from Ba until he picked up a knock in a 50/50, which got him booked and hurt, so fingers crossed that he is fit for Saturday, and the same goes for Huddersfield's players that were carried off. Huddersfield were unlucky tbh and with better finishing could have won that game ( we all know how that feels ), and yet like us stuck to football all night in awful conditions , I wish them well I really do, and hope that their results pick up soon, and that we both have successful seasons. OaU
Huddersfield surprised me with how good they were, I thought a team bottom of the league with key players out would be at least a bit disjointed but not at all. One of the better teams we've played I'd say and it could easily have gone either way, probably just the quality of our bench was the difference.
At the moment it is more difficult for the wingers to go outside as there is no height in the box so they tend to be cutting in front of 18 yard box to create space. So whilst I agree his end product may be lacking there is a reason for it. When our strikers are fit and we can use the width again I believe Roberts and the team as a whole will become far more dangerous
With both goals we end up with four defenders facing their own goal which they hate ... ... they can defend if we play up to them but get behind and we can destroy them. I want Stewart back but he has to buy into that. I wouldn't want another dreary 'cross to Wyke in the area' scenario. It won games but it was poor football with no Plan B.
MOWBRAY PRE CARDIFF Ahead of Saturday's clash with Cardiff City, Tony Mowbray discussed all things Alex Pritchard, Jewison Bennette and the Championship as a whole... TEAMS PULLING AWAY “The cream seems to be rising to the top now. Burnley are 16 games unbeaten. You feel pretty confident that teams like Sheffield United and Norwich City are going to be up there. They are starting to congregate around the top six." CARDIFF WINNABLE “We just have to keep going. Keep picking up points and winning games and let’s see where it takes us. There is an opportunity for us on Saturday to beat Cardiff who are not in that bracket of being in the Premier League the last two seasons, got parachute payments and got exceptionally good players. I think the turnover of their club was probably because they had some high earners and they needed to reset to Championship level funding. And yet to me, they look like a very well organised and decent football team. It will be a good game for us, a good test and one that we go into knowing that we play well and our top players perform at the level then we can win.” PRITCH V HUDDERSFIELD “I think he was happy on the night. He was going back to an old team and getting a bit of stick from the supporters around the stadium. It was a nice moment for Pritch to score in that game. I don’t think he needs a confidence boost. I find it interesting. When you look at footballers from the outside and then you come inside and you see the internal mechanism of the football club. You get to know them and what makes them tick and their personality." PERSONALITY “I wouldn’t have thought Pritch is what he is and yet he is. He is a confident boy who has had a decent career. He transferred for a lot of money. I don’t mind footballers with opinions. I don’t cower away. If they can give me any information that helps that I think is worth implementing in the team, I’ll do that. Pritch has got some good opinions." FORMER CLUB “I was delighted for him on the night going back to his old club, particularly when he was taking a bit of flack through the game, and score and help the team win. It was good for him.” JEWISON BENNETTE “He’s a lovely kid. He is learning the language, he’s having lessons two or three times a week. I had a good chat with his dad who was a footballer in Costa Rica. He’s not moaning that he isn’t playing and obviously when he come over here, he was hoping he can get straight in the team and play." PATIENCE IS KEY “His dad understands, having been a player, for a young boy he has to bide his time. 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It’s good and what an experience to go to the World Cup. I think he is going to be a really good footballer for us. At this moment, he is finding himself in a position where he has got some competition in the team and yet he does look exciting." JEWI VS L09 “Sat watching him today in training, he sat Luke O’Nien on his backside one-on-one. It makes me think ‘goodness me’ because Luke O’Nien is a good defender in this league. He sticks to his task and this kid has got some talent." TIMING “We have to expose to the support base at some point more than giving him 10 minutes at the end of the game. That is coming, I said that to his dad at the end of the day. It’s about timing. My responsibility is to the the football club. I don’t just put him in because he has got a World Cup to go to and the national manager sees he has been playing minutes. It’s about our team and if he’s not quite ready and if he’s not as good as Jack Clarke then he has to bide his time. They understand that but he is an exciting talent, a really nice lad and I can only see bright things for him.”
yup, cant really argue with that, i also think the lads have been told to try to get into 'shooting positions' and have a crack...but much like gooch when he plays further forward it is good that they try different things, i remember kilbane, he would get the ball and kind of 'stall' for a few steps then start his run but he always curled his right hand up just before he ran, defenders soon clicked onto that.
Come on Mogga give him a start..... SIMMS SELECTION RISKY Tony Mowbray has discussed the possibility of starting Ellis Simms against Cardiff, but wants to be cautious and not rush the Everton loanee back before he's fully ready. CONVERSATIONS “I think they are the conversations with him really. He did train today and I always generally sit with him and say ‘give me your thoughts.’ We are two games away from an international break and it’s whether we feel as if we can risk, if that’s the right word ‘risk’ a potential start from him at a much higher intensity than coming off the bench." GAMBLE “It’s whether we think it’s a gamble worth taking because we have a three-week break, which he will definitely have recovered and done the fitness work to be ready. I’ll discuss it. I haven’t really made a decision on whether we are going to think about starting him. I haven’t really had a chat with him and will see how he is after training today and talk to him in the morning." START VS BENCH “There is a chance he could start, there is a chance he could be on the bench again because I like the idea of having a bench that can either see a game out or can change a game and that hasn’t always been the case. Let’s see what team we pick and potential changes we have to help the course of the game.”
