I tend to favour a back three formation for us, as we lack true full backs imo, Gooch Alese and Cirkin all have problems playing as out and out full backs . As you say all about opinions. I think we are also weak in midfield and need an extra body in there to help out Neil and Evans. Ba would be my choice but I think Matete and Alese might also do a job there, we have a lot of choices to make in this second half of the season and I am looking forward to see how TM handles the situation. OaU
I thought Ba was very disciplined when he came on, was clearly a straight swap for Amad and stuck to his task on the left side.of the midfield
Fair enough mate. I like Cirkin in a 4, but can see the challenge on the right. Maybe Huggins is the amswer. A back 3 of Onien Baath and Ballard has a lot to commend it too. For me 433 has always been my preferred formation but I think we have settled on a 2 in the middle to accommodate the front 4. If I was to have one criticism of the recruitment it is not to give us a player to go into a 3. I really like Matete personally but it seems the coaches arent as keen. I have a feeling Mowbray will want additions in there for January. Competition for Dan Neil would be good as he is still only 21 and this is a very demanding league. I think he has a massive future still, and his off the ball game has massively improved this season. I do see the value of having an extra man in there though, or players who can come in and give him a rest. Evans too needs a helping hand at times I think. It would be interesting to see Alese in there, he has a physical presence and he can get up and down. At times for me though is he not calm enough on the ball. Playing in centre mid you have to be relaxed when receiving and be prepared to take an extra split second. Not sure he has that. Cirkin possibly has. Still think Jan will see us bolster in there and Mowbray will have some clear ideas.
On the flip side if we'd played a team with 10 men 30 odd mins and missed a penalty I'd be gutted I'd not won.
Oh aye. The stats are mental too. A neutral looking at that would be asking some serious questions. We dug in big time. 09 and Ballard were great. I thought Neil and Evans were actually ok too. It was our creative and attacking players that were not up to much today. I think that's Prichard wasn't feeding or instructing them. Both fullbacks were poor too. Happy with the point in the end. Would expect Stewart , Cirkin and Roberts to be in for Boxing Day. Unless Prichard is fit. While he is here anyway.
Huggins??? He turns 22 tomorrow and has only managed four appearances at any level that doesn't begin with a "U." He's had multiple stress fractures and has never blocked a shot or a cross at any senior level. He was a winger for Leeds U-18s. What is a good size for a fullback 5'11, 175 lbs? He is part of our munchkin squad at 5'8 and 152 lbs.
Sorry but what? When I watched him playing he looked a comfortable level above. His size and weight are totally irrelevant. As is saying he hasn’t blocked a shot. He picked up a very bad injury early in his SAFC career.
As a Hull fan, I wasn't. I thought the ref was awful in the first half and we had him for our last home game and he had a stinker then too, granting Reading the softest free kick you can imagine in the 90th min. from which they scored the winner. He improved in the 2nd because penalty and sending off aside, no-one noticed him. Our home form has been abysmal all year and it saw our last manager sacked recently, so with that in mind I wasn't expecting to win today at all. We also have a huge problem up front, Oscar who missed the penalty has just come back from a 3 match ban and with the WC break, this was his first game for five weeks, and it showed. All our other forwards are out with long term injuries, not that you are bothered. I thought Sunderland were a decent team, much quicker on the ball than us, but you didn't create a lot and you could have put money on that big lad scoring when he came on as sub, even with your 10 men (and it was a red card lads, it was right in front of me) So a draw was a fair result on a ****ty freezing cold afternoon. I thought your away support was exceptional by the way, considering the weather and the performances on the field from both teams.
Right result IMO. We started slowly in the second half, got punished for it but got a result. Missed Pritchard badly mind, as we knew we would and as we will if he leaves. He will be very hard to replace. Think I'd have given the red card, despite the theatrics from their player. Not sure about the pen, but I though Ballard got the ball first, though the ref was definitely a homer in the second half so no surprise he gave it. Not bad. About our level in all honesty. I don't see us as a top six side. I thought at the start we could be middle eight , maybe near the top of it, and that's what we looked like today. Good battling though.
It wasn't a red like! He didn't even know the Hull player was there, he was going for a ball he had every right to be going for with his foot. Hull player came from the side and clattered in to him, barely a foul!
