It's always good to take a positive from every game, no matter what the result. I think todays game showed that we have natural competition on both flanks. Poveda can't seem to get fit, but Mayenda looked like genuine competition for Roberts on the right. Watson played much better today than at Preston and in time is likely to provide huge competition for Mundles place. Loads of us on here said that we would be delighted with a point from this game beforehand. We got it. It's only the way the game ended that put a damp squib on things. I too am a bit concerned about our lack of substitutions, particularly in a week where we play 3 games, but a manager will only replace people with others he feels he can trust. I think, due to injuries and suspensions, there wasn't many on the bench yesterday that RLB felt he could trust. At no time this season have we had a bench full of players who are adequate replacements, even though we have a perfectly good squad. If RLB is still not utilising his bench when he has Patterson, Moore, Hume, Huggins, Seelt, Ballard, Mepham, O'Nien, Alese, Cirkin, Rigg, Jobe, Neil, Samed, Aleksic, Browne, Roberts, Mayenda, Isidor, Connolly Mundle and Watson (22 players) available, then I'll start and call him out for it.
This is pretty much how I see it to, you can clearly see there's a plan and how we look 'coached'. You're right about the Coventry and Millwall results, Coventry got back in the game from what was a freak deflection and Millwall yesterday after a sequence of bad defending and arguably had Aleksic hit it into row Z we'd have three points. I alluded to this yesterday but as fans we take over invested and emotional takes rather than pragmatic takes. I said yesterday that coming into the second half at 0-1 and how the half started it was clear to me it was the dig in, keep it solid and organised approach and hoping that quality on the break would nick it, knowing that ultimately if dig in we're getting at least a point, away from home, with a depleted side and we did have that guilt edge change to kill it. However and again maybe it's emotion, but that side was capable of 3 points yesterday, i would have sprinkled subs into the side for legs and even to kill the game from 88 mins on. People can say what they like about his options on the bench but when people are out on their feet and our game plan is energy and organisation I think you've just got to make the change. Additionally and doubling down on this, even when we've had what seems like a fully fit side, the go to sub is Rigg for Browne further highlighting the reluctance to change. This tells me that we need action in January, brownes out till late Jan/Feb and Samed well who knows, but the fact is both will need to get back from injury, up to speed and potentially not pick up a re injury. The midfield was the issue yesterday, if he won't use them to even kill the clock, get rid of ba, aouchiche, anderson, rusyn and give the bloke 2 more tools he can use.
I do agree re subs and I’ll judge him a lot harder when he has a bench full of fit players capable of playing because he’s very strict on play style etc. but yeah. Game plan was fine yesterday and we are coached well. It will work more times than it doesn’t it’s just a shame two games in a row we’ve made mistakes I often get called a happy clapper but I’m just being realistic and try to take my emotion out of it which at the time was **** we’ve thrown away a win!
I thought he'd score but I think that's a bit harsh tbh. He's not running through in the centre, he's coming in from the left and shooting with his right, not easy. The keeper comes out far enough to narrow the angle but not quite enough to be chipped, especially as he's running. 'Through the keepers legs' is a classic finish, this time it goes through but clips his heel to deflect it wide.
Regarding the subs. Surely a fresh Ba or Adil for the last 20 minutes is a better option than Rigg (for example) who had given everything and was virtually a passenger. If a player is exhausted then he is giving nothing to the team and may even be a liability such as playing somebody onside. A ‘lesser’ player must be worth more in the team at that time even if it’s just to hassle and mark opposition players. Do you think W Brom’s game plan will be to try and keep it at 0-0 for the first half then to go for the win when we are flagging in the second half?
I said this yesterday and got called out lol the defensive collective effort was really poor but thought O9 was especially poor
For me too but thinking over it today I think we were just unlucky, the ball is through his legs but gets a sneaky deflection off the inside of the keepers right foot to take it wide of the goal with enough angle on the ball so the defender can get to it before it goes behind for a corner. He then just kicks it out heading for a throw when again their player just keeps it in and an awful tackle on him on the line by one of our players (can't tell who) which the ref had been blowing for all game but decides to play on for the first time I can remember in the whole match, from there it was bad defending by us all around. I'm upset with a late equaliser as always but after sleeping on it think it's still a good point away from home.
It’s not an awful finish he’s opened his body up to drag it back near post and do the keeper half an inch and it’s through his legs. Hes getting far too much stick for something that’s not that bad, people try to put it through the legs or near post a lot in that situation, he’s also not a striker he’s a midfielder the defending was a lot more criminal than the finish
We played well. For 94 minutes and executed the game plan perfectly until that minute when the defence went all over the place unlucky is exactly what it was people were overreacting with emotion, understandably though as we all love Sunderland
I hope you’re joking. He hits it centrally, right down the line of the goalkeeper **** happens, we’re doing well for the squad we’ve got.
It's easy, in the heat of battle, to say we threw away the win ... ... if we don't score there wouldn't be a win to throw away. I feel sorry for Connolly as his goal has been virtually forgotten ... ... sometimes people count their moans before they count their blessings.
We made one mistake in 96 minutes with a bench full of U21s and 5 changes outfield from last week. it’s unlucky and they played like warriors
West Brom have drew 7 of their last 8 games Reckon they’ll draw again Tuesday night but we could really do with all 3 points before going to Sheff United.
