Match Day Thread Sunderland AFC v Norwich City - Saturday 21st December 2024 - KO 15:00

[RTB]

RLB:
No new injuries. Luke might start. Salis needs 5 or 6 days more before returning to training.
Norwich are a good team with many good qualities, a tough challenge
We started slow last match, we felt that we could win, we were still in the game
I felt the confidence and character shown by the team were good
We can manage different options, our focus is to win games
The group is strong, with many young players, we need to manage consistency and injuries
The first 6 months have been good for me, our job is very unstable, it is good to enjoy the good moments
The club is MASSIVE with big expectations
The players and staff are aligned with the visions of the owner, it is a good energy among the group
We have the solutions inside, it is up to us to decide (without need for more players)
Our focus in on our process and on our game, building from strong foundations, we can manage different scenarios
We have tried 4 or 5 scenarios with and without the ball, there are risks of conceding but we are getting better, we will improve with experiences
My style is about the identity and strength of the club and the players, I like football, the game and have a good connection with the fans and the people

 

[Southern A]

RLB seems like the kind of guy who's so relaxed that he wouldn't get annoyed at anybody.

But finally it seems that Nick Barnes' questions seem to be annoying him

 

[Southern A]

Fancy telling RLB that Luke O'Nien needs to start every game from now on. RLB's response of shrugging and saying "we'll see" was about the nicest responses he'd get from a manager after telling them how to do their job.

 

[clockstander]

RLB seems like the kind of guy who's so relaxed that he wouldn't get annoyed at anybody.

But finally it seems that Nick Barnes' questions seem to be annoying him

What an unbelievably arrogant tosser he is.

 

[Daz]

You must log in or register to see images

Sunderland welcome Norwich City to the Stadium of Light in the Championship.
Last time out Sunderland beat Swansea won and Norwich lost to Burnley.
Sunderland made two changes against Swansea. Mayenda started on the left in place of injured Tommy Watson and Dennis Cirkin started ahead of Aji Alese. Chris Mepham and Dan Ballard started in defence with Luke O’Nien on the bench. The Black Cats started badly going 2-0 down after 17 minutes but Dan Ballard pulled one back before the break.
RLB made one change after 70 minutes bringing on Luke O’Nien to replace Dennis Cirkin. Dan Neil scored with a long range shot into the top corner to make it 2-2 then 2 minutes later Jobe Bellingham got on the end of a Chris Rigg cross to win the game 3-2.
Poveda is back in training, with Seelt, Samed and Abdullahi getting closer to fitness.
But Huggins, Mundle, Browne & Watson remain injured.
Norwich lost 2-1 at home to Burnley, despite taking the lead against the Clarets after just 63 seconds. Zian Flemming levelled after the break and Josh Brownhill scored after a defensive mistake to take all 3 points.
Angus Gunn has yet to face an EFL misconduct charge. The goalkeeper allegedly acted in an improper manner around the tunnel area at half-time of the fixture against QPR, and he has until Thursday, December 19, to respond.
Regis le Bris:
"It was a long week so I am happy to win. We started slowly with two goals conceded on set-plays but I thought during the first half that it was possible to be back in the game because we had good qualities on the pitch.
"It was clear in my mind that we just needed to fix one or two problems, especially how they escaped our press with long balls down our left.
"When we fixed that problem, I think we dominated the second half. We were probably a bit more aggressive with our finishing - we created chances and we scored.
"It's good a win – it's good for character, good for confidence and good for the spirit of the team."
Presser at 1pm on Thursday

You must log in or register to see media

Johannes Hoff Thorup:
"We switch off for a couple of moments and lose our eyes on the ball and the space we need to defend.
"We gave them a way back into the game with that free-kick where they score from distance. Of course it's a fantastic strike, but we have a couple of players with their back to goal who are not ready at that particular moment.
"That's not good enough against a top team in the league, because we know they need so few chances to score goals.
"It's a tough one for the team that after a performance like that we end up with zero points."

Form:

You must log in or register to see images

Match Appointments
Referee: LEIGH DOUGHTY
Assistant Referees: Paul Hodskinson & Graham Kane
Fourth Official: Elliot Bell

Team Lineups:
Sunderland AFC: (4-3-3) Patterson, Cirkin, Ballard, Mepham, Hume, Neil, Jobe, Rigg, Mayenda, Roberts, Isidor,

You must log in or register to see images

Subs: Moore, Hjelde, O’Nien, Alese, Jones, Aleksic, Aouchiche, Rusyn, Connolly.
Injured: Huggins, Browne, Mundle, Watson.

Norwich City: (4-3-3) Gunn, Fisher, Duffy, Córdoba, Doyle, Slimane, Nunez, Marcondes, Schwartau, Sainz, Crnac.
Subs: Long, Hanley, Hills, Stacey, Chrisene, Forson, Gordon, Hernandez, Barnes.
Injured: Gibbs, Forsyth, Sargent

You must log in or register to see images

Betting Odds:
Sunderland 5/6 Norwich City 3/1 Draw 13/5

Prutton Predicts: meh

My two pence:
A great win at Swansea, despite the poor start but we came back strongly and didn’t let them create anything in the second half.
Norwich are a bit unpredictable at the moment but I agree with whoever said that the game plan should be to keep Sainz quiet. He is the top scorer in the Championship with 15 goals so far and is their main threat.
I’m going for a 3-1 home win.
Live Stream:
https://www.safc.com/live
(Available to overseas fans)

Ha’way the Lads

O9 has to start if he's fit imo, he's the best ball playing defender we have and we tactically always build from the back.

Very harsh on Ballard if he's back on the bench but Mepham would get the nod ahead of him for me.

 

[Southern A]

Salis is close to returning to TRAINING. I swear he says that every week

 

[MadMackem77]

Salis is close to returning to TRAINING. I swear he says that every week

Says he’s in a good place now and should be 5/6 days til training and ready

 

[Robertson]

RLB:

No new injuries
Luke might start
Salis needs 5 or 6 days more before returning to training
Norwich are a good team with many good qualities, a tough challenge
We started slow last match, we felt that we could win, we were still in the game
I felt the confidence and character shown by the team were good
We can manage different options, our focus is to win games
The group is strong, with many young players, we need to manage consistency and injuries
The first 6 months have been good for me, our job is very unstable, it is good to enjoy the good moments
The club is MASSIVE with big expectations
The players and staff are aligned with the visions of the owner, it is a good energy among the group
We have the solutions inside, it is up to us to decide (without need for more players)
Our focus in on our process and on our game, building from strong foundations, we can manage different scenarios
We have tried 4 or 5 scenarios with and without the ball, there are risks of conceding but we are getting better, we will improve with experiences
My style is about the identity and strength of the club and the players, I like football, the game and have a good connection with the fans and the people

Great stuff RTB.

RLB has said that the club is massive and Jobe was shouting "we're Sunderland" and "best club in the world" at Swansea. Is this a hint for the fans to stop reining in our expectations and to imagine the powerhouse that we can become? Jobe and others are going to become great players and it seems like they want Sunderland to grow at the same rate, so our journey can continue together for as long as possible.

 

[Southern A]

Says he’s in a good place now and should be 5/6 days til training and ready

I heard it as 5-6 days until he’s ready to return to training but when he was asked about matches he pulled “ooh” face and said he’s been out 6 months. Which I interpreted him as saying it will be quite a while of training, probably 2-3 weeks

 

[Hudson92]

I’m just going to think of samed as a January signing, good addition and should be ready around the Pompey game maybe? Might be slightly ambitious given how long he’s been out though

 

[ab65]

Fancy telling RLB that Luke O'Nien needs to start every game from now on. RLB's response of shrugging and saying "we'll see" was about the nicest responses he'd get from a manager after telling them how to do their job.

Aye, That would have been a different response from Ferguson or Allardyce methinks.

 

[Scout73]

Thanks again RTB for this welcome thread, I think Reg will agree with you on the team selection , but if he is fit O/9 must start for me..
I watched Norwich against Burnley and as mentioned Sainz was their danger man, but as I saw it Doyle played mostly in the mid field area , and this is where most games are decided in this very tight league, therefore my game plan would be to have O/9 alongside Dan Neil in a 4/4//2 to start with ,. and bring Roberts and Adil on asp second half. to finish them off . OaU..

O9 is a defender these days, hasn't played CM in ages - and pretty sure he's only played CM once or twice at Championship level

CM in the championship is so difficult and it doesn't suit o9s game at all, he's a class defender and that's where he will be used

 

[LD19SAFC]

O9 in midfield is asking for trouble, especially in a 4-4-2

This Sick of hearing about O’Nien and midfield. It’s defence or bench for that lad these days.

 

[Scout73]

This Sick of hearing about O’Nien and midfield. It’s defence or bench for that lad these days.

100%, just because he's a good ball playing CB does not mean he would be effective in CM

His scanning of the pitch in CM has always been poor, his touch in central areas is poor. He is a very good championship CB now, I don't mind him filling in the odd game at fullback but that's it

 

[clockstander]

This Sick of hearing about O’Nien and midfield. It’s defence or bench for that lad these days.

Thats sorted then

 

[Oliver's Army]

Home win 2-1. Jobe and Connolly

 

[RTB]

From the Echo:

Ian Poveda could return to the Sunderland squad this week after Régis Le Bris said the winger is in a ‘really good place’.
Poveda has been absent since October with a muscle problem, and has so far been limited to just three substitute appearances since his summer move to Wearside. However, he has been back in full training for over a week now and while Le Bris has ruled out the 24-year-old starting any games in the immediate future, the head coach is ready to use him as an impact substitute over the festive period.
“Ian has trained now for one week, a bit more, so he's really in good shape,” Le Bris said.
“Sometimes you just need time to find the connection with the project and club. Ian is now in a really good place. He's not ready to play a full game but can be a sub and help us in short spells in games.”
There was a further boost in training this week as Jenson Seelt joined his team mates for the first time since suffering a major knee ligament injury in Match. Seelt is for now only taking part in the non-contact phases of sessions and isn’t expected to return to competitive senior action until next month, but this is another sign that his comeback is on track.
“For Jenson, it was [an] important surgery,” Le Bris said.
“It's different to Salis for example because that was a muscle injury and when you're recovered you're recovered. But with Jenson the whole structure was damaged so we need to be careful. This week was non-contact, then he'll have contact with the U21s and they'll play a short period in a [U21s] game and then after, be available with us.”
Salis Abdul Samed and Ahmed Abdullahi are also no close to joining training, though neither are likely to play until the end of the month at the earliest.
“We hope he's very close to returning to training,” Le Bris said.
“He's in a good place now and should be back at the end of December. Salis is in good shape but we'll need to find the right moment to play. Ahmed should be back training next week, but only in part of the sessions to begin with.”

 

[RTB]

O9 is a defender these days, hasn't played CM in ages - and pretty sure he's only played CM once or twice at Championship level

CM in the championship is so difficult and it doesn't suit o9s game at all, he's a class defender and that's where he will be used

Maybe he'll be asked to do a man to man job on Sainz
- Luke likes a challenge

 

[Essayyeffcee]

You must log in or register to see images

 

[ISOE II]

Norwich will be an awkward one to call for me as they always seem to turn up when we play them. However I also think that our previous game will have put a bit of belief back into the players and given them that little bit of confidence that seemed to be missing, so will go for a 3-1 score line with Jobe getting 2 and 1 for Isidor.

The Friendly Cup is on the line!