Can anyone remember i was the only one who said Muntari and Sessegnon should not be signed? While everyone else was raving about their impending arrival, i sniped that they're not good enough. I said Muntari is nothing more than a plodder nowadays and Sessegnon is a park footballer. Having watched nothing more than youtube videos of Sessegnon, i was able to accurately identify a very poorly rounded footballer. Surely Bruce had seen a considerable amount of video footage before this signing, how was he unable to see what i could see? Had he not seen Muntari play in the last couple of years? I had, and he'd been no better than atrocious. Why do we play football with a flat back four? No team looking to break into top 10 PL plays this way. Why do we play with outright defenders at fullback? It's simply unthinkable to play this way if the intention is to be a good team. Why could i see this and was saying this WHILE we were winning games. We've played scrappy rotten football all season, barring 1-2 games. Our rudimentary tactics were always going to be blasted apart soon enough. Manchester united have Evra and Rafael, Arsenal have Sagna and Clichy, Chelsea have Cole and Bosingwa etc ect. Sunderland play two from Bardsley, Onuoha and Ferdinand at full back positions. It's absolutely galling. This position is beyond crucial for possession of the ball. When do you see a Sunderland full back on the ball to the right or left of the opposition 18 yard box? When do you see our full backs exhanging passes with our wingers in this position? Can you believe it doesn't happen? This truly fundamental thing actually doesn't happen! When the full back takes the ball into this area, something that happens loads of times every game for most teams, the opposition winger must come back and the two central midfielders must pull back. The full back, or winger, can play it inside to the central midfielders standing now much closer to the opposition goal and far more able to play threatening passes or take a shot - when do our central midfielders never collect the ball in this position? Because we play outright defenders at full back. It's almost best to sacrifice defending ability for footballing ability in the full back position because it's so crucial to attacking football. Spurs playing Ekotto, for example. I can imagine you can go through EVERY single team playing top flight football in the best european leagues (England, spain, Italy, germany etc) and find not another example of a team playing with two right footed players on the left wing, or vica versa. Maybe Byern Munich with Lahm and Ribery? Doesn't Lahm play right full back nowadays. That's probably the only example. What does this tell us about the criminal bad management to continously depoly two right footed players on the left wing? Effectively killing our football and giving us no chance. I dunno, i'm just ranting. I'm just so pissed off with what's going on with our season, problems that have been incredibly obvious to me for months and still nowhere near being rectified.
Hmm, Bayern are one. Milan also, with Luca Antonini and Robinho. These ain't the worst 2 teams like It's the sheer lack of quality that's the biggest problem, although i admit we have no balance. You're harsh on Sessegnon marra, he's been a good performer in a strong league for several years, rated by some as the best player in the league, and also rated enough for PSG to turn down monster bids several times. Give him pre-seaon, then decide, i think he'll be superb long term.
I'm with BB on this one. Sess hardly played this season after his fallout with the P.S.G manager. Was a bit much to chuck him in the team and expect miracles.
I like Sess and Muntari. The problem is football is a team game, we haven't been playing like a team! Until all eleven players on the pitch are all on the same gameplan nothing is going to change. Those same eleven players have to put in a concerted effort at the same time, one or two working hard while others coast through games will never pull us out of the ****!
A really fair analysis. Why has bruce still not sorted out full back-left back n midfield. Had plenty of time. Bardsley been good but he not the best going forward to me.
Despite insulting Sessegnon, i have actually enjoyed some of his stuff in patches. I also think he'll be a very threatening player in the right team. Hopefully we'll get ourselves sorted out and he'll be very threatening for us. However, will Gyan be here next season? Will N'Zogbia be encouraged to play for us? Or are we cocking it up once again? Why didn't we just sign N'Zogbia? We'd be enjoying the push for europe still without question. We'll have lost money by not signing him.
sess will get better and better, good investment IMO, THE MANAGER HOWEVER IS NOT, a decent man would stick his hand up and walk, not the grovelling ****e on the telly.Im sick of it.
Bill, its just got to be a question of time mate.... I'd olve us to beat brum but my head tells me we won't.......if that's not the end of SB.............
bruce will be here till the end of season at least, tactics or no tactics, the manager is taking the flack for so called world class players failing to deliver. at the end of the day sess and muntari havn't worked, sess will have time next season to prove himself, hopefully muntari won't
Hope you are wrong about bruce commachio, certainly hope the board are not thinking that way............I'd rather see a new manager given as much time as possible prior to the start of the new season.........
been saying all along i'd give him till the end of season, i really want him to suceed, but even as a bruce fan i think his days may be numbered. he ****ed up with the striker situation in jan. but he's been let down by some big names (the one's we were so excited to see come). one or two players out of form you may get away with, but when you get over half your team playing garbage week in week out, youv'e got no chance. so if bruce gets the boot, lets all remember, its the players fault for not putting a shift in
isn't part of the manager’s job to motivate and inspire............... if you don't respect the boss you’ll spend your day taking the piss……..
im with everyone who said they were behind sess and muntari and they deserve a good pre season. I totally agree on your defensive argument. The balls are going over the top of our defence with the flat back four. We are unbalanced and have had no link up play down the left since McCartney and Arca and it really shows. I full expect a LB to be signing in the summer with a LM in order for the team to progress. Is taye Taiwo out of contract? he would be a good signing, plays like Kolarov and I know Buffon is out of contract,a possible 3rd choice goalkeeper ???
It was Bruce's descision to Guarentee those new players a starting birth without earning it. He has to take some blame.
Sessegnon is one of the busiest looking footballers I have ever seen.................who produces absolutley **** all. Muntari looks as if he has an invisible elephant on his back when he runs around. Slow doesnt cover the story. However, both men are good players and have played football at the highest levels - especially Sully Muntari - so the question is simple. What have we done to make 2 canny players look like complete ****ers? Is it the EPL? Is it the training? Is it tactics or is it poor management to throw them in at the deep end and watch lamely from the sidelines as they turn to ****? Something is very amiss at the SOL behind the scenes and we may never find out fully what but all is not well at all at the club and it starts and finishes at the top.
Not sure if anyone noticed but neither Sess or Sully did any warming up on the touchline throughout the match on Saturday, Sess did a couple of minutes when he got the nod to go on. Just thought it very strange as all the other Subs did. Maybe a bit of discontent there?
