The last time I wrote I was discussing the transfer window and appealing to Sunderland fans to look at what Fletcher would bring to us as a team, and I am so happy that he has been scoring the goals. I have been on the boards the last few weeks and noticed that there have been a few grumbles about our tactics and lack of wins. Obviously this is a Sunderland board that promotes opinions, and people will always disagree with one another....hell if we didn't disagree then there wouldn't be much to talk about. That being said I do think that the panic is a little bit premature and that our performances haven't been as bad as people may point them out to be. First off individual performances, there have been many I thought about discussing but only one comes into mind for me recently and it's James Mclean. I agree with a lot of people on the board that James Mclean has looked extremely one dimensional and sussed out. It hasn't been a year since he broke into the side and it seems people have taken notice and he's been much too easy to mark out. I think this is down to the fact that he only seems to have one weapon as of now when on the ball, which is beat a man for pace and create space for a cross by feigning a cross. A lot of players are one footed-Silva, Messi, Juan Mata, and even our good friend up the road Ben Arfa. But that doesn't make them easy to mark out, in fact they are some of the most creative players in the league, if not the world. Anyone that has played football will tell you that playing against a lefty is difficult because they have a different rhythm. That in combination with the ability to run at pace then suddenly stop, is a huge attribute. I think people don't understand how important it is to be able to suddenly stop. If you watch the players I just mentioned above, or even our beloved Sess in one of his better games, one of the ways they create space is by running at pace then stopping. Mclean however for me is one dimensional because he takes himself into a position where he is cornered and has thus reduced his options. I really think that putting him on the bench for a few games just so he can simply watch from afar will do wonders for his game and motivation. As for the team collectively I understand that tactics are very important and therefore O'neil is responsible for performances. However at the end of the day he is not the one on the pitch, the other eleven are and they have to take responsibility. Sometimes I feel like Sunderland players forget how the good they are and they rush things. We haven't seen much build up play because of the lack of patience. I'm not saying we have to play the Barcelona tiki taka football, but a bit of back and forth to create rhythm is good for the team and all the players have the ability to do this. That being said I think now we have players to play different methods to score which is encouraging. In the past I think all we could do it somehow present to our striker (DB) and hope to god he converted. But now we have options to cross from good crossers, individual goals, long shots as well as goals coming from good passing in and around the box. I know we haven't seen it much this season yet but I think we can all agree that we have the quality to do those things, where as in the past we didn't. I also really think that Johnson coming in to the team will give us a new dimension and another outlet for us to not only attack, but keep the ball as well. I am looking forward to Tuesday's game because it will give Oneil that chance to field another strong team to build up confidence. I honestly believe why he took Sess of when he did was in preparation for Tuesday. He knew he wasn't having a good game but I though he was starting to show better fitness and he wants to keep adding to that without burning him out. I think that Fletcher will benched to keep him fresh and others may be brought in to show what they can do. For me Tuesday is a great opportunity to keep building on our unbeaten season and build the confidence towards a very winnable Saturday. I think the team performances will keep getting better, and although we may have been a bit slow of the blocks to start, and the wins will follow. But to criticise our team after 4 unbeaten games (3 away and one against a strong side) is a bit much in my opinion. It's important to ambitious but also more important to be realistic. It's may not be exciting but I'd rather us be consistently picking up points than going on win streaks and losing streaks. After years of turbulence, it's not bad to go through a spell of consistency if you ask me. However I really think this week will be a good test for us, 2 wins and we should all be sitting comfortable come next Sunday.
Good post and you make an interesting point about McClean and stopping when running with the ball. I think it's not just this that he needs to improve on but his decision making as well.
Some good points there mate, although I did think that Sess was one of the few of our players who wasn't giving away possession yesterday and I was surprised to see him being replaced.
It's as simple as hell. Drop the dude and find out if we have an alternative. If I played like that for Lambton Street in the 60's, I'd be dumped in a moment.
Interesting read. Your claim that Messi is one footed might be true of his favourite left foot his but he sure can dribble, pass and shoot with the right as well better than most currently playing with his right Is it not possible that Sunderland’s rushing of things is caused by a lack of individual technical ability thus causing panic to move the ball after two passes rather than having the skill to hold it up rather being tackled in possession? Opinions are always welcome.
