For me,it was the lack of fight in the players(up until the last 10/15 mins) that surprised me alot . Im more disappointed by that than the odd team selection tbh
What they said has no bearing on what happens on the pitch. I am really disappointed as I saw this as a great chance to progress and be one good cup draw away from Wembley, but their performance on the pitch is not necessarily a reflection of how much they care. You just can't make that connection. I'd love any fan who really, deep down believes they didn't care, to stand in front of Rickie and tell him that they thought he didn't care. maybe someone think s he missed a sitter because he didn't care?
Fella, are your just trying to sound, "hard" or "big'? Do you really believe he didn't care yesterday, because if you really do believe that then I think you have a misunderstanding of most of the personalities in our team.
I just can't comprehend this line of reasoning. If someone tells you it's the game of the season, you expect them to at least look like they give a ****. Most of the players didn't yesterday. I don't know the reason but they just weren't at the races yesterday, and I'm sorry but you can't tell me that Sunderland's reserve team outclassed them. Maybe, if you're not 100% switched on then it makes a miss like that much more likely. I worry about him because apart from one half against Fulham he just hasn't looked in the right frame of mind for weeks. He is visibly frustrated, missing a lot of shots he would normally score with his eyes shut, and sadly is rapidly playing Andy Carroll into world cup contention.
Oh look, and Sunderland draw Brighton or Hull in the quarter finals, and a championship team is guaranteed to make the semis. Does that make anybody feel better? It doesn't make me feel better.
PTF, it's got to you; fair enough. One possibilty for your first paragraph: expectation and put too much pressure on themselves?? Maybe? I'm not saying it is at all. You just can't understand my reasoning? Maybe it's because I'm looking at this with less emotion than you, and maybe with reasoning and you're not. There is not a right or wrong here, just two people dealing with it differently and maybe one just taking a step back more than the other. I've played at a fairly decent level. I've rocked up having been in the razz all night, hungover and feeling like ****, then gone on to play a blinder and score The winner. I've also gone to bed at 10 the night before a big game, totally fired up and been **** the next day. It happens. It's sport. As for the second part, there will be several moments during a game that players "switch off". Rickie and the team weren't playing well, maybe his demeanour was down and he missed. I bet it wasn't because he doesn't care.
Don't twist my words, I understand that you are not as bothered as I am, and that's fine. What I meant is I don't understand how you can make the argument that "What they said has no bearing on what happens on the pitch". They are both functions of the same thing. If you care a lot about something, then you say you care a lot about it, and you perform in that fashion. If you don't, it brings the sincerity of your statements (or worse, your motivation for a big game) into question. If you make statements like "game of the season" then you have to back it up, and I will question any player or manager who tells you how much they care and then doesn't show up. There are a few players I feel sorry for, like Shaw, who did look like he was giving it a good go and was clearly gutted in the post-match interview. But a lot of others need to ask themselves some tough questions.
Not at all. I want them to explain why they played like that. This team is better than that... miles better. I don't buy them having "an off day" That performance was more than that. To me, it genuinely looked like a lack of motivation. Speaking for myself, and likely everybody else on this forum, when I go to work, I go in and do my very best.
But you can go in to work intending to do your best and it still goes pear shaped. If players could explain why they played badly, they would never play badly. Sometimes **** happens. Everyone of those players in both teams wanted to progress, but obviously only one team was going to.
forgive my bluntness, but I have never met anyone, and I stress anyone who performs the same every day... you may try to, but you won't. Unless of course you are a robot. You are being unrealistic.
Bring on the Summer and the new Transfer Thread! Our current squad has peaked and are starting to look a bit jaded, it would appear, as it is said, no one can produce the goods everytime they turn out, we just ask for 100% commitment, but shouldn't expect it.
I have not twisted your words. I still stand by the fact that you can say something about a game one day and your performance be different the next. I really can't understand how you can't see that, whether they are linked or not. Just because they are linked, the performance can still go wrong. The level of performance is definately not a guaranteed reflection of the sincerity of the statement. That is a naive statement. Have you never said you are really wanting to do something and you'll give it your best, but your performance was bad or not at the level you hoped? I will counter every time if you really believe that just because someone says that, it will happen. For crying out loud, take a sprinter. He says something like he is going to give his all and do his seasons best, but unfortunately the next day he lines up, the gun goes and he gets his technique wrong at the start, he wobbles a little as he gets into the second ten metres and then he dips just a little too early on the line and he finished 0.5 seconds off his time. He wanted to do it, but he got it wrong. He said he wanted to do it, but he didn't. Surely, PTF you don't really believe that people will always deliver on the performance they promise? Another analogy: plenty of students on here. How many if them say they will revise and try the best in an exam? Do they all come out with honours or top marks? No, performance can vary no matter what the preparation or stated desire going into it. You also now slighted twisted my words to suit I doubt i care any less than you, I said I am dealing with it different to you.
I am not an advocate of "don't change a winning team" but I agree the manager must take responsibility for picking the wrong team.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect We could have drawn City or Arsenal, no point worrying about it.
The team said they wanted it, they really wanted it, but they lost their way. Doesn't mean they weren't sincere. When everything slots into place, our team play in a magical way, but Sunderland took the wind out of their sails and they couldn't get it back in the second half (as they often do). I'm sure the team are gutted. I have watched this team for the last few seasons...they didn't suddenly stop caring yesterday.
I would suspect that Fonte's absence was more down to the mess his legs were in after the Hull match, especially as he wasn't used, probably shouldn't even have been on the bench, but we don't have anyone else in that position at the moment, a week should see the mess cleared up and ready to get kicked again at West Ham?
