They are on about it now in the Man Utd commentary. Didn't quite catch the stat but away teams doing a lot better than they usually do. I noticed it when the bundesliga restarted a while ago and that was all the footy there was to watch.
Doncaster and Oxford flying at the moment. Reality is though if we can find some form and reach 90 points or very close it won't matter what others do. It's very rare two clubs hit 90 points in this league never mind 3
what a marked contrast a day makes, yesterday i was over the moon today im tripping over my chin, why is it Sunderland always do this to me. At least for me i can see the bright side and it wont be long before we start whopping teams like this, The reffing at this level is highly sub standard, and action really should be taken by the EFL to punish the teams who foul all the time, just because they cannot compete without fouling otherwise there is no defence, letting players get away with this type of play could destroy the EFL if they let it persist. So in closing we need to give the gaffer time to get it sorted on the pitch as im sure we are heading in the right direction and when he gets his own players combining to the standard he wants we can then get rid of the players not up to his level. Whilst very disappointed i trust LJ will get there
I know what you are saying mate but I am not sure we can do that against all teams yet. We are still trying to progeess from what we have become under the previous regime, a team hoping to get in the playoffs by virtue of grinding results out. After 3 years teams dont fear us just because we are Sunderland and without fans there are no nerves about being in front of a big crowd. We are still a work in progress under a manager who wants to impose a style of play on the opposition but it will take time. I think attacking play is much better under LJ, we are trying to get more bodies in the box and to cross from much higher. There is a lot of work to do though still. Gillingham are not a bad league 1 side. They have made some good loan signings in the last couple of weeks and they all looked decent today. They are a better side than when we played them before. I would not be surprised if they have a strong second half of the season and push for top 6 themselves. Just saying they deserve credit for what they did today, even if their style of play was grim to watch. Agree on characters though mate. We lack them. Someone to rally the players when we are under the cosh. Someone to dish out some bollockings when people dont do their job. I hope the new lad from Rangers brings some arrogance. O'Nien has an edge and so does Gooch. Winchester has been a captain for years. We need players taking responsibility on the pitch and that was missing for their second equaliser. I would love to see a keeper screaming at the defence when crosses are allowed to come in as well. We need time but the rest of the teams bar Hull seem to be in a similar boat. We now sit in the top 6, so onwards and upwards I say.
for me it was as plain as day we really should be looking for a goalie, as this guy will not survive if we get promoted he is just not good enough, makes too may mistakes and the pinnacle of his competence will be lower half of this league or the next one down
Bringing players like Burge and accepting him as our no1 is the reason we are again in 6th position and failing to get into top two. We have consistently failed to mount a charge in 3 seasons at this level. The players simply arent good enough for me. I'd excuse Willis, Wright, o9 and possibly gooch and Hume but the rest? They are ok L1 players but surely the penny has to drop and hopefully LJ and the owners recognise that. Jones and the Southampton kid are good signs but ffs we shouldnt be hanging on against gillingham. We have to aspire for much better
Honestly wasn’t worried when McLaughlin left as I thought Burge looked 9k when he came in for McLaughlin. Been proved very wrong. Think it’s a big problem area as he can’t command his box. How many of their throw ins dropped beyond the front post in the 6 yard box? He attacks them we stand more chance! The defence are less shaky with a better keeper. It’s common sense ffs
this, for me... we cannot expect nor think that teams will play the way we would like them to, to allow our lads to play with more freedom, in this league you appear to assemble enough lads, find out what they are good at and stick with that...we may not like the gillingham way but it is getting them results and to be honest they put us under more pressure than any other team i think. also, we do seem to have an annoying habit of leaving the back stick uncovered, a few goals have come from that...putting today down as a wee blip and am pretty sure under parky we would have lost that one and looked like a non league part time outfit.
Peterborough midfielder Joe Ward fired a long-range effort wide but the visitors were struggling to carve out any real scoring opportunities. Excellent post mate, can't argue with any of that.
Gillingham fully deserved their point. They played with more urgency, hit the woodwork a couple of times and were far more physical than us which is part of being in Division One, no point in moaning about it Bailey Wright was a big miss as neither Willis ( who I like) or Flanagan do not have the physical presence to deal with physical attackers Anyhow all is not lost. We move on, And hopefully Johnson will address/ identify our weaknesses There's no outstanding team in this Division and with half a season left there's still plenty to play for. HTL
Me too, I thought there was nothing in it, between him and Big Jon, but Burge has been a disappointment this season, you hope he will play his way through it but its a worry. The myth about our defence being the best in the league is just that, statistics are not the be all and end all as some think. I prefer to trust the opinion of supporters, its what I love about this site, even though obviously we all disagree to some extent on detail, the consensus is usually not far away.
Personally think Willis is the best centre back at the club. And I include that. Wright and Willis would start for me every game at the back
Willis is too short, too fat, too slow and basically a pussy. He had a chance to head a corner in the first 15, but shied away from contact. He will be a major liability to us or anyone at the next level.
??? Quick, mobile, athletic (fat????????) good on the ball. I see him at pl level in the future Saying he is “fat” and slow is utter bullshit.
He'll be 27 before the next season starts, and he's already got a bum knee. The future better come quick or your prediction will be utter bullshit.
The new left back gives me hope a premier league player, and Kimpioka coming back plus Gooch when we have a full team we will win this league. WE need a striker a 6 foot 5 defender and a 'beast' in this team.
He reminds me of toy story when the toys hear Andy coming and fall like a robot. It’s honestly pathetic. I’d even back myself to do a better job than him. I don’t know how true this is, but the commentators on sky the other day said we have had the least shots against us out of all the teams in the division. That says to me that his clean sheets are more down to the defence than him. We are in desperate need of a replacement, we will not go up with him between the sticks.
