Very good watch...thanks for posting.Some saying we haven't had a test yet,but before the start of the season Sheff Wed,Burnley and Portsmouth away would have been up there! Great matches coming up with Boro and Watford though,so let's see. Confidence amongst the lads must be high....I'm loving watching this team...but I'm not getting carried away....we will have a dip sometime.
We're not toddlers at a birthday party mate. Seriously though, I'd bet we'll dish out more 'batterings' than we take ... ... the way we're playing there's no intention of sitting back on a 1-0.
Other claims have been that the pitch is far far worse than last season and that Mundle is always bullied by big defenders ... ... there comes a point whereby 'an honest opinion' becomes an automatic criticism. Yes, of course, the first two goals, at Portsmouth, had a little good fortune but I was told, on another forum, that we were very very lucky. That's totally ignoring the fact that the moves leading up to both goals were excellent and Mundle had put himself in exactly the right position. There's much more serious intent with our tactics now than the reliance on 'wonder goals' from Amad which covered up a few deficiencies imo. This is much more likely to last because the opposition is clearly struggling to cope with the way we're 'doubling up' on their defenders rather than them doubling up on our wingers. There were a few instances, on Saturday, when Hume or Cirkin would burst through in support of Mayenda leaving the Portsmouth defenders looking at each other and shrugging. I know we'll have stronger teams than them to play but we always look capable of scoring well planned goals ... ... it's weird watching it because it's so unlike what we're used to
Good morning from Turkey, just had my karvalti made by my mother in law, enjoy your coco pops, make sure to give it a minute so the milk goes chocolatey.
Your last comment is the key. We're not used to it, but in this KLD regime I'm seeing something at the minute which I haven't seen for a long time.......I can't wait for the next match!
Reading the thread and I get what you're saying mate . We will all have different degrees of expectations etc. And as Sunderland fans we will all have caution to some degree or another. I posted We were going up when le Bris signed. Based on reading up on him but mainly that gut feeling you get, like when Reid or Keane signed. We already had a good team as demonstrated under mowbray. The worrying thing for me was the damage caused under Beale and the drawn out process without a head coach and how long to build up confidence and momentum under a new coach. The end of last season was pretty abysmal and not a good reflection of the team and what they are capable of. Having a young team maybe helps not dwelling on our poor spell. On the other hand, if we do have a poor run I'm sure the pundits will blame it on youth and inexperience. Personally I'm not enjoying it, I'm fooking loving it. And the more positive spin that's put on us the better imo. It highlights us and positivity breeds success. If we have a bad run and miss out on promotion, so be it. I'm just loving what's happening now. We'll just dust ourselves down and go again.
Its enjoyable football but what's scarier for me is that it can get better as the players are still getting used to the way RLB wants them to play. Can you imagine what it could be like once it becomes second nature plus we have the new signings to come into the side as well
I always just take us one game at a time and right now its great . I’ll deal with a defeat when it arrives .I rarely take interest in outside views because most just see the highlights and not the actual shape/form or feel of the team.We will see by end of this year what teams will be in the mix . It looks to me we are better than the Mowbray Team because we seem to have sorted out the defence .
Going into those 4 games the "opposition" were all touted as good teams. After demolishing them they were looked upon as poor. Not in my book. We made them look poor imo. Actually I'll rephrase that. They looked good. Sheffield Wednesday for instance. We just controlled it then pounced. Like Black Panthers ⬛
I think we have every reason to be very optimistic. The reason we’re getting so much good press is because the stats match the results and to ignore what’s staring everyone in the face(we’re f#cking good) is a bit daft tbh.
Of course you are right, but personally I want to enjoy the excitement and good fortune when it presents itself, because as a group, we have endured many difficult periods.
It’s a weird one. I've watched us deservedly win all four games so far, in various different ways, and been as impressed as any with our attacking football and defensive structure. It seems clear from even the little we've seen so far that RLB is a step up in coaching from anything we've seen in the KLD era. Add that to a young squad that has the highest ceiling in the league and a summer window that was very encouraging overall and it starts to look very good indeed. I did see a post after this weekend (that I now can't find) that showed a range of team performance metrics that didn't have us quite so high, though. We were clearly a good, well-rounded top 6 team but there were a few teams that seemed stronger than us. Personally I'm okay with that. We continue to move forward as a club year on year. Even if we don't take equal steps forward each season, foundations are laid and moves are made that ultimately continue that improvement. If we keep putting ourselves in that top-end pack, eventually we'll get there. So while gut feeling tells me we won't ultimately 'dismantle the championship' I'm very confident we'll have an enjoyable and productive season. I find myself bracing for the loss when it comes and worry more about the fan reaction than I do about the team reaction. The lack of resilience from the fanbase continues to surprise me. Doesn't take much for them to turn. For some it won't take much more than a defeat. So it feels like it puts more pressure on this winning run and good start than we need it to. Truth is we could bob around midtable till the spring and still put a run together to get playoffs. So nowt is terminal in this league. However, while I hope we continue to win at this rate and go up with 138 points, my other hope is that this run extends long enough for the fanbase to trust the players, the manager, the DoF and the owner a little bit more that we continue to move in the right direction - even when things get sticky. Thinking about it, I dunno which of those is less likely to happen!
Aye, after the ****e we've endured this is by far better. Even the last few years in the premier. It's more enjoyable winning and looking forward with hope rather than looking down with dread.
I'm loving it Nig, some of the best football I've watched us play. We can't win every game, we might have to accept a few draws , but I am going to enjoy the ride.
I can't wait for the next two games. Plymouth should be a win but we are all used to the Sunderland script. Then the smoggs in our own back yard. Win these two. 6 on the bounce, start of season, 18 points. Wow. Most of the talk will probably be about when we are going to lose a game and how few
I agree that 4 games is not a big enough sample size for the statement but given that is the sample size used and what the commentary is about the statement made in the here and now is not really hyperbole but is accurate for that. However the future may may make the statement seem more hyperbolic as the season progresses.
