Something isnt quite right about this. Been on bench for weeks. Is he good enough? All the stats suggest he is so get him on.
If a bad patch is 2 away points, one with 10 men, and a draw at home to a club that’s potentially been galvanised by a turbulent 3 days then so be it. Let’s not get it twisted, we had that game won, I’d prefer that and blow it to us having looked way off a win again like we had previous 2. Reg does need to spot when a player is on his last legs out there, that’s an issue that’s happened several times this season now when he doesn’t change a player who’s absolutely spent. It’s happened with Rigg, Jobe and Isodor. I get these are 3 key players but even Messi becomes a passenger if he’s gassed. We also need to take a breath and remember where we are. We aren’t potentially falling away from ‘where we expected to be’, we still have an 8 point cushion to where we ‘hoped to get to’, very few had us nailed on for playoffs, in fact not sure I recall any of us thinking that. Isidor needs to stay central, that’s clear as day. Samed may be massive because it’s that ‘type’ that would have helped us over the line yesterday. Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United have all had these kind of runs and have gathered less points than us whilst doing so. It’s far from perfect, and I can’t think of a worse away game to carry these extra missing bodies into, but we have to keep doing what we do and backing this bunch of kids who have been a real gift and joy to us. The thought of adding Henderson is making a lot of sense. Imagine what he could have done to help yesterday. Young Tommy needs his chance on his favoured left side, let’s see you lad. We are fine, we’d realistically need to lose 4 straight to drop out of playoffs. Automatic if it became real would be a stunning and beautiful overachievement we have to remember that. RLB will learn. Lets not get it twisted bloke has done a magnificent job.
No idea, screaming and pointing at the left hand side of the pitch. I love the passion but maybe scream at yourself for losing your man when Wright ghosted behind you for the first or scream at Cirkin who got bulled in the air for the second goal we conceded? Was just a bit bizarre to see someone who had no involvement in either of their goals taking flak.
Is Cirkins goal up there as one of the best seen at the SoL. Richardsons (Mags & Burnley), Borini's and DeFoes were all special but that was superb from DC yesterday.
I watched the efl highlights this morning and can someone explain wtf brown is doing ? Perfect pass to play them in for the first goal. I remember at the match at the time thinking eh how the hell is he even in.
Carlos Edwards mate. Never forget. Both goals yesterday were absolute beauties. Cirks was enhanced yesterday by some kid near me squealing as it went in, was one of most hilarious sounds I’ve ever heard Proper tickled me.
Just watched the game back this morning 1st half was quality, that's what we are all about - both good in and out of possession 2nd half tho was so poor, we have to take the sting out of the game more by using the ball better. Neil was quality 1st half but I thought his standards dropped a lot in the 2nd, he wasn't helped by browne or Rigg tho who I thought were poor in the 2nd The change of system could have been OK but going 541 at home is not what you want to see. If we went more 3421 then I'd of been happy. Keep isidor as the 9 and have 2 out of 3 of connolly mayenda or roberts as the 2 10s. That would have stopped them playing through the middle so much. I do have a slight concern about us not using out squad well enough this season, I get we don't have a lot of experience on the bench but sometimes you just need to put players on and see what they do. If they underperform then so be it but at least they've had a chance. I do worry about CM, it's the most important position on the pitch and we only seem to have 4 options there, nowhere near enough for a championship season. Millwall will be really tough with the players missing, hopefully browne and mundle will be fine for it - we def need Browne available otherwise we are really weak in the middle Having said all that we had a great 1st half and we are still top of the table. This week hasn't been ideal but we haven't lost! There will be so many ups n downs this season for all the teams so we just need to keep picking up results International break has come at a good time for us imo
Thought both him and Rigg were really poor yesterday. Lost the midfield battle and ultimately left Neil exposed for most of the second half. Taking one of them out to throw on a CB was just not the correct decision, it handed them the midfield on a plate to sit and dictate the rest of the match.
First half is key mate. People can panic and say we are fading, that wasn’t fading. Was a quality half. 2 weeks ago we were superb v Oxford and last week was a superb dig in and defend last half hour. There’s no ****ing collapse.
I figured when it was Burnley mate. If anyone talks about a Burnley goal it’s Carlos, a goal written inside our shirts.
I really enjoyed the 1st half, def a bit concerned by squad depth as think we are a few players short Hopefully they come in, in January or a couple players show their worth till then
Probably not a big talking point for most but it is for me. Why are we absolutely f*cking useless and clueless when it comes to throw ins? When we had Stewart we had a target man to aim for but ffs I would rather concede possesion 10-20 yards down the pitch than throw it about a yard from where we are and still lose it. RLB if ya reading this get them practising long throws will you please.
Jobe celebrating Cirkin's stunner https://x.com/samwatsa_/status/1855...mer-with-sunderland-fans-in-roker-end-4860250
Definite gaps mate. Tommy needs more minutes be be settled as part of squad. There’s a weakness CM when out of possession and we need cover both full back positions. I still think we’d benefit from another striker and a proper 10, hopefully Aleksic fills one slot and I’m convinced we go back for Bamba. The 9 shirt is vacant.
Its always going to be frustrating to be leading 2-0 at HT in a home game and not taking 3pts. First half I thought we were brilliant, our press and intensity off the ball was excellent and we scored two magnificent goals. The athleticism of Wilson to react and get his body into that shape to flick that finish away is unbelievable, hes a quality football player and I'd love for us to be able to sign him permanently. The Cirkin goal is much the same, travelling 60 yards with the ball to then generate that power on it. Hes got good attacking output for a left back! We can't ignore Mundle's touch in that second goal either. Second half they looked to come out more but honestly I felt we looked comfortable. They get back into it with a bloody fortunate bounce that sets Wright free, naturally that changes the momentum of the game. What annoyed me though was how wasteful we were on the counter. We had 4 or 5 really good opportunities but the final ball or the decision making in the crucial moments was way off. You can't afford to pass up opportunities like that! I think from those promising breaks we ended up with just one shot on target which says it all. Frustrating to potentially have lost 4 players from the game, Roberts and Hume suspended and then Browne and most crucially Mundle (I really hope its not as bad as it looks).
I thought at the time, and still think now, that the players were more to blame than the manager. As the second half started I found myself muttering under my breath 'keep hold of the ball' over and over. The midfield totally lost the plot and were firing long balls forward which did nothing more than hand them possession. Even worse they were passing between themselves, like they had in the first half, and doing little turns despite it being obvious Coventry would have no option but to push forward. As a result we suddenly looked fragile for no good reason. We didn't have to keep chasing the game and taking risks. We became fragmented and Coventry took full advantage, it was inevitable they'd score. If ever there was a half of football when we needed a calm head in the middle this was it. RLB tried to let the players address the situation, calm the game down and keep passing the ball to each other. When that clearly didn't happen he stepped in and tried to make changes that would help but it didn't work. We somehow missed clear chances to score a third goal then allowed Coventry players to start running off us. It was so bad I was tempted to go down to the concourse, for a pint, so I didn't have to witness the equaliser. Our midfield look great when we're doing well and playing football ... ... under pressure we simply don't have the grit and strength to resist, Jobe is the nearest we have imo.
