I think we need to do something different. All well and good mentioning Rusyn / Ba / Jewish and that. But they have all been blanked from first team football all season. Can not just ask them to come in, start and be first team , match fit. Doesn't work like that. It will either be ba a back 3 or usual with Mayenda LW Wilson CF and Roberts RW. RLB will have to use some of the fringe players as subs this time though.
I'd like to see; Patterson Hume O'Nien Mepham Cirkin Aouchiche Neil Jobe Roberts Mayenda Isidor I doubt this is how RLB will play it as I fully expect Rigg to play and Mayenda on the wing but for me we need to try something different. Isidor can play as a narrow winger which by all accounts is his best role as Cirkin can provide the width with Hume inverting on the other side. I doubt we'll see much of the ball in this game so all about controlling the areas of the pitch where Swansea have it and looking to set traps and spring counters. Feeling a bit down on us at the moment. We just aren't consistently creating enough high quality chances to win games and I don't know if that will change this weekend. 1-0 Swansea.
Just pretend he’s not there as I do with Huggins, Mundle, Browne, Watson etc … … once someone is injured or suspended they go out of my mind. No one could’ve predicted Browne, who barely missed a game in his career, would be out and who’d have thought Watson would be out after a few games. We just have to crack on, that’s football. Because some who’ll play won’t be 100% fit enough for a whole game I think we’ll see earlier subs at Swansea.
On Jewi, he plays very well at U21 level both ends of the pitch, I for one would not be against him being on the team sheet in place of Rusyn say, who has impressed far less with a lot more opportunity imo.
RLB: Tommy out for 2 months as rumoured (ankle and knee) It is only two months, it could have been worse... it is a reminder that everything is fragile... he has just been unlucky. We have many young players - we can discover new solutions We will have to change our lineup, stability and consistency is the key The foundations are still strong, the final 3rd is key now, creating chances We like playing games, to be a top player you have to manage 50-60 games The way to manage this is to recover properly, have the right lifestyle and manage the game properly Swansea like having the ball and press high, we need to be a bit different in this game Young players need to experience different contexts, we need to build the skill (finishing chances) We need to adjust these final connections. I am sure with the quality we have we will change the dynamic
A lot of focus on finishing and more efficient work from crosses both the cross and people getting on the end of it I noticed a couple of games ago the only player gambling on crosses was Isidor, no winger or midfielder from deep
Adil and Rusyn have been around the first team squad quite a bit, if RLB didn’t think they were fit enough I doubt they would have been on the bench.
It seems like quite a while since we had a reasonable squad to choose from. Whether it’s having to use Onien as RB/LB, cards and injuries to Cirkin, Ballard and Mepham our back line has always looked like a choice of any 4 from 4. With Browne out we’ve only had Jobe, Rigg and Neil in the middle so no wonder they are knackered playing so much and two of them on 4 yellows must have had some effect. No L winger and Roberts not well means strikers used on the wings. We probably would have only seen Tommy for 5 minutes at the end of the last few games had Mundle been available so a sort of plus there. Our injuries are really harming us and with RLB reluctant to use subs the ones coming in are playing catch up regarding match fitness. Will we see the summer 3 playing this season? Samed…? Abdullah…nobody knows. Aleksic….25 minutes so far…does RLB not trust him. I suppose one good thing is that opposition managers and players don’t know what some of our players play like because they’ve never seen them play or only seen them on for a few minutes at the end of a game. Maybe that’s how Tommy has made a big impact since appearing on the LW. So then, for Swansea, down to the bare bones, we will probably win. That’s the Sunderland way.
I wouldn't say we are even close to being "down to the bare bones" - we will have 9 of our first choice 11 starting. The subs bench will look light, but no change there....
Rotten, rotten luck., on Tommy Watson , not since Bobby Kerr stepped up have I seen a player make such an impression at 1st team level, so lets hope he follows the same long term trajectory on his return He has that level of talent imo.
Massively disappointed re Watson. Was rapidly becoming a player I would pay top dollar to watch. I will miss him. As always chance for others. Mayenda will get a run now, somewhere. So hope he shines, he looks to have a load of potential to me.
For all he's been having a poor run past couple games (I still think he has done a lot better than most are saying he is still getting shots on goal and on target) i'm glad to see RLB isn't going to move him around. The goals will come again, he gets a shot on target every game and his runs are very helpful to the team, we need to play him in behind much more often and better quality balls too, also he makes runs to the front post over and over, that's where the crosses should be going. Nice to see a bit of consistency with that position. I know people say he hit the floor too often but 2/3 of those times were fouls and should have been given imo
The right call, mayenda grew into his role on Tuesday his pace caused so many problems once he gets his head up and picks a pass we will be laughing, young lad learning a new role he’s not going to be perfect from the off
Back to being sensible. 0-2 to the cuddlies. Connolly & O9 (assuming he is back in) Cheers RTB for the standard superb write up.
I thought mayenda was more a danger on the right, and Roberts scored on the left. Changing sides through the game could bring the best out of both.
Across the front 3 positions we have Isidor, Connolly, Mayenda, Roberts and after Tuesday Adil, there there is Alesic to add if we change it up a bit and go with a 10? There's plenty of talent there despite the injuries
I’ll need to watch it back but from where I was sat Watsons looked like a bit of a brainfart the defender was already on the deck in front of the ball and he smashed it at him point blank range. Nothing good was ever going to come from it
Romaine Mundle is expected back in 2 weeks time (in 6 week of 8 weeks out) Salis Abdul Samed will be back at the beginning of January, Ahmed Abdullahi is again same sort of schedule as Mundle, probably a week or some later. Tommy's due back then now two months from now and suddenly you've got a glut of midfield. The area that there talked about in terms of transfers is more likely, from the look of things up front. Nick Barnes on BBC Radio Newcastle
