Letâs take a brief moment to reimagine Sunderland. After setting the record for the worst ever start in the Barclays Premier League (1 point in the first eight matches), the Black Cats grabbed their first three points of the season defeating rivals Newcastle 2-1 in the Wear-Tyne derby. The victory seemed inspired by a number of things, not the least of which was the hiring of Gus Poyet following the dismissal of Paulo Di Canio. Yet while Poyet earned the result his side needed, the Uruguayan arguably did so without utilizing the best talent his side has to offer. Coming out in 4-4-2 formation against Newcastle Poyet deployed a back line of Phil Bardsley, Carlos Cuellar, John OâShea and Andrea Dossena, a midfield four of Adam Johnson, Lee Catermole, Jack Colback and Seb Larrson, with a front two of Jozy Altidore and Steven Fletcher. Putting Altidore and Fletcher in the same side was a great play by Poyet, a move that Di Canio fooled with but never seemed convinced by. While Altidore and Fletcher both typically play as the top striker in the 10 spot, they are by no means mutually exclusive forwards. With his size and hold up play, Altidore is able to play higher up the pitch while Fletherâs skill and versatility allows him to play in the hole of a 4-2-3-1 formation. What becomes difficult, however, is involving Fabio Borini, who more than proved his worth on Sunday when he cracked an 84th minute winner into the top corner. On that play, Borini swooped in from the left wing to collect Altidoreâs layoff before unleashing from the center of the park. It was a run that left Mathieu Debuchy and the right side of Newcastleâs midfield baffled. Boriniâs speed, along with his ability to create off the dribble, make him an excellent option on the wing, where he was occasionally used at Roma. Which is why Adam Johnson needs to sit. On his day, Johnson can create and devastate but when is the last time that happened? The spring 2013 Tyne-Wear derby? Johnsonâs inconsistency needs to be addressed through a benching. Sunderland also would be a far more dangerous team with Emanuele Giaccherini on the right wing. With his pace, skill and knack for finding the back of the net, the Italian has been the Black Catsâ brightest offensive talent this season, which made Poyetâs decision to bench him in last weekendâs derby quite surprising. Whether that omission was due to a knock or a disagreement between player and coach has not been made public. But assuming all is well with Giaccherini, he is an absolute must start for Sunderland going forward. The fear in deploying a front four of Altidore, Borini, Fletcher and Giaccherini, is that the club would be liable defensively. But, as was evident in Debuchyâs back post goal, Johnson is rarely interested in playing defense and thereâs little to suggest Borini is much worse. Giaccheriniâs tackling may not be his best gift but his furious work ethic has proven more than enough to frustrate the opposition. Bolstering the midfield defense is the holding pair of Lee Catermole and Jack Colback, who Poyet used against Newcastle. That decision suffocated the middle of the park for Newcastle as Catermole put in his best performance of the season. With these two cleaning up in front of the back four, Sunderland possess the necessary balance to unleash Altidore, Fletcher, Borini and Giaccherini as a front four. The best decision Poyet made last weekend was to infuse his side with confidence and to urge them to take the game to Newcastle. Despite only having accumulated four points this season, the Black Cats possess some pretty impressive talent. If the Uruguayan can manage to get his best unit on the pitch at the same time, fear of relegation on Wearside could be a thing of the past. http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...giaccherini-together-could-devastate/related/
I would defo play that this weekend. drop Johnson & Larsson & go for it. it's only Hull for **** sake.
I'll take a flyer on that... Johnson gave away that goal with a half-arsed defensive effort. Bench the numpty.
bloody good impact sub on sunday mate, what a bench we had, liking the cut of gus's jib already, bold and correct starting xl and made the right subs at the right time, when it really mattered
He certainly had the lads pumped... Can't say I agree with the starting 11 tho... Celustka>Kernt Bardsley ...and Jackareeney has to be on the field - period... he's too good to pine. ...but hey, can't begrudge a new manager his time to sort out players... especially with a fresh mag derby win notched on his belt. If he's still playing Bardsley in a month, I'll be very concerned.
bardo made premiership team of the week, i'm prepared to forgive and forget as i think he's a spoilt rich footballer who didnt consider the fans just his own self-important self, thinking he was having a dig at pdc. as you say, early days marra but promising signs
You need to win on Saturday imn telly it looked like Mags dominated 2nd half rather tan a brilliant tactical display from Gus.You need the confidence boost of 3 points-and it is only Hull.
listen tiger boy, would you kindly venture back over to your own board or at least stop being 1 of the ****test wums we've ever seen and **** off!
