Only we could have a fan nearly take out Mitro with a two-footed tackle after he scored!! please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
But that celebration where mitro jumps over the fan and then gives him a big man hug. I'm gonna laugh my tits off at that for ever.
I agree. Apart from the cross I though Gini did nothing. But Rafa might have found his best position. Right midfieldz. For me Anita has to start instead of janmaat who is an accident waiting to happen.
M.O.M Should go to Elliott, Sunderland did exactly what they have been doing all season, you would think they would learn, Mitro is definitely not worth twenty times as much as Kirch
Elliot Mbemba Lascelles Anita Wijnaldum Shelvey Sissoko Pérez de Jong Mitrovic Cissé Same again next week please Rafa!
Still reason to be hopeful I think, we still have to play Norwich, Palace, Villa and Swansea. If we can't get 3 wins from that then we don't deserve to stay up!
Yeah Janmaat or Colback were going off, nor were they solid defensively, culled them both, early too. Good calls.
Janmaat was shocking to be fair. People tear into Sissoko but Janmaats the liability on the right side. He just runs forward 30 yards without us having control of the ball leaving huge gaps behind. Maybe he's fit and strong enough for the league but he lacks a footballing brain. For me, if we had Tiote fit, Wij play in his usual position at the expence of Perez who does okay but never really enough to justify a starting position. Either that or put Wij right and stick Towsend up top alongside Mitro, at least Townside can actually create some space by dribbling and running at people, something we entirely lack otherwise. Sissoko did ok 2nd half i thought, carried the ball quite a bit, even though he's always staggering more than actually dribbling.
Neither side should be happy with this result. I like how people are giving Rafa credit, but what for? Playing near the exact team Steve would have? Getting outplayed by Sunderland? Janmaat was limping, only reason he was taken off. Colback was taken off because he is a liability, especially on a yellow.
Massive relief but oh how a win would have made things better. As it is we are still in deep and a draw was better for them than us. Hopefully the feel good momentum of grabbing a late equaliser might help out. The teams mental state is shot. Needs rebuilding. Also wish Mitro was a bit better. He would be by miles my fav player. We need to be getting behind putting more balls like that in the box on the regular.
The most important thing today was not getting beat. Yes, a win would have been great, but especially when you consider we were staring down the barrel of another defeat then snatching a draw feels like an achievement. Every game we play will hopefully help Rafa establish a few square pegs for square holes instead of round ones. He has to work with what we already have, so hopefully he can find ways to get enough of them playing better. Let's not forget, we DO have 2 or 3 very good players and quite a few decent ones. I know they haven't shown it here, but if Rafa can bring it out of them then there is still hope - however slim it is!
