On your thoughts of the new lads. PVA, Rodwell, Gomez and Buckley. Thought all 4 looked alright like, with the exception of Rodwell. i expected him to be ok anyway, i have high hopes for him, was pleasantly suprised by the other 3. If PVA could actually defend, he'll be a cracking player. Wonder is Baz has changed his mind about 'pile of ****e buckley'?
He looked like he could be an actual top drawer winger to me, but his positional sense & awareness defensively 'needs work'. Fast as lightning and a great ball in for Seb, needed a great finish mind, but Seb found it, Seb was very, very good. Mentioned on the match thread, Gomez for me looked like he could be a major player for us with his passing, perfect weight, and great vision. Thought Rodwell was solid but unspectacular, you can see he has great feet and is forward thinking, gonna be a great signing as he beds in.
Geordie Gomez. Thought you wouldn't have any more black and white connections. I've heard Buckley is a mag as well, the 92'er kernt.
Haha, He's a plakka anyway. Wouldn't bother me anyway mate as long as they have the ability, Clark, ended badly and I loathe the acne ridden ****face, but you know what, I also remember that he was an absolute beast for us and contributed massively to a great season. If the players good enough, and his mentality is right, I don't care if they are Mag, Buckley has already shown he's not gonna do a Chopra on us
Rodwell is going to take a bit of time and looking after to get him to peak fitness. You can see he has everything in his locker though. PVA I thought had an excellent game and in the main he did defend well. Switched off for the second goal. A premier league learning curve? Made up for his mistake with an assist. Gomez was very tidy, looks like a player who will pull the strings, not sure about his defensive capabilities, lacks pace. A good player though Buckley looks like a trier, can defend will go at defenders not sure if he has a final ball yet. Big step up so only time will tell. Has pace.
Yeah, I should have said that PVA pro's massively outweighed cons, only 2 or 3 lapses really, and that will improve.
Good to see Poyet taking the initiative and going to a three at the back formation to help attacking play when Safc went behind again. Mavrias who has shone in pre-season should have been on from the start for the lightweight Johnson, who hardly delivered a cross or pass, losing possession far too much and lacking pace. Brown looks well short of match fitness. Good result in the end.
Lee Cattermole was picked ahead of Liam Bridcutt for the holding midfielder’s role and is there on merit. Cattermole’s energy, drive and will-to-win was never in doubt, and he was always a better footballer than many gave him credit for, but his lack of goals always counted against him. He scored his first goal for the Black Cats at Spurs in April - in fact, it was his first goal in five-and-a-half years – and he scored a stunning strike against the Baggies. He is still hardly prolific, but the odd goal here and there will only strengthen his grip on a place in the starting XI
Re-signing Seb Larsson was one of the best decisions of the summer. Seb was one of eight players out of contract at the end of last season and was the only one of that group to stay, signing a new three-year deal with the us. He has his critics amongst us Sunderland fans, but he proved against West Brom that on his day he is one of the most effective midfielders the we possess. The 29-year old is rarely deployed out wide these days, but he gave a central midfield masterclass and also contributed dangerous set-pieces – not to mention being in the right place at the right time inside the penalty area in the last five minutes to score the equaliser.
