I come waving the green and white flag of neutrality! As most of you will know, your young left back Liddle is on loan at Gateshead, a little surprising considering he is at least League One quality. The difference in class really showed, he was comfortably the best player on the pitch and we really struggled to cope with him. His link-up play with their winger Nelthorpe (I think) was excellent but he was very keen to get forward himself, finding himself in some very dangerous positions. As well as having decent pace and great delivery, what really impressed me was his intelligence. He knew exactly where to be and quite often cut into the centre of the pitch and bossed it about. His eye for a pass was something Blyth just couldn't keep up with and his footwork was sublime. Of course at this standard (BSN) you'd expect him to be outclassing everyone but the fact he doesn't rely purely on pace (which is usually the key to success at this level) puts him in good stead for a future in the higher leagues (if not the top flight). When defending he was capable if not awe-inspiring and quietened down when Blyth had spells of dominance but going forward he was inspirational, my friend's dad compared him to Roberto Carlos, for style purposes of course, don't get too excited! A small, very aggressive wingback with tricky feet and excellent crossing ability. Here is the problem, he seemed small even for 5'8" and though tenacious, against stronger players (Blyth don't have many big men) would find himself pushed off the ball quite easily. At this level and perhaps a couple leagues above, his skill would be enough to see him through, I'd worry that his stature is going to hold back his chances of breaking into the Sunderland team. Aged 21 he's running out of time to be considered a 'prospect' and looks like he may only ever be a fringe player for Ireland at best. He needs to be loaned out at a higher level to really prove himself and improve his toughness. I'm interested to see how highly Sunderland fans rate him. Where do you see his future? Do you feel he could break into your first team within the next few years? Good left backs are hard to come by...
