You can if you want to though. You don’t own this forum or this thread. People can still come on this thread and provide a comment. Just because you don’t welcome it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do it. Like I said, your comment to which I first replied came across as rude and to be honest a bit arrogant as well.
If people want to come in to a thread and tell me point is wrong and I'm wrong I reserve the right to tell them I don't care. If that's arrogant, fair enough. I created a thread to discuss a topic. People came in and told me there's no point discussing it. They can kindly stay out and let those who do want to discuss it, discuss it.
The beautiful thing is, the data can’t say ‘they are setting up their next attack when they haven’t got the ball’ The positioning out of possession at a glance doesn’t make sense. Teams can get wise to it and hold a man back and widen the pitch, but that would open space through the middle and Jobe , Rigg & Browne are strong runners (Aleksic looks made for finding use of central space). How Regis adjusts to teams trying to stop it will show us exactly how good a coach he is. Now, the obvious is ‘fire with fire’ and make us have the ball. Can you do that with players like Mundle, Paddy, Aleksic? The pace on the burst of Mayenda? Hell of a gamble. Our players are great on the ball. This is before we even consider Wilson, and the other CM and striker who have totally different qualities. It feels like we have been a bit lopsided, then gone round a bend this window and landed on the wheels. We may well need to adjust the setup, but we have options and variants galore in the squad to do just that.
It is simple mate really. Chris Rigg is so good at everything all data models get turned inside out by his stats and produce gibberish. He is like a virus in the machine.
Spot on. I'll remind you of the Betvictor article.... 1st – Sunderland The common approach to judging teams ahead of a new season is looking at where they finished in the previous campaign as a benchmark, before making a prediction based upon improvements made through positive recruitment or a managerial appointment. In this case, Sunderland finished 16th last year. Nevertheless, our prediction isn’t primarily based on signings nor, especially, the appointment of Régis Le Bris as head coach. So, why do we have them as our Championship title-winners? The answer: the anticipation of rapid, seismic developmental growth. Let us explain. Under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, and the guidance of technical director Kristjaan Speakman, the Black Cats have adopted black kittens, employing an uncompromisingly youth-led recruitment and strategic policy. This policy has helped them attain, and retain, the prodigious talents of Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham, and Chris Rigg. Neil has recently added a defensive reliability to the control and creativity he’s demonstrated since coming into the side as a teenager. Jobe is making a name for himself in his own right after snubbing Spurs, while Rigg plays with a fearlessness that suggests the 17-year-old could become anything he wants. Furthermore, Sunderland also boast recent France U20s prospects in Pierre Ekwah and Adil Aouchiche, both now 22. The former brings an infectious energy while the latter possesses stunning vision. And that’s just in midfield! The Wearsiders also possess two of the best wingers in the Championship in Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke, if the latter were to stay. They equally boast one of the top right-backs in the tenacious Trai Hume, who also has the intelligence to invert into midfield. The potential in this squad is through the roof, to the extent that it might only take a few subtle tweaks and shifts for them to go from being bottom half dwellers to one of the greatest second-tier sides of all time. One of those tweaks is having a more settled environment under a good coach. After the chaos caused last season by Tony Mowbray’s dismissal and Michael Beale’s appointment, perhaps Le Bris can live up to his reputation in France as a respected developer of talent. A second can be the young players, themselves, having had a couple of seasons of development under their belts, beginning to learn how to translate their glowing youth reputations into the senior game. It’s common for elite youth talents to underwhelm in men’s football in their first season or two, but to then enjoy an enormous spike in their progress. In Sunderland’s case, just three teenagers remain in their 27-man first-team squad. 17 are now into their early 20s, at an age where they can be relied on to consistently influence games at Championship level. The third is the influence of Luke O’Nien, who’ll be their most important player: even if he doesn’t start a single game. The 29-year-old never had the natural ability most of Sunderland’s squad possesses, but he’s overcome his technical limitations – and every other challenge that’s come his way – with the same relentless positivity, infectious exuberance and sheer determination. Having signed as a midfielder in 2018, the utility man has also filled in at both full-back and wing-back spots, operated as a pressing #10. More recently, he has established himself at centre-back in the last two seasons. In fact, O’Nien initially covered central defence in 2022-23 due to injuries, but he played so well there that he started 43 league games in that position last season: an extraordinary mentality. So, if the former Wycombe man can rub off on natural centre-backs like key man Dan Ballard, who himself has now played 61 games for Sunderland, Nectarios Triantis and Jensen Seelt, as well as the rest of the squad, that will make a transformative difference. If this young group adopt that same mentality as O’Nien, with greater ability, they’ll improve exponentially and hit some incredible heights. The O’Nienification process will be helped, further, by the addition of midfielder Alan Browne, who plays every game with a unique urgency. Browne is 29, while Simon Moore has signed at 34 to back-up an outstanding goalkeeper in Anthony Patterson. Evidently, Sunderland have been prepared to compromise their policy this summer to fine-tune the balance between youth and experience. So, why do we have Sunderland as champions? This is the highest-potential squad in the league by a country mile. The Black Cats have already had two years of exposure, with most players about to hit their peak. This, alongside a few experienced heads now to lean on, with perhaps a more stable coaching regime for guidance. Add the right striker and it could be a perfect storm…
Generally high possession teams do well because the more of the ball they have they tend to create more chances but Leicester were one of the lowest possession teams in the PL when they won it.
The pressing of our front 3/4 makes a massive difference too. Whilst they might not win the ball back, the pressure can cause the opposition to lose possession through missed passes etc. That may not be reflected in those stats.
good point that. We might not actually win the ball in the final third but the work put in might mean we win it back in the middle
Read that having my morning **** and it’s brightened my day. That’s been written by someone who hasn’t looked at names and stats, but who absolutely knows football and has proper looked into it. Or a Sunderland fan… Either way lovely read, great logic. 3 of the named players are either gone or out of picture but bar Clarke have been upgraded. Sometime we don’t see **** right in front of our eyes, but a lot of that is really solid logic.
My reading of the stats is just that we are patient. We wait for the right opportunity, and when it comes we've been ruthless in exploring it. We don't run around like headless chickens. We just keep our shape, and are efficient. Millwall are there opposite, manic, but ineffective.
