Dan Ballard (Previously played with Poveda at Arsenal) “I’ve kept in touch with him since we played together in youth football. He’s a great guy and he helped make my early years at Arsenal really enjoyable. One of his best attributes is that he loves to get at defenders and is very direct. I know Sunderland fans are going to really enjoy his style of play and he’s going to get them on the edge of their seat. I’m really excited that he’s joined and that we’ll get the chance to play with each other again.”
Everything I’m hearing about Poveda’s style of play makes me really excited. Sounds like a Sessegnon type, who I’ve missed ever since we sold him. Just got to hope he stays fit.
Here’s some more from SAFC.com about Poveda’s impressions on people: https://www.safc.com/news/2024/july/26/teammates-have-their-say-on-poveda-signing/ Alessandro Barcherni - Head of Goalkeeping at Sunderland AFC(Previously worked with Poveda at Leeds United) “The first time I saw him was 2019 because I was at Stoke and I’d gone to watch Josef Bursik who was our goalkeeper playing for England, they were playing Czech Republic in a Euro qualifier. I sat at St George’s Park right by the touchline and he was playing right-wing so he was right next to where I was sat. I’d not seen him play before and he kept taking the ball and skinning his man. I was thinking ‘he’s decent, he’s very very good’. I remember saying to Josef after the game who is the right-winger and he told me he played at Manchester City. Then that was that. “I then left Stoke at the back end of pre-season to join Leeds United. In that 2019-20 window at Christmas, we sold Jack Clarke and brought Ian in. He spent time with us in the Under-21s predominantly at the start but in that regime, 21s and first-team were one squad because Marcelo Bielsa was the boss. “That was the Covid season it was a bit weird for him to get accustomed to but the next season once we restarted, he played mostly for the 21s again but made his debut in the first-team. He’s super skilful, got high work ethic, his ability to beat men one-vs-one is outstanding and hopefully we will see that here. What you will see from him is his energy off the ball, too. People saw him at Sheffield Wednesday last season and he was arguably their best player. Unfortunately, he got a bit of an injury towards the back end but he can score, create and got energy to do the hard work off the ball.” Leo Hjelde (Previously played with Poveda at Leeds United) “He is a very exciting player. He is very good with the ball and loves to take people on. He is good in small spaces and tight areas and his work ethic is unbelievable. I first met him when he got injured when he was at Blackpool - and the work this guy puts in is second to none. He is always pushing himself and demanding more. He is a very hard-working player but he also has the technical ability to be a beautiful South American player so it is a really exciting addition to the group.” Niall Huggins ((Previously played with Poveda at Leeds United) “I remember him from my early years at Leeds. He had really quick feet, was really agile on the ball and he was a defender’s nightmare. He was always working hard in training and was always looking to score a goal. It’s been good to watch how his career has gone over the years but we’ve got a good player on our hands for the new season.”
Got a message of a leeds fan today at work, he says he will be unreal signing if he gets over his injury issues. Said leeds fans loved watching him when he played, he just didnt play enough
Looks like the lad hasn’t had much luck but the way his deal is structured I’m sure he’s worth a punt
Short answer is yes. He has a great pedigree the lad, Barcelona, Arsenal and Man City, few can match that. Rocks up at Leeds in the Premiership and had persistent injuries ever since, perhaps the worst a broken ankle that kept him out for 6 months, part of the problem has been trying to regain full fitness, just as he seems to do it, and start completing 90 minutes, another bad injury puts him out for a while and the process starts again. Those 71 appearances, I'm sure a lot were sub appearances and I'm even more sure when he actually got starts it was rare for him complete 90 minutes. My understanding is two-fold, firstly the deal we have got him to sign is fairly modest with bigger incentives for appearances etc so if he spends a lot of time on the treatment table it is less of a burden to us, secondly we have had several key players with long-term, persistent, bad injuries in recent seasons; Ross Stewart, Niall Huggins, Dennis Cirkin, Aji Alese, Corrie Evans, amongst others, this has led us try develop our physio team into one of the best in the country, Poveda is aware of this and we intend to try and manage him accordingly.
I keep seeing people saying this but it's just not how I remember things tbh. From memory he's only had one bad injury which was a broken ankle, under Mowbray. Does Mowbray have a record of bringing players back too quickly, dunno tbh. Apart from that he had a hamstring, which can happen to anyone, and a couple of niggling injuries. He came back too early from the ankle injury and had to do more work on it. It's not as if he's had a history of a recurring series of problems with a particular area. All players pick up injuries. Dan Ballard has now had a broken foot, a hamstring injury and a knee injury, in only 61 games, since he joined Sunderland, that's worse than Poveda in his entire career. Ballard also had a serious knee injury, playing for Swindon, that kept him out for five months. He's the same age, as Poveda, and has had more serious injuries but I don't see people labelling him as injury prone.
The bit about developing the physio team is very interesting mate. I have no idea about that stuff really but even as a layman I've thought for years it must be beneficial to get the very best in terms of staff and technology to prevent injuries as much as increase recovery time!
Forget Hemir mate, he's off the table for the 1st team. At the min, Mayenda could to and fro between 21's and first team. Rusyn and Mendy would then arguably be sufficient, but if both Hemir AND Mayenda leave on loan, we'll be short of a striker for me. There's the risk that Mendy doesn't take to English football too. Loaning someone like Cannon for instance, would then be invaluable to a side supposedly chasing promotion. He's a similar loan to Diallo.
Thanks very much mate. A lot of good knowledge in that post. Unlike one that followed claiming Ballard has played fewer games than Poveda
Has there been any movement on a striker? Out the county at the mo so access is sporadic. Has the Mendy noise cooled a bit?
A daft question for some of the older heads, just playing an archaic football manager game, and this is the Sunderland 'reserve' team from 93/94, just wondering if anyone recognises the names, perhaps youth team players, or if they're just auto generated random names? please log in to view this image
