I'd agree with all of that. It was clear that, just because Sheff Wed scored four goals against Plymouth, and probably had decent stats, it didn't mean they'd keep scoring. I'd not even look at stats until we've played fifteen games and things start to balance out ... ... I've no idea of the stats under Mowbray but, quite often, we'd be heading for a low or zero score when Amad would score a 'wonder goal' and the stats would go up in the air like dominoes in a Friday night workey
If goals come from penalties, OGs and 'wonder goals', in your first six games, your luck may well run out ... ... most of our goals have been team goals or routines from the training ground. That's sustainable and, as young players improve, you'd hope things will gradually become as good long term or even improve.
There's an old saying, there's lies, damned lies and statistics. Any statistic can be twisted and manipulated to show whatever you want and is only useful when looked at impartially and in context with other stats. This obsession with xG is pretty recent generated by the media at first, but only tells a tiny part of the story. In the wider context you've supplied for Boro it's just one tiny piece of the picture and it's going against other stats, meaning most likely it's the outlier. If that prat is focusing solely on that to say everything is ok and they're better than us, but dismissing the greater volume of stuff that contradicts xG, he could be in for a massive disappointment.
Yeah the media have been using xG a lot recently, Sky especially, despite actual football clubs not using it anymore or using it completely differently now. I personally like it for measuring individual shots, xG and xGOT for individual chances provide context for that event and it can be used in multiple different ways. A standard xG table combining all the games played so far is nonsense. You could theoretically have 50 shots from 30 yards out in a game and it would generate a decent xG, while the opposition could have 3 shots from 8 yards out and score all 3 but end up with lower xG despite creating 3 excellent chances. It's all about context.
Good read that. Love RLB comment age doesn't matter you can be mature at 17 and immature at 30! How true is that? How many older players over the years haven't shown a pinch of the professionalism and determination of these young lads? Too many to mention but if I was to one it would be that **** Darron Gibson, that video of him talking about other players not giving a **** and then spitting his dummy out when the lad he was talking to pointed out he was one of them it was bad enough at the time but ended up even worse with how his time ended! These young lads are a different breed to what we have had here over the years!
Haha I read that same thread. My personal favorite was that player to player they have a better team. Not sure I'd swap many of our starting 11 for theres tbh. Only player I liked the look of was the youngster Doak.
After every win this season the opposition fan podcasts have said 'That was our worst performance this season'. It's almost as if Sunderland simply drop lucky, each time, and have no effect on the actual game. Even the Wednesday fans, on Youtube, etc, were saying Sunderland were nothing special. Personally I think Le Bris was exceptionally brave, in his set up against Boro, as were the team ... ... to stand off the opposition in the first minute, of a big derby match in front of 40,000 fans, was unprecedented. Roker Park would've gone mental
thats a really good read and further evidence of how well the young man has adapted to first team football
Weirdly for the first time ever I took notice of Mepham’s first touch all game, being his debut and to gauge his ability on the ball, and got to say thought he was brilliant
Yes that's very true actually. Reminds me of how Benetiz had Liverpool set up at one point. Spoil the opposition play and build from there. It's a very different style to what we are used to. Will we all be so patient if we go on a bad run tho? I know some won't.
I've seriously warmed to the bloke. Doesn't rest on his laurels and doesn't seem to be happy with just a win - it's the style of how we win he wants.
I liked the O'Nien post-Boro interview when he said they'd had 7 or 8 sit down meetings discussing what went wrong, and right, at Plymouth. Good to know it's a discussion not a lecture as you'd imagine it to be with the likes of Roy Keane.
