You can only beat what's in front of you. My only criticism is Ballard tends to try to bring the ball forward and keeps getting caught in possession.
Apologies if already mentioned but,if I was RLB,I'd ban these knee slides such as Jobe does after scoring. My heart went in my mouth when his knee dug into the turf and spun him round....only a matter of time before someone tears a ligament doing that stupid carry-on.
I agree, really was a bit of a cringe moment … … although it was hilarious to see Rigg tunnel his way into the heap of bodies on top of Jobe
Jobe Bellingham's key Sunderland chat with Regis Le Bris https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/24812563.jobe-bellinghams-key-sunderland-chat-regis-le-bris/ REGIS Le Bris has lifted the lid on his crucial behind the scenes discussions with Jobe Bellingham that paved the way for the teenager to score successive winners for Sunderland.... "It was clear in his mind, I don't have to say to Jobe you can score, it was just a question of position," said Sunderland's head coach. "We've talked a lot about his position on the pitch. If he can manage different situations he can be involved in the build-up, the high pressure and the low pressure. But if he wants to affect the score his position had to be a bit higher up the pitch and we've spoken a lot about the position of our eights. Especially for Jobe. "Out of possession he plays as a six so it's not always easy to find the right balance with the offensive part of the game. He played there during the first game of the season, higher up the pitch, then he played as a midfielder. "Now it's just a question of adjustment and he learns so very quickly." For coaches, identifying a required tactical adjustment, but getting the message over to the players is another. Le Bris wasn't at all surprised that Bellingham instantly took their discussions on board and got his immediate rewards, though. He said: "Good players are always challenging. It's very positive for a coach because they are ambitious and show this every day on the pitch. "If the players and staff are like that, we're on the same page. We want to learn and improve ourselves. "We know that we have to be very clear with him and the feedback has to be accurate because he can understand very quickly if it's true and real or not. It's a gift to have these kind of players. "We have many different players. The squad is very exciting to manage because we have different profiles. "With the young ones or older ones, they are different, but the mentality and character is very positive. "We can manage many situations without avoiding subjects. We can be very clear so it's a very positive environment to learn."
Am 58 seconds in and just eeen Regis look at the room as if to say “wtf” when he said Hume had been ill this week and Barnes appeared to question it!!
Watched the match again last night and two things stood out for me. We went to sleep for the corner leading to their goal but more importantly we scored our goals at the perfect times straight after HT before they got organised and similarly within seconds of their red card we struck again before they reorganised their defence. Timings of goals can be so important.
