Match Day Thread Sunderland v Doncaster Rovers - Saturday 13th February - KO 15:00

Sunderland welcome Doncaster Rovers to the Stadium of Light in the SkyBet League One.

Last time out Sunderland lost at Shrewsbury and Doncaster lost at Fleetwood.
The takeover is edging nearer to completion with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus awaiting the final approval from the EFL. There are reports in the Telegraph this morning that he is planning on moving to the North East.
Lee Johnson confirmed that Jordan Willis suffered a serious knee injury and will miss the rest of the season after the defender was carried off the pitch just minutes into Sunderland's 2-1 defeat at Shrewsbury.
Doncaster are in 5th place on 48 points, and a win against the Black cats could see them climb into the second automatic promotion place.
Lee Johnson:
“Sorry I’m late - I was giving Dan Neil some advice about his technique”
“I believe that everything is really close (the takeover), but I don’t want to go live with the story just yet. I don’t want you to look silly.”
"It's probably a minimum term of six months, and he'll (Willis) be a huge miss, he had been nursing the injury for a while. I really feel for him - he's a great lad and a really good player with Championship quality and physicality.”
"We'll still see him off the pitch, but as we know it's not the same bringing that personality when you're unable to play."
"Ross (Stewart) has had what we expect to be a brief setback - maybe around a week to 10 days. He slipped in a rehabilitation drill with the physio, and felt tightness for the first time in two to three weeks.
"Regarding the goalkeepers, they know that things haven't gone as well as expected in recent weeks - that's a fair assessment, but it must be remembered that goalkeepers are in a perilous position - I played with David James, who probably dropped 100 balls, but caught 10,000.
"It's about how you react after bad mistakes. You see top international goalkeepers making mistakes, being scrutinised, but I'm here to support the players and to help to give them that toolbox of resilience to come back stronger."
Darren Moore:
“I do like to play football in a certain way, the way that the football club wants to improve and the way that they want to play football marries up and we’re perfectly aligned in that respect.”
“It is something that myself and the club want to get right and get right on a more consistent basis. We have a very good relationship, it is a lovely community club and it works well.”
“I’m just trying to make sure that I do everything that I can on the pitch, for the beautiful community in Doncaster.”
“Getting the West Brom job was a great experience for me and I haven’t changed anything from my time there to here at Doncaster. I have the same principals here that I did when I was there, and I’m just trying to get better at all angles in terms of the work that we have been doing.”
“You learn over time, you develop and experience new things over the course of time. Of course, I would have learned a lot from that part of my career.”

Match Appointments:
Referee: NEIL HAIR
Assistant Referees: Alistair Nelson and Ollie Williams
Fourth Official: Graham Salisbury

Team Line ups
Sunderland: Patterson, McLaughlin, Sanderson, Wright, Vokins, O’Nien, Neil, Scowen, McGeady, Wyke, Jones.

Subs: Burge, Younger, Power, Leadbitter, Gooch, Diamond, O'Brien.
Injured: Xhemajli, Kimpioka, Hume, Stewart, Flanagan, Winchester, McFadzean, Willis

Doncaster Rovers: Balcombe, Halliday, Anderson, Butler, John, Smith, Bostock, Lokilo, Robertson, James, Okenabirhie.
Subs: Wright, Gomes, Bogle, Taylor, Jones, Richards, Simoes Inacio.
Injured: tbc

Betting Odds:
Home 1/1 Away 13/5 Draw 23/10

My two pence:
Again we failed to play for 90 minutes, get an early lead, looking very comfortable, then gift them the equalising goal, and from there we dropped our heads again and could easily have been 3-1 down.
Lets see what LJ does about the keeper, I would have no hesitation putting Patterson in there.
These next two games will define the rest of this season for me.
We either win them both and have something to play for, failing that, we draw against Donny and carry on hoping to make it to the play-offs.
OR worst case we lose them both and might as well start to prepare for another season in League One.

I am fearing the worst, but I’m going for the standard 1-1 draw.

Live stream £10
https://www.safc.com/news/team-news/live-video

Ha’way the Lads

 

Cheers mate

 

I fancy a win here for some reason. Great thread mate as usual.

 

Can see us losing the next two home games which in this time of good news about the takeover would be absolutely typical of our club.
Donny were on a good run until they're last game and Lincoln are better away from home that at home but I digress.
Hope to god I'm wrong so fingers crossed for two stonking home victories.
Great thread as per RTB.

 

I could go with this team and would love to see Neil get a start. In this setup, I think Vokins would get more protection in defence with Neil on the left hand side rather than hoping McGeady would track back to help out. Think this game have could end up with any result the way we've been playing. Here's hoping for a home win

 

We are SAFC. We will beat Donny & Lincoln and then lose to Burton. Its what we do.

Onto this game. Sooner or later we will get it right. I am going for a high scoring 4-3 to the cuddlies. Gucchi x 2, O9 and AOB.

Good team RTB. I would probably opt for Diamond ahead of McGready but regardless the bench has game changers.

 

RTB

Cast my vote for a home win....

For the present, the January transfer window, is having very little effect, other than getting rid of, Graham and Grigg, which as negative factors must have improved the overall quality of the squad.

However as for incomings, the young LB is having a mare the winger looks promising, but is not fit...the striker is injured/injury prone? The midfielder Winchester???

So essentially it is the same old team, albeit playing better in spells during a game and spells of utter crap.

So I reckon it is even odds for a win, loss or draw... praying for a win...

 

he better not play 4-2-2-2 again

 

Tough game on Saturday, I'm going for a 2-2 draw.

However it would be absolutely typical of us to spank them 4 nowt or something.

 

great thread again RTB loved your MY 2 PENCE WORTH i have gone for a draw but it all depends on who he picks as goalie I've heard Clocky sing Young Patterson's praises and hope he is up for it Pickford got his chance and did well, Not impressed with Vokins so i would leave him out until i see an improvement in training. McLaughlin left back and put 09 at right back as we are seriously **** here and Power is defiantly not the answer. Which leaves us with Diamond playing where you had09 anyway mate that would be my pick but so long as we win ill be chuffed anything less then im afraid i may have to go into hiding or blow a gasket on the after match chat..

 

On recent displays we are simply not good enough, and until Tue Doncaster were flying.

Hope I’m wrong but I fear we will narrowly lose, and a end of season mid table position beckons.

0-1 or 1-2 for me, And yet another goalkeeper error.

Bart

 

Great post again RTB, I like your team' and would settle for it now no bother, just out of interest I would try 3/5/2, as we have no decent full backs I would have an extra man in midfield , and use Sando as a sweeper/aux mid field player, but AoB, and O/9 can get back to defend set pieces leaving Gooch on the half way line as a get out card, and take it to them, with something like this
Patterson
Wright - Sanderson - McGlaughlin
Diamond - O/9 - Scowen - Neil - Jones
AoB - Gooch Subs Burge, Younger, McFadzean, Wyke, McGeady, Power, Leadbitter .
I don't think LJ will be quite as radical maybe rightly , but he did end up with three at the back last game so I am curious to see what he comes up with.
Whatever team takes the field, I pray we don't get anymore bad injuries, and the players do themselves justice over the 90 minutes and get a home win. OaU.

 

Not sure about this one. Hopefully he will get a reaction from the players after last defeat. Home form not good though and 2 goalkeepers to choose from who are low on confidence. Donny been a decent team this year. Need the win but sadly I just don’t see it. I will say the usual draw. Apologies great thread again. Thank you.

 

Decent listen if anyone is interested

The Sunderland lad used to be on Roker Report previewing the game with a Doncaster lad

https://aca.st/d63261

 

I almost went for three at the back but changed it at the last minute, we seemed to play better at the end of the game on Tuesday with that 3-5-2 formation.

 

Great thread again RTB. I’ve gone with an away win purely for the fact that he is going to start one of Burge or Matthews in goal. If he starts Patterson then I will change my vote to a home win. Absolutely no chance of it though.

 

Yeah - listening to his press conference I think he'll back one of them.
https://safc.com/news/team-news/2021/february/doncaster-rovers/doncaster-press-conference

 

Interesting listening to that, they basically play 4 centre backs across the back four. Well, the two full backs can also play centre backs. Maybe that's something we could do, Sanderson or McLaughlin right back and Younger left back. Would certainly give us more height back there if we go 442. Would make us more compact as Power and Volkins in particular tend to go walkabout.

 

Interesting comments on the keepers. He's aware of how important confidence is in a keeper and says that they don't have it currently, and that Burge hasn't been good enough which we all know, but there's no suggestion of Patterson getting a chance. Some praise for Matthews for being bold but then for the second goal he was rooted to the spot, probably because he didn't clear it for the first goal and didn't want to take the risk.

I hate having keeper issues as it's such an important position, apart from McLaughlin it's been a major problem area for some time.

 

5-0 we're gonna hit form and blow them away. four up at halftime