GARY ROWELL: Sessegnon must be ruthless STEPHANE Sessegnon is such a good player but he should be scoring more goals. In saying that, Iâm echoing the words of Martin OâNeill who has pointed out that considering the great positions he gets himself into, he should be scoring more often. Itâs something that 5,000 Sunderland fans were given a stark reminder of in the second-half of the game against Wigan when Steven Fletcher put him clean through on goal. It was such a critical point of the game because if Sess had scored there, it would have been 4-1 to Sunderland and game over. And he should have scored. But I donât necessarily agree with those who think he was trying to be too clever when he was deprived of the ball in the box. I just think he was caught in two minds and thatâs something you would expect far more of a winger in that situation than a striker. And I think that, in a nutshell, is the heart of the issue. Stephane has played the vast majority of his career as a winger. He is not a natural striker. And thatâs the challenge he faces in his current role playing just behind Fletcher. Itâs a dream role for a player of Sessegnonâs skills but he has to work on that ruthlessness and composure in front of goal. If youâre a natural goalscorer than goalscoring is all you are thinking about in the position Stephane was in at the weekend. If youâre Steven Fletcher in that position, all you are thinking about as you approach the box is putting the ball in the back of the net. I just think Sessegnon, with his ability and control, had just too much on his mind as he reached the box â he was considering too many options and in the end ended up with neither. And his challenge â not to mention that of Martin OâNeill â is to find a way of taking more of the chances that his skills so often create. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nail on the head this part.
Can't argue with that can you? the guy has undoubted skills but he isn't a goal scorer, he just doesn't have that instinct. I would prefer to see him out wide as a provider to Fletcher and A .N. Other, he's got bags more skill in his locker than McClean so lets give him a chance.
I think many of us have been on this one for several months tbf and if he can't be utilized as a winger, he is holding the progress of the team up by being played as a non-scoring striker. I think if we do bring in Graham or another striker, sessegnon will make way and then It's a case of who makes way on the wings for him. Johnson isn't being dropped anytime soon, as he is our 2nd top scorer now and for assists, so it will be Mcclean who will step down imo. This midfielder and forward line would be something else for some games, with Cattermole coming in for Graham if a 4 5 1 was adopted. NDiaye Johnson, Zarate, Sessegnon Graham, Fletcher
The good thing about everybody's views on Sess is that we forget that its a good problem we have not a bad one. Having options to play Sess behind Fletcher in big games where the opposition have more possession than us and we need somebody with a good touch and controlled possession in dangerous areas and then playing so called similar teams to ourselves where we need to be more assertive in games hence moving Sess to the wing or deeper to accommodate a second striker. Its a good problem to have and gives us versatility which you need in the Prem, all these "we should play 4-4-2" arguments are all well and good but being able to play 4-5-1 & 4-4-2 gives us much needed flexability, no teams stick to a certain formation these days.
Agree with the sentiment that he is basically a winger playing in a strikers role...If he can't adapt quickly to his current position then MON needs to act to sort it out..
This. I think Sess is a problem, nice one maybe but its costing us goals and opportunities as he is a terrible out and out striker but a very effective 4 or 5 goal a season winger.
I dont know but he has been everywhere with Martin in his management career, so I guess he must think he brings something to the table, or why else would he be part of his backroom team for so long?
Appreciate your views on Sessegnon however I think the lad needs some people to stick up for him and I am one of them! 1 - Sessegnon is playing where is being told to play by MON and that is because Wickham is not ready and there are no alternatives. 2 - Sess also holds the ball up and brings other players into play and keeps possession very well when it is played into him from the back, priceless when we are playing the top teams and need a foothold in the game. Add to that he competes for every ball and is surprisingly good in the air. 3 - Gets criticized for not scoring enough, fair comment which Im sure he knows hence maybe snatching at some of his chance. Still he finished our joint top goal scorer last season with 8 goals. Also has come in for a bit of stick for his missed chance against Wigan, which happens to the best of players. N'daiye had an easier chance with his head and missed but nowhere near as much blame. Being at the game myself everyone in the away end were gutted at Sess's miss but were just saying "unlucky son!" because we all acknowledged how well he worked off the ball tracking the wingbacks on the right and helping Gardner and Colback. You may not have seen this watching on the telly but it was evident that on Sat no player worked harder than Sess off the ball and at least he was in a position to make the run which ultimately he ended up missing the chance. 4 -Can change a game on its head! Creates so many opportunities for other players and often he is not credited and he either starts the attack or plays the pass before the assists, which is often the defence splitting pass. 5 - Until we sign another striker he will continue to play in the hole and saying that he is costing us goals and opportunities is wrong in my opinion Cest, if anything he is doing the complete opposite, plus we have scored 6 goals in our last 2 games!
I don't see such a problem if we were playing two up front all the time. Sess could be supplying the chances playing behind the front men and that would take away the scoring responsibility from him. I'd keep Johnson and Maclean on the wings with Fletch and A.N.Other up front and Sess just behind them. Works for me...
As the creative spark, cutting in from wide positions, doing all his tricks and little jinks, contributing maybe 5 or 6 goals a season if is invaluable. Playing as the second striker he is more of a hinderance to the attack, as it heaps pressure on Fletcher as the only goal getter. The person under most threat here should be Mcclean, as for me that should be sessegnons position.
McClean not in the team is a good thing as hopefully it will teach him that he needs to fight for his place whereas last season and to an extent the start of this season he was almost guaranteed his place. If Sess added more goals to his game then he wouldnt be at Sunderland, perks of having inconsistent players.
More like this: ..........NDiaye Catts.......... Sessegnon, Zarate, Johnson .............Fletcher............... MON will always play with 2 in the middle sitting a bit. If we play 2 up top it will be with 4 across a midfield.
Although I like Catts, I don't think it has been a coincidence that our results have picked up dramatically since he got injured. In my opinion, if Catts is going to play in the centre of midfield, it is essential that you have an attack minded, box to box player alongside of him..
At Wigan he had a one on one, I'd really well to get past the player, but then with 15 yards left and just the keeper left, he tries to go round the goalie and the defender, just puzzles me tbh
