Sunderland Post Match

BigOscar said:
The passing stats from the defence pretty much tell the story tbh.

Joe Hart- 41.7%, 23 long balls, 4 clearances
Sagna- 77.1%, 5 long balls, 4 clearances
Otamendi- 74.2%, 7 long balls, 13 clearances
Demichelis- 77.1%, 4 long balls, 9 clearances
Clichy- 51.4%, 9 long balls, 3 clearances

That's shocking tbh, absolutely shocking. We lost the fight in midfield and just resorted to hoofing it
Click to expand...

Depressingly predictable - it's what invariably happens whenever sides are prepared to press us higher up the pitch. The lack of composure, and the lack of bravery in wanting the ball in tight areas under pressure, is shocking at times.

That said, a major part of the problem in the first half was the carelessness in possession even when we weren't pressed. At times, it seemed like pretty much everyone was taking part in a 'lets-see-who-can-give-the-ball-away-most-frequently-under-the-least-amount-of pressure' competition. I think that general shitness in our play with the ball was a far bigger issue than the way we set up.
 
Mr Ed (The Stables) said:
Main thing is we won the game, and sometimes grinding results out like this will stand us in good stead for the final push come Easter time.
Click to expand...

Three points from these games are vital. It doesn't matter whether the game pleases the purists, the RagDipperMeedya, the aesthetes or whoever. Get the points in the bag and those teams who want to play, we'll show you how we can play!!
 
Yes the three points are all that matter at the end of the day, but after watching the game last night the two biggest concerns for me was how easily we gave the ball away and how a three or four players were not willing to go in for 50/50 tackles. Zabaleta needs to be given the captaincy and play most games now, to get more fight from some of them. Credit has to be given to Demichelis though, he had been written off by many, but especially with a defensive midfielder in front of him, is playing well again.
 
Lancet Fluke said:
The whole thing about grinding out results when playing badly being a sign of champions is fine but usually it assumes a fair amount of genuinely good performances in between whereas we tend to be underperforming more often than not and too many matches have been a grind like last night. It isn't always just about the result IMO, it can be over a short and crucial run of games but not over a prolonged period and the reason we haven't been able to put a run of league wins together since early September is because we just aren't playing well and you can't expect to play poorly and beat teams week in week out. united won the league maybe once or twice where it seemed like they barely played well all season but it is more than likely that if we don't start playing well consistently at some point we won't win the league. Really it is astonishing that we are where we are in the league when you look at our actual performances.
Click to expand...

Yes. Since the Seville game at the beginning of November, we've had away PL games at Villa, Stoke, Arsenal, Leicester, Watford, West Ham & Sunderland. FA cup ties at Norwich & Villa. A trip to Juve and Everton in the Capital One Cup.

In the two FA Cup games at clubs where they weren't that bothered about the competition, we've played them off the park. But in all of the other games against well motivated teams we've consistently struggled. We've scraped a couple of wins without playing well and the point at Leicester might prove to be valuable. But unless we address the underlying poor away form we'll continue to drop points.
 
Dave Ewing's Back 'eader said:
Three points from these games are vital. It doesn't matter whether the game pleases the purists, the RagDipperMeedya, the aesthetes or whoever. Get the points in the bag and those teams who want to play, we'll show you how we can play!!
Click to expand...
Having watched most of the match, I missed about 15 mins due to a technical hitch. I would like to make the following observations.
Yes a lot of our play was scrappy and well below the standards that most on here would like to see. After we scored we drifted out of the game and failed to deal effectively with their robust pressing game. However, what I will take away from this fixture is the fact that we showed a lot of grit and determination and demonstrated a willingness to battle and fight for the cause which has often been lacking this season. Yes we hoofed the ball up the pitch and yes we were outplayed by an average side requiring Hart to come to the rescue but we put in a shift and displayed a fighting spirit that can only stand to us in the coming weeks. We do need to improve our performance levels but at least team spirit is alive and well. Keep the faith!!!
 
Thought Kelechi showed some nice touches and his link up play with our attackers was great. Saying that, he certainly saw the physical side of this league last night. Think he may need to beefen up just a bit.
 
What concerns me most right now is that we can't seem to muster up a strong attack without having two strikers on the pitch. Which would be fine if we could deploy a midfield formation that could cope with that luxury. The only time we created yesterday was when Ihenacho was on the pitch. Some of that was tactics as we chose to try to hold on by the end but some of that is just that we nee more options between the lines and ahead of the ball. Sergio is feeding off of scraps in a 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 and it's all been very hard for us.

In upcoming big matches against Liverpool, Leicester, Spurs, etc you know they're going to pack the midfield and force us to deploy this formation. I applaud Pellegrini for giving a 4-4-2 a go yesterday even if it isn't much of an effort with Yaya there these days. I'm really worried about our ability to create in the "safer" formations against these sides.
 
But but but, dont pub sides try to pass to a player wearing the same shirt ?? Our defence & midfield are more than happy just to hoof it anywhere & kicking it into touch is merely giving the ball back to the opposition.

I wish our forwards played against our defence.
 
GeorgeHeslop'sTackle. said:
Agreed. Proud of every one of em tonight.

Weren't intimidated by 'fat sam's' usual (deliberate) bully boy tactics, but gave as good as we got, and eventually came out of the 'battle' victorious.

I'm sorry if that isn't good enough for some 'City fans' on here, but it's very difficult to play football, on the ground, when you're perpetually being launched about 5 feet into the air, for the entire 95 minutes. by vertue of your opponent's boots or elbows.
Click to expand...

Exactly. What happened to this tackling from behind being outlawed. The amount of times one of their come through the
back of one of ours. Either that or it was all nudge in the back, pull shirt, tread on feet. Not one fucking free kick.
 
Some games we've played this year people on here have accused the team of not being fighters. Now I'm ill placed to comment on this match, since I didn't manage to see one minute of it, but from what I heard on Radio Manc, and following the Matchday Centre thread, it sounded as if we were scrapping for the result. Well, it's not too bad to be able to do that, too.

Edit several hours later (because the site was down, as you know): by God, but even the highlights on the OS (which always spin things in the most positive light, only normal) couldn't hide the fact that the defence was often a complete shambles. It was Joe who saved us. Joe and their player putting a free header wide from a few yards out when it would have been easier to score. I wonder who Pep will keep, of this defence. Joe, obviously, Vinny (if he can keep fit). Otherwise, I can imagine him clearing everyone else out.
 
Dave Ewing's Back 'eader said:
Three points from these games are vital. It doesn't matter whether the game pleases the purists, the RagDipperMeedya, the aesthetes or whoever. Get the points in the bag and those teams who want to play, we'll show you how we can play!!
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Some people will never be happy even with three points.
 
That was a great win last night and we defended well second half as they had a real go
 
itisrising said:
Thought Kelechi showed some nice touches and his link up play with our attackers was great. Saying that, he certainly saw the physical side of this league last night. Think he may need to beefen up just a bit.
Click to expand...
Yeah I think another stone of muscle on him would do him good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top