v Sunderland (a) - 1/4/24

[Leonard Venkhater]

7 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

If Szmodics says he is fine then he stays on. 

It is that much of a problem really?.

Even if the close minutes he was closing down defenders.  Clearly fine. 

I noticed he was wearing some kind of knee support

[Armchair supporter supremo]

Can we please now just stick with a back 4. non of this 3 at the back sheiite.

 

Blackburn in my lifetime have only ever done consistently well when we've had a solid back 4.

[Bohinen1983]

What a bad, bad side Sunderland are! I didn't see us winning another game this season, thanks for the easiest 3 points of the season.. 

[AllRoverAsia]

Extended highlights

 

[chaddyrovers]

14 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Yeah, that's pretty damning of GB and Co. The recruitment hasn't been very good at all really.

Hyam, Brittain and Szmodics were all signed under GB. Plus Chrisene and Moran who can on are GB signings. 

We need a decent budget in the summer to sign a quality striker and keep improving the squad in some areas. Similar transfer budget to what we had in the first summer under GB like 5 to 7 million pounds. Any way that's discussion for another job

7 minutes ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

I noticed he was wearing some kind of knee support

correct 

4 minutes ago, Bohinen1983 said:

What a bad, bad side Sunderland are! I didn't see us winning another game this season, thanks for the easiest 3 points of the season.. 

Sunderland lack direction on and off the pitch. Mowbray complained about the lack of experience in the squad which I think is younger than ours is. Mowbray was always going to the sack since the summer cos they were rumours he would be sack that summer. 

They need to start over again and have a different plan but actually give the head coach some say in transfers which I don't believe the head coach does there unlike our model which does. 

[benhben]

Did not see that result coming! There's been no sign whatsoever of it coming. 

One of the biggest results in recent times as we've been sleepwalking to the bottom 3. 

Hopefully a bit of confidence will kick us on to a more comfortable finish.

We'd be miles away if it wasn't for SS. Sure maggot and venkys can't wait to cash in in the summer 

[AllRoverAsia]

I ate a big meal late, at about 8 pm local time, felt tired, lay down, fell asleep with the game on and earphones working.

Sods Law.

Great win, which I didn't expect, although it took a while to assure myself it wasn't just a dream.

[Torgeir]

27 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Yeah, that's pretty damning of GB and Co. The recruitment hasn't been very good at all really.

The problems lie with Waggott and upwards.

[NeilInBristol]

32 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Yeah, that's pretty damning of GB and Co. The recruitment hasn't been very good at all really

It's been shocking but a testament to our ownership sadly

[tomphil]

1 hour ago, NeilInBristol said:

Dolan is underrated when the system is suited to his needs he blossoms..we can thrive with his skill if the system allows. The players need to be allowed to play close to him otherwise he runs into trouble..great team performance today 

Always gets written off every time his form dips but that lad for nothing on a modest wage has been one of the best finds this club has made.

Yes he is inconsistent but most of them are and as long as his running stats stay high we know he's at least trying.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

What about that Dolan flick pass to JRC for the other Sammi goal. Bellingham does that and it’d be back page headlines. Plus how did he get that shot away for his goal ?

He’s been out of sorts recently but today he was top class.

[neophox]

I think getting JRC and Hedges back are important as they contribute and do their all for the team. I would say Pickering getting injured helped too ss Chrisene is a much stronger lad. Think that along with Szmodics back to goal scoring was the big difference today. Superb result!

[had.e.nuff]

just watched extended highlights and there seemed a lot of empty seats considering the official crowd was 42000 must have been about 30000 left after our 4 th.

[Norbert Rassragr]

Certainly didn't expect that result. Nice to read at work.

[bigbrandjohn]

55 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Hyam, Brittain and Szmodics were all signed under GB. Plus Chrisene and Moran who can on are GB signings. 

We need a decent budget in the summer to sign a quality striker and keep improving the squad in some areas. Similar transfer budget to what we had in the first summer under GB like 5 to 7 million pounds. Any way that's discussion for another job

correct 

Sunderland lack direction on and off the pitch. Mowbray complained about the lack of experience in the squad which I think is younger than ours is. Mowbray was always going to the sack since the summer cos they were rumours he would be sack that summer. 

They need to start over again and have a different plan but actually give the head coach some say in transfers which I don't believe the head coach does there unlike our model which does. 

From Sunderland  AFC News  

“As much as there’s pressure on Dodds and the players to finish the season on some kind of high, there’s arguably even more pressure on owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sorting director Kristjaan Speakman.

The pair have arguably landed the club in this predicament with some poor transfer planning and managerial decisions.

Sunderland lack quality across the pitch and experience overall, and with a manager to hire in the summer, it’s certainly making for a critical pre-season on Wearside.”

FYI The owner has  a 64% ownership. Oh and he is 26. 

Probably thinks he is playing 3D FIFA. 

[roversfan99]

Fantastic performance and result that has come from nowhere really and puts us in a really strong position to scramble over the line to survive. One more win and a draw or 2 and we are there. Eustace said the performances have been excellent throughout his time, a blatant lie but today we were outstanding and he deserves credit for it.

We were a threat everytime we went forward, that front 4 has not played all season in those positions together but they are the only 4 attackers we know are up to it, even if they have their limitations. Szmodics obviously we are so reliant on, Hedges has always been a good player but one that needs to do more in terms of goals and assists and was brilliant today and Gallagher and Dolan showed that even though neither are world beaters and both are inconsistent, if either leaves for free it leaves a big hole. Dolan should cut down on the needless flicks but his end product was good today and he was full of energy and Gallagher belied the fact that hes been ill, we are better with him in the team. 

Rankin Costello for me was man of the match, he is our most complete player and was brilliant next to Tronstad who was solid. The centre backs were very good, Brittain was fine and Chrisene adjusted to the game very impressively.

Was a shame we couldnt get a clean sheet and I thought that Szmodics should have been rested for bigger games ahead. The idea that he wanted to stay on, obviously any player wants to play but thats irrelevant. Fingers crossed he seemed to get through unscathed.

[superniko]

2 hours ago, Paul Mellelieu said:

On Twitter Rich Sharpe notes that only one player starting was recruited in the last three windows.

Have we actually recruited anyone in the last 3 windows? 😄 I just remember deadline day cock-ups 

[Exiled_Rover]

Just now, roversfan99 said:

Fantastic performance and result that has come from nowhere really and puts us in a really strong position to scramble over the line to survive. One more win and a draw or 2 and we are there. Eustace said the performances have been excellent throughout his time, a blatant lie but today we were outstanding and he deserves credit for it.

We definitely watch different games.

We nullified Boro away, we played Ipswich off the park on Friday and we've hammered Sunderland today. 

We're no longer exciting to watch, but we're much more solid. 

[superniko]

2 hours ago, RV Blue said:

Tronstad has barely got a mention on here, he’s excellent.

He’s had a few in this thread in particular but yes he is player of the year in the “without Szmodics” market for me. 
Noticeable how shit we were vs Swansea, Millwall, Plymouth without him and how much improved we’ve been against Boro, Ipswich, Sunderland since he came back in. 

[DaveyB]

2 hours ago, M_B said:

Go on then? 

The guy has won one game in eleven attempts. And, yes, he’s managed to pick up a few draws along the way, but in truth in the majority of those games we were second best and probably fortunate to come away with a point - Plymouth, Preston, Norwich, Middlesborough and Millwall all probably came away wondering how they didn’t take 3 points from us. 

So it will take more than one win, no matter how good (and welcome) it was, to convince me that a guy who has shown next to no tactical nous thus far is ‘a decent manager who knows how to play the championship’ - even Henning Berg managed to claim a 4-1 away win during his short tenure!!

[chaddyrovers]

6 minutes ago, bigbrandjohn said:

 

From Sunderland  AFC News  

“As much as there’s pressure on Dodds and the players to finish the season on some kind of high, there’s arguably even more pressure on owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sorting director Kristjaan Speakman.

The pair have arguably landed the club in this predicament with some poor transfer planning and managerial decisions.

Sunderland lack quality across the pitch and experience overall, and with a manager to hire in the summer, it’s certainly making for a critical pre-season on Wearside.”

FYI The owner has  a 64% ownership. Oh and he is 26. 

Probably thinks he is playing 3D FIFA. 

If I was Sunderland Director of Football I would be looking to appoint one of these 3 head coach/manager Gary Rowett, Michael Skubala or Ruben Selles

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

If Szmodics says he is fine then he stays on. 

It is that much of a problem really?.

Even if the close minutes he was closing down defenders.  Clearly fine. 

If he gets injured or even if he just isn't as fresh for the next game, yes, it's very obviously a problem. I've seen enough times over the years where somebody gets kept on after they've clearly taken an injury and it just gets worse. Sometimes they make it through the whole game and seem fine, only for an injury to be announced a couple of days later. Sometimes they can make it through the next match too but then the injury becomes too severe and they're out for weeks or months. Or sometimes they just carry the injury and play through it for months but their performances clearly drop off.

It was a fucking unnecessary risk because the game was won, end of. Even if we get away with it 100%, that stands. It was stupid.

[roversfan99]

9 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

We definitely watch different games.

We nullified Boro away, we played Ipswich off the park on Friday and we've hammered Sunderland today. 

We're no longer exciting to watch, but we're much more solid. 

Against Boro we were solid but offered minimal threat so wouldnt have that as excellent, nor v Ipswich. But even then, it wouldnt be throughout his time here. Today, no doubt.

[roversfan99]

Just now, bluebruce said:

If he gets injured or even if he just isn't as fresh for the next game, yes, it's very obviously a problem. I've seen enough times over the years where somebody gets kept on after they've clearly taken an injury and it just gets worse. Sometimes they make it through the whole game and seem fine, only for an injury to be announced a couple of days later. Sometimes they can make it through the next match too but then the injury becomes too severe and they're out for weeks or months. Or sometimes they just carry the injury and play through it for months but their performances clearly drop off.

It was a fucking unnecessary risk because the game was won, end of. Even if we get away with it 100%, that stands. It was stupid.

Surely whoever would have come on to replace him also "wanted to come on" so that bizarre argument is invalidated.

[bluebruce]

3 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Surely whoever would have come on to replace him also "wanted to come on" so that bizarre argument is invalidated.

Yep. Management isn't about just giving people what they want anyway. It's about knowing when you do and don't do that in service of the bigger picture.