Sunderland post match 2-0

[Koke]

We were poor last night but still created more chances than Sunderland and had more possession. Sunderland are seriously bad. Borini, Anichibi, Gibson, Rodwell, Billy Jones etc are stealing a living. They are Championship players on big Premier League wages. I feel sorry for their fans having to watch imposters like Borini and Jones pretend to be Premier League footballers.

 

Can't believe we lost to this lot earlier in the season and made them look half decent. 

[Guest CityFan 06]

Last night was another crucial win and a pivotal one for me. Thought the back line were very good again, the two subs Shakespeare brought on changed the game, he deserves real credit for that. Albrighton was superb when he came on, and changed the game with the two assists for Slimani and Vardy. The first half we lacked intensity which was worrying at the time, and part of that was due to Sunderland, we put that right second half. Although not mathematical yet, after last night's win that has made me think we're going to stay up. This was the big one for me.

[Guest Col city fan]

1 hour ago, Koke said:

We were poor last night but still created more chances than Sunderland and had more possession. Sunderland are seriously bad. Borini, Anichibi, Gibson, Rodwell, Billy Jones etc are stealing a living. They are Championship players on big Premier League wages. I feel sorry for their fans having to watch imposters like Borini and Jones pretend to be Premier League footballers.

 

Can't believe we lost to this lot earlier in the season and made them look half decent. 

Can't argue with this. To be fair, with Sunderland it's not about work rate or effort. Last night they were really trying and were actually quite well organized. They are just crap. A number of the players are just not good enough at this level.

[Foxxed]

28 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

Can't argue with this. To be fair, with Sunderland it's not about work rate or effort. Last night they were really trying and were actually quite well organized. They are just crap. A number of the players are just not good enough at this level.

Sunderland did seem to want it more especially in the first half. Although this was helped by our central midfield who seemed out of it.

[ARM1968]

That picture of Moyes reminds me of the sloth thing from the Ice Age films. 

[shen]

19 hours ago, Koke said:

We were poor last night but still created more chances than Sunderland and had more possession. Sunderland are seriously bad. Borini, Anichibi, Gibson, Rodwell, Billy Jones etc are stealing a living. They are Championship players on big Premier League wages. I feel sorry for their fans having to watch imposters like Borini and Jones pretend to be Premier League footballers.

 

Can't believe we lost to this lot earlier in the season and made them look half decent. 

The same Rodwell who was an essential part of a midfield that dominated an in-form partnership in Drinkwater and Ndidi for over an hour? The same Borini that applied pressure from the front and the same Jones who won more than his share of aerial duels against Fuchs?

If they had any cutting edge they would've been ahead at half-time. If anyone should be able to sympathise with them, it's us. It's no more than a month or so ago that we were staring down the barrel, never looking likely to score a goal.

 

Three clubs have to go down each season and Sunderland are in this league on merit having survived last season. I personally think Stoke were worse than Sunderland. Does that make their players super frauds? Or are they just benefitting from better form earlier in the season?

[Koke]

10 minutes ago, shen said:

The same Rodwell who was an essential part of a midfield that dominated an in-form partnership in Drinkwater and Ndidi for over an hour? The same Borini that applied pressure from the front and the same Jones who won more than his share of aerial duels against Fuchs?

If they had any cutting edge they would've been ahead at half-time. If anyone should be able to sympathise with them, it's us. It's no more than a month or so ago that we were staring down the barrel, never looking likely to score a goal.

 

Three clubs have to go down each season and Sunderland are in this league on merit having survived last season. I personally think Stoke were worse than Sunderland. Does that make their players super frauds? Or are they just benefitting from better form earlier in the season?

 

Stoke are not bottom of the league cut adrift. Stoke are out of form atm but let's not pretend Sunderland are anywhere near Stoke in terms of quality. 

 

Sunderland are the worst team in the league. And half their players don't belong in the Premier League.

 

And as I said earlier, I do genuinely feel sorry for their fans.

[shen]

Just now, Koke said:

 

Stoke are not bottom of the league cut adrift. Stoke are out of form atm but let's not pretend Sunderland are anywhere near Stoke in terms of quality. 

 

Sunderland are the worst team in the league. And half their players don't belong in the Premier League.

 

And as I said earlier, I do genuinely feel sorry for their fans.

But they do, seeing as they stayed up on merit last season. From an individual player perspective it's debatable whether Swansea, Hull, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Watford or Bournemouth have significantly superior quality, yet three of them are almost certain to be in this league next season.

 

Had we kept Ranieri we would likely be in or close to the relegation zone and the quality of our players would be questioned. How do you feel about "League One standard" Vardy and the useless back four, as many on here called them in January, now?

 

I know seeing things in black in white appeals to humans. It's simple, it's uncomplicated, but it's not reality.

[Koke]

14 minutes ago, shen said:

But they do, seeing as they stayed up on merit last season. From an individual player perspective it's debatable whether Swansea, Hull, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Watford or Bournemouth have significantly superior quality, yet three of them are almost certain to be in this league next season.

 

Had we kept Ranieri we would likely be in or close to the relegation zone and the quality of our players would be questioned. How do you feel about "League One standard" Vardy and the useless back four, as many on here called them in January, now?

 

I know seeing things in black in white appeals to humans. It's simple, it's uncomplicated, but it's not reality.

 

Literally speaking yes they are PL players as they play im the PL but it's not black and white. There's a reason Sunderland are bottom whilst Burnley, Watford, Bournemouth etc are not. There's also a reason why Sunderland have barely stayed up by the skin of their teeth in the last 4 years. Their players are no better than 17th.

 

Had SAFC gone from finishing 8th one sesdon to 20th next I'd agree with you. But this is a team that spends 2/3 of every season in the bottom 3.

[filbertway]

I think as well as the subs having an impact, Sunderland visibly tired around that point. We were getting a hell of a lot more space in their half, it reminded me of the Derby game where you could just see us shifting through the gears as the opposition began to stutter.

 

Also the reason Okazaki probably looked ineffective was because his closing down was wasted on Sunderland as they were just punting the ball up top anyway. 

[shen]

1 hour ago, Koke said:

 

Literally speaking yes they are PL players as they play im the PL but it's not black and white. There's a reason Sunderland are bottom whilst Burnley, Watford, Bournemouth etc are not. There's also a reason why Sunderland have barely stayed up by the skin of their teeth in the last 4 years. Their players are no better than 17th.

 

Had SAFC gone from finishing 8th one sesdon to 20th next I'd agree with you. But this is a team that spends 2/3 of every season in the bottom 3.

Yet Sunderland have escaped every time. I'm just reacting to your assessment that their players are not PL standard when they've been there for a while. Yeah, the difference in quality has been marginal, but isn't it nearly always the case between teams at the bottom half of the PL/top half of the Championship? You could argue that it isn't just chance that Sunderland have escaped four times in a row.

That said, you are most likely right that they won't escape this year. Based on their performance against us, I do not believe they will roll over and give up without a fight. Other teams will do well to take them seriously.

[fuchsntf]

36 minutes ago, shen said:

Yet Sunderland have escaped every time. I'm just reacting to your assessment that their players are not PL standard when they've been there for a while. Yeah, the difference in quality has been marginal, but isn't it nearly always the case between teams at the bottom half of the PL/top half of the Championship? You could argue that it isn't just chance that Sunderland have escaped four times in a row.

That said, you are most likely right that they won't escape this year. Based on their performance against us, I do not believe they will roll over and give up without a fight. Other teams will do well to take them seriously.

Agree. Plus they have bought in players over those 4 years.Taking the individual players, and not doing comparisons, I reckon alot of their players could do well, in other PL teams.

They just didnt mesh, there was always a defender or midfielder making a clanger, and didnt get away with it.

Look at Drinkwater or our defence, when on the backfoot we were not even championship standard. We have picked up those extra points, and now had this run, with a massive improvement across the board.

Sunderland did the same in the championship, and got promoted, we entered our darkdays.

 

 

[RonnieTodger]

So glad that the Premier League can finally shut the door on the lingering fart that is Sunderland AFC. 

[Kitchandro]

3 hours ago, shen said:

The same Rodwell who was an essential part of a midfield that dominated an in-form partnership in Drinkwater and Ndidi for over an hour? The same Borini that applied pressure from the front and the same Jones who won more than his share of aerial duels against Fuchs?

If they had any cutting edge they would've been ahead at half-time. If anyone should be able to sympathise with them, it's us. It's no more than a month or so ago that we were staring down the barrel, never looking likely to score a goal.

 

Three clubs have to go down each season and Sunderland are in this league on merit having survived last season. I personally think Stoke were worse than Sunderland. Does that make their players super frauds? Or are they just benefitting from better form earlier in the season?

 

2 hours ago, shen said:

But they do, seeing as they stayed up on merit last season. From an individual player perspective it's debatable whether Swansea, Hull, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Watford or Bournemouth have significantly superior quality, yet three of them are almost certain to be in this league next season.

 

Had we kept Ranieri we would likely be in or close to the relegation zone and the quality of our players would be questioned. How do you feel about "League One standard" Vardy and the useless back four, as many on here called them in January, now?

 

I know seeing things in black in white appeals to humans. It's simple, it's uncomplicated, but it's not reality.

It actually baffles me how they keep staying up. Koke is right. They have some terrible footballers. Average is a bit kind.

 

Don't confuse us badly underperforming with having crap players. Sunderland struggle every season because they have bad players. It's not like they've just underperformed for 6 months, which clearly we have done. People like Michael Owen who were saying all our players were shit are idiots and I said that at the time, it's not hindsight. We've clearly shown we're capable of much better, Sunderland never have. So the comparisons with us are well wide of the mark.

 

And yes, they were better than us for an hour, but we were shit for an hour. Once we stepped it up we won easily.

 

Sunderland never do any good. I guess they've just been fortunate that 3 teams have been worse than them every season, somehow.

 

 

 

 

[MC Prussian]

2 hours ago, filbertway said:

I think as well as the subs having an impact, Sunderland visibly tired around that point. We were getting a hell of a lot more space in their half, it reminded me of the Derby game where you could just see us shifting through the gears as the opposition began to stutter.

 

Also the reason Okazaki probably looked ineffective was because his closing down was wasted on Sunderland as they were just punting the ball up top anyway. 

I quite vividly remember a point in the second half when we were 1-0 up and had just blocked another attempt on goal by Sunderland.

 

Our players picked up the ball and made a swift move going forward, on the left - meanwhile, Khazri, Defoe and Borini were struggling (or rather: refusing) to track back, galopping towards the halfway line, with their heads down.

[shen]

1 hour ago, Kitchandro said:

 

It actually baffles me how they keep staying up. Koke is right. They have some terrible footballers. Average is a bit kind.

 

Don't confuse us badly underperforming with having crap players. Sunderland struggle every season because they have bad players. It's not like they've just underperformed for 6 months, which clearly we have done. People like Michael Owen who were saying all our players were shit are idiots and I said that at the time, it's not hindsight. We've clearly shown we're capable of much better, Sunderland never have. So the comparisons with us are well wide of the mark.

 

And yes, they were better than us for an hour, but we were shit for an hour. Once we stepped it up we won easily.

 

Sunderland never do any good. I guess they've just been fortunate that 3 teams have been worse than them every season, somehow.

You're taking some cheap shots at Sunderland there. Were we similarly 'fortunate' to win last season?

I don't think comparisons to us are way off the mark. After all, at the start of 14/15 and 15/16, we were favourites at the bookies and with the media to prop up the table, i.e. our players were deemed of worse quality than Sunderland's. Our rotten form this season was proving pundits right that last season was a freak of the highest order, right until our change of fortunes.

 

Either way, it's all relative. Sunderland have 'bad' players if you look at it in the context of the top 6 of the PL, but they've shown they were better than players of at least three other teams for the past few seasons. Saying we were shit for an hour through our own failings is doing a disservice to Sunderland who worked hard all over the pitch to constrict our play. It was just as much their performance for that hour that made us look poor.

[Guest seanfox778]

On 05/04/2017 at 13:12, Beliall said:

No, it looked like the defender felt Slimani and chose to try and get a freekick rather than win the ball.

Even Moyes didn't really moan, he said he expected his defender to be stronger.

[Corky]

I don't expect we'd have been given a penalty if the situation was reversed.

[shen]

On 5/4/2017 at 12:12, Beliall said:

No, it looked like the defender felt Slimani and chose to try and get a freekick rather than win the ball.

Looked a pretty clear foul to me. Since when is a push ok, especially when readying to jump or in mid air? How was the defender going to reach the ball when his momentum was perturbed? It's not like Slimani leaped up like a salmon. 

But hey ho, he scored and football is a contact sport full of grey areas and tinted spectacles yadda yadda.

[Beliall]

6 minutes ago, shen said:

Looked a pretty clear foul to me. Since when is a push ok, especially when readying to jump or in mid air? How was the defender going to reach the ball when his momentum was perturbed? It's not like Slimani leaped up like a salmon. 

But hey ho, he scored and football is a contact sport full of grey areas and tinted spectacles yadda yadda.

He was too soft, you think Huth would have put up with that shit? players jostle for the ball in the area all the time, I dont think it was as clear cut as some pushes i have seen, 

[fuchsntf]

Dont get the posters..who come out that..for 60 minutes we were crap, we were shit...No we wasnt..

1st 15 minutes we had quite a few good moves and shots.

Sunderland looked the team that was making the game...but hasnt that been our story for 3 seasons.

Yes the 1st half performance was  below, the expectations we have suddenly come to be accustomed. Gray, Fuchs and Mahrez, had a few good runs, that produced chances where shots were taken. With more fortune, Gray could of had a couple.

 

The pressing generally was not working,Okazaki was out of step  both Ndid and Drinkwater, were well off their covering game. The defence though held their ground, and only a couple of chances were squeezed out.

Gray being greedy..!! ?. I have mentioned before, I reckon Shakey and the team themselves have given him carte blanche to go for it. I saw Vardy once shown he was disappointed, then rest of the half, he and others were smiling and actually applauding his runs and shots.

Before January we were crap, and turgid.Tuesday we still had a few good moves.

Ask yourself this which GK was diving around more..Even though our midfield was giving too much ground.

[Bunyip]

10 hours ago, shen said:

But they do, seeing as they stayed up on merit last season. From an individual player perspective it's debatable whether Swansea, Hull, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Watford or Bournemouth have significantly superior quality, yet three of them are almost certain to be in this league next season.

 

Had we kept Ranieri we would likely be in or close to the relegation zone and the quality of our players would be questioned. How do you feel about "League One standard" Vardy and the useless back four, as many on here called them in January, now?

 

I know seeing things in black in white appeals to humans. It's simple, it's uncomplicated, but it's not reality.

The Reality is Sunderland are going down, that's simple.

[shen]

1 hour ago, Bunyip said:

The Reality is Sunderland are going down, that's simple.

Looks like it, yes. I've never said different. What's your point?

[shen]

6 hours ago, Beliall said:

He was too soft, you think Huth would have put up with that shit? players jostle for the ball in the area all the time, I dont think it was as clear cut as some pushes i have seen, 

Again, not acknowledging it doesn't happen, but why is even a little push ok and a slightly bigger push not ok? Either push is unfair by the letter of the law. Laws are pretty useless if they cannot be enforced consistently even in a simple game of sport.

 

Apologies for being particularly argumentative today.

[HighPeakFox]

14 minutes ago, shen said:

Looks like it, yes. I've never said different. What's your point?

It really isn't worth asking.