Sunderland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

therokerroar · 10-12-2009 8:53pm #1

Thought I might aswell set one of these up, I'm sure there's a few more Sunderland supporters on these boards

magma69 · 10-12-2009 9:39pm

I'm not a Sunderland fan but if I was I would be very optimistic for the club's future. Lots of quality throughout the squad and Bruce has them fairly well drilled too. One or two decent signings, namely in defence, and they would be up to European level I'm sure. Any team would be delighted to have the likes of Cana and Bent in their squad.

dreamers75 · 10-12-2009 9:55pm

interesting to see how Carna goes, big clubs will be sniffing around. Suppose player prolly dictate if he moves or not but interesting to see how long Sunderland hold out.

ctrl-alt-delete · 10-12-2009 10:19pm

I've been travelling to games now for a couple of years, I'm not a Sunderland fan, Blackburn, but my Gf is a season ticket holder. Have to say the atmosphere is always top notch.

Am a bit pissed with them this year, failing to capitalise on great results against the top teams, their away form is a big thing which needs to be addressed too.

All in all though I've seen enough from Bruce to see he knows what he is doing, Cana & Cattermole have been immense, even if i did curse them a few times from the away end against Blackburn. Getting the two of them back in the team at the same time again will bring about better results i'm sure.

Bent has been a great addition, well worth the money, I'm not a fan of Jones, i'm not going to get into a rant about him now though!

I was thinking they could push for a European Place on first impressions this season, there have been huge improvements, but the Cattermole injury and terrible away form have dented that. I have hopes for a good FA Cup run, they have all the makings of a Cup winning team this season.

Love listening to the Legends on the way to the games too. Next one i'll be at won't be until Stephen's Day though.

therokerroar · 11-12-2009 3:20am

One can't forget how far we've come in a short space of time, just remember four seasons ago we finished bottom of the Premier League with 15 points. It's quite astonishing, IMO, how we've gone from that to taking points off the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool this season.

The thing we need to sort out is our away form, it's what's holding us back from progressing to that 'next level' of challenging for 8th onwards. Although we've beaten the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal, we've gone out the next week and lost, away from home, to Burnley, Stoke, Wigan etc.

It will take time and Bruce will get it right, he needs another two or three transfer windows to sort out the rest of the team though, full backs mainly as he focused on fixing the spine of the team when he took over in the summer, but the key thing for us to have is patietence. Looks at The Mags for example, finishing in the Champions League places, Sir Bobby has a poor run of games at the start of a season, they sack him and look where they are now. A finish of 12th would be a very solid progression for me.

As for the future, as I've said, I think Bruce needs another couple of transfer windows to sort out the wide areas in defence and midfield and we could be looking at pushing on to the 'next level' then, but for the immediate future, mid-table will do just fine for us.

With a net spend of about £15m this season we've done remarkably well IMO. Getting rid of players such as Whitehead for the same price as we paid for Lorik Cana and getting Cattermole and Turner in for £6m each has been superb business IMO and it's amazing to think what Bruce can do as regards bringing top class players to the club if we can become a decent top half side.

As for The Legends, I really can't stand them, I respect them for what they achieved as players but they really are an embarrasment on the radio, they are totally clueless and out of mind with the current affairs of the North-East teams.

'clt-alt-delete', I'd be interested to hear your views on Jones as it seems that I have the opposite view that you do of him.

therokerroar · 11-12-2009 3:24am

dreamers75 wrote: »

interesting to see how Carna goes, big clubs will be sniffing around. Suppose player prolly dictate if he moves or not but interesting to see how long Sunderland hold out.

The thing with Cana is, he has said this season he'd want us to finish around mid-table, so we're on course to meet our expectations as things stand, he also seems to have taken to been given the captaincy and I think he might catch what many players do, 'The Sunderland Bug', as Quinn once said, 'Sunderland gets under your skin', Cana could well catch that bug.

In the long run, I'm not naive enough to think we'll be able to hang on to him for the rest of his career or owt, but if we keep improving season after season, there's no reason why he won't see out at least his current contract.

therokerroar · 11-12-2009 3:28am

Transfer Talk:

Basically on signings, from what I hear, the Figureoa deal is all but done, Wigan couldn't find a replacement for him in the summer and only for that we'd have got him there and then, he will be ours though and with Wigan set to sign Michael Ball, he could be their replacement. Hutton in a swap deal for Ferdinand has also been proposed and those two signings would see both full back positions improved, Adam Johnson who is currently playing with Boro would certainly give us more options on the wing and as he's a Sunderland fan and from the area, he's definitely on our radar.

therokerroar · 11-12-2009 5:22pm

Today's Rumours:

We're competing with Bolton and Newcastle to make Matthew Kennedy, a 15 year old who's with Kilmarnock, part of our Academy when he turns 16 next year.

There's a few clips of him on Youtube, this one is when he came on for Scotland U-16's and scored 2 goals in 3 minutes to win the game in the Victory Shield game against Northern Ireland U-16's:

ctrl-alt-delete · 11-12-2009 6:19pm

therokerroar wrote: »

The thing with Cana is, he has said this season he'd want us to finish around mid-table, so we're on course to meet our expectations as things stand, he also seems to have taken to been given the captaincy and I think he might catch what many players do, 'The Sunderland Bug', as Quinn once said, 'Sunderland gets under your skin', Cana could well catch that bug.

In the long run, I'm not naive enough to think we'll be able to hang on to him for the rest of his career or owt, but if we keep improving season after season, there's no reason why he won't see out at least his current contract.

About Cana too, he is studying some mad subject that has slipped my mind, maybe Roman history or something, and he is really interested in Sunderland and the surrounding areas, Hadrians wall etc. I think giving him the captains armband was a very shrewd bit of business by Bruce in terms of his long term future at the club.

As for the Legends, i just enjoy the banter on the way to the game, it has become the tradition to listen to it. It can be annoying at times, especially when the same people seem to call in all the time, but i like the way the guys play off each other.

As for Jones, i don't like his attitude, he comes across as lazy to me, and for the size of him he has the worst leap i've ever seen from a footballer. It is very frustrating, he jumps up with his eyes closed it seems! That's the rant in short

therokerroar · 11-12-2009 10:00pm

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

About Cana too, he is studying some mad subject that has slipped my mind, maybe Roman history or something, and he is really interested in Sunderland and the surrounding areas, Hadrians wall etc. I think giving him the captains armband was a very shrewd bit of business by Bruce in terms of his long term future at the club.

As for the Legends, i just enjoy the banter on the way to the game, it has become the tradition to listen to it. It can be annoying at times, especially when the same people seem to call in all the time, but i like the way the guys play off each other.

As for Jones, i don't like his attitude, he comes across as lazy to me, and for the size of him he has the worst leap i've ever seen from a footballer. It is very frustrating, he jumps up with his eyes closed it seems! That's the rant in short

Yeah Cana has been studying History and the area of Sunderland has become of great interest to him, I'm suprised he has time to do that though, if I had the same lass that he did the last thing I'd do is study History

Would you be familar with a lad called 'Macar' who usually always rings into the Legends, he's a complete twat and gets nowt but abuse on the main Sunderland forum, RTG? He's blind but plays on his disabllity and if it anyone else made the same comments he does, they would never be allowed post on forums again, I still can't fathom how develops an opinion on games like, considering he can't actually see them.

About Jones, you say he has the worst leap you have ever seen from a footballer, to be fair mate, the amount of free kicks the lad should get because of opposition defenders dragging him all ower is unbelievable, if he was smaller he'd win 99% of those free kicks but for some reason, just because the lad is bigger ( I wouldn't say huge, as he's just touching 6 ft 3'), he never gets those free kicks, he sometimes doesn't even get the chance to jump because of the pulling of his shirt etc, also he has doubled his goal tally each season he has been with Sunderland and last year, depsite missing half the season with a career threatining ligament injury, he still scored 12 goals, which isn't a bad return in what was a struggling side. His partnership with Bent is still developing and outside of Spurs, they are the top goalscoring stirkeforce in the Premier League which is nowt to be scoffed at.

Personally, I think he's improving each and every season and the stats prove this, he's still relatively young and can improve further, that's good enough for me.

ctrl-alt-delete · 11-12-2009 10:26pm

therokerroar wrote: »

Would you be familar with a lad called 'Macar' who usually always rings into the Legends, he's a complete twat and gets nowt but abuse on the main Sunderland forum, RTG? He's blind but plays on his disabllity and if it anyone else made the same comments he does, they would never be allowed post on forums again, I still can't fathom how develops an opinion on games like, considering he can't actually see them.

Yeah i do recognise that name alright, i didn't have a clue he was blind though, you learn something new everyday!

As for Jones, It's more of a frustration on my part, because i know he can do it, and as you've described he has been improving.

I just think his worst period coincided with the spurs link and his demands for more money, i think this sums up his attitude to me. He doesn't try as much as he should have, and i can't agree on the freekick issue, more often than not he is fouling the opposition through his unorthadox jumping, if he worked on it more he'd be fine. I'd still much prefer him there than if you's had have had to hang onto Cisse, the fall in sterling might have been a blessing in disguise there!

eoin2nc · 12-12-2009 1:11pm

What sort of backline will we put out today, with all the injuries and suspensions? Its the sort of game we should be expecting to win, but Im not confident about it

therokerroar · 12-12-2009 6:59pm

eoin2nc wrote: »

What sort of backline will we put out today, with all the injuries and suspensions? Its the sort of game we should be expecting to win, but Im not confident about it

Bruce went for pretty much the same backline I was predicting except him put Nuggsy right back and Da Silva in the centre, I'd have had them the other way around, but it seemed to work well.

Bruce's substitutions cost us today, they really did. Taking off Kenwyne, who is now reported to have done something to his shoulder, but it seemed nothing serious, for Daryl Murphy is tactical suicide IMO. We were obviously going to face an aerial threat for the last few minutes and we needed Jones, our best defender on set pieces there to snuff out the attacks, as I said tactical suicide.

Gutted now, absolutely gutted and it just shows how far we still have to go.

Raskolnikov · 12-12-2009 9:59pm

What's happened to Steed this season?

therokerroar · 12-12-2009 10:03pm

Raskolnikov wrote: »

What's happened to Steed this season?

Nothing unusual with his performances at all mate, starts the season well and then fades.

He's been seen down in the Mayfair Nightclub, London, during the week so that's probably why he didn't start today.

He's a regular smoker and there's numerous proof of this around Sunderland, he's not as fit as he should be but to be fair to the lad he has to go forward and track back because I can't remember the last time Bardsley crossed the halfway line.

We'll never see the best of Steed until we get a decent attacking right full-back who can support him down the right flank.

therokerroar · 13-12-2009 3:19am

Sunday Newspaper Transfer Rumours/General Chat:

Phil Bardsley linked to Fulham and Stoke.

'Darren Bent reignites his row with Redknapp'

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/sunderland/633267/DARREN-BENT-REIGNITES-ROW-WITH-HARRY-REDKNAPP.html

DARREN BENT has reignited his row with Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp.

The Sunderland striker was upset when his manager famously said his wife Sandra could have converted a headed chance that Bent missed against Portsmouth.

Eventually, the England World Cup hopeful secured a move to Wearside and his form has been excellent, despite seeing Heurelho Gomes save a

penalty on his return to White Hart Lane.

However, Bent has admitted he feels Redknapp is happy to take all the praise that comes his way when his side is doing well but quick to deflect criticism to the players on bad days.

"Of course it was hard when Harry Redknapp said that at Spurs, that his wife could have scored a chance I missed. I thought it was so unjustified," Bent told the News of the World.

"People said to respond. I scored two in the next game, but I wasn't

playing week in, week out.

"From the moment I got there to the moment I left it was never any different.

"People can remember what they want from my time at Spurs. It's done. I'm glad it's over. At the time it did hurt when Harry said that. At the same time I took it with a pinch of salt - it sums him up. Harry is Harry.

"When we were losing a lot of us felt like we were hung out to dry. It was all about us.

"But when we were winning, it was all about him."

Couldn't agree more to be honest, even in his post-match interview against Wolves yesterday he was saying we did well 'but the players didn't take the chances' whereas when they beat Wigan it was 'the tactics were spot on' can't stand the Saggy Faced Twat to be honest like.

A great piece on Bent and his World Cup hopes:

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/football/633255/DARREN-BENT-CONVINCED-HE-CAN-GATECRASH-FABIOS-SQUAD.html

DARREN BENT'S phone rings. ID unknown.

"Hello, Darren, it's Sven here."

It's May 2006, and the England manager is calling the Premier League's top English goal-scorer.

"For that moment, everything stops," Bent tells me. "You don't know the decision. It is on a knife-edge. You can feel your heart pumping. Time stands still.

"I didn't even know it was him at first. I didn't have his number."
Then the hammer blow.

"He told me I wasn't in the final squad. He told me I wouldn't be going to the World Cup finals.

"It was heartbreaking. I can't tell you the pain. I can't tell you what it feels like."

There follows a silence that suggests, three and a half years on, he is still not at peace with the decision, that a man who has the heavenly gates and the Bible tattooed on his right arm has not buried the pain of rejection.
It is a memory to suppress.

Like the Doha debacle, when he was afforded 55 minutes to bring his Premier League goals to the international stage, against Brazil.

"I most definitely feel hard done by for what was said after the Brazil game," he adds. "Bloody hell, for one thing there must have been about 90 per cent possession of the ball for Brazil.

"For another, there was no service for me. We didn't create any chances.

"It was hard. I don't think I did any worse than anyone else but at the same time that is what the criticism of England is about.

"It is really difficult. You have an hour. I will keep going, keep doing really, really well and hopefully I can be ready for the next one.

"The ideal would be to have a run of two or three games. I get one game every six months, if that.

"I always feel like I'm having to prove myself over again.

"Because I meet up once every seven or eight months, it's like I'm back here again, I have to show them why I'm here, again.

"I have to do that in every single squad.

"I know what I have to do. If I have to work twice as hard to stay in, I will do that.

"People can say what they want about me. The last few years have made me mentally strong. The criticism doesn't bother me."

There is a surprise to meeting Darren Bent, to finding the genuine desire, the hunger that burns inside the 26-year-old.

Away from the tweeting, the Tottenham row, the apparent easy-going nature, Bent is a football man who refuses to accept his dream is not attainable, that he cannot gatecrash a World Cup party, something he has set his heart on for 15 years, since his father returned from USA '94, eulogising about what he had experienced.

"My dad went out and when he came back he was raving about it. I said to my dad then that one day I want to be there.

"This is my big opportunity. For whatever reasons God didn't want me to go to the last one.

"I am in the best form of my career and hopefully I can be rewarded with the call.

"What do I have to do to get there? I just have to keep going. I am doing everything I can. What more can I do? I can't do any more.

"I have to keep my form up, keep scoring and hopefully I can be there.

"I'm not going to set any goal targets. I will just try to score as many as I can.

"I think the key is if Sunderland do really well this year and finish in the top eight. There was a question mark the last time with Charlton. We finished 13th - it was easier to dismiss, to overlook."

That was Eriksson's failing.

This time, Fabio Capello seems certain to take Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey. After that, Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Carlton Cole and Gabriel Agbonlahor seem locked in battle for three places.

Bent adds: "Am I one of the top five strikers in the country? My goal record suggests I am. I feel it, yes. I would back myself to be in that squad.

"Ever since I was young I've always believed that the strikers that score the most goals go to major competitions.

"Exceptions are people like Heskey who have strengths like holding up the ball and bringing other people into the game.

"You can't ignore that. It's why he has to go to the World Cup. He is the best in the country at doing what he does.

"If you're an out-and-out goal-scorer, and Alan Shearer or any proper goal-scorer will tell you, and if you are scoring goals, then you should play.

"I am a firm believer that if you play well and you score goals you should not be ignored. I feel I can go to the World Cup and score goals, definitely.

"If I get a run of games, build momentum, which is massive, I can excel in the World Cup.

"Someone said to me the other day: 'Jermain scored five goals in one game and he's a couple ahead of you in the table'.

"At the end of the day, he has had to score five in one game to get past me. My form is good."

At club level, he now feels loved. The protracted transfer to Sunderland in the summer, getting on and off planes, waiting for a fee to be agreed with Spurs, has borne fruit.

Bent has nine Premier League goals this term and we are not in December. He has embraced the north-east of England. His club manager, Steve Bruce, has discovered what makes him tick.

"The first time I met Steve he said he wanted me and he believed in me. He said to me, 'I know what you're capable of and I want you at Sunderland'. He even said that Spurs didn't treat me right.

"I bought into what he said and yes, it was a big contrast to what I had at Spurs for two years. It was completely different.

"I was so wrapped up in it there, I was struggling to keep going

"That is what I wanted to hear.

"I saw his enthusiasm for me and for the club. I follow what Steve Bruce says about me in the papers. Even if I have gone a couple of games without a goal he is still talking about how well I have done. That keeps my spirits high.

"He has said 'Darren is phenomenal, he is the best in the Premier League'. When you read that, you grow a pair of wings. You go out there and you feel unstoppable.

We are sat back-stage at a fashion show, deep within the bowels of the Stadium of Light. It is a night where the Sunderland AFC Foundation is quite rightly parading its success.

On screen there are touching testimonies from teenagers, who, given a ray of opportunity from their football club, have seized the chance to put troubled pasts behind them. More than 30,000 young people and their families have been through special programmes at a football club that shows genuine concern for its community.

The feeling exists that Sunderland, off and on the field, are moving in the right direction, beating Liverpool and Arsenal, drawing at Old Trafford, dreaming of Europe.

Bruce is there, giving a standing ovation to Andy Reid and his guitar-playing.

Travis's melancholic, 'Why does it always rain on me,' filters into our room, yet it does not fit with the Bent that has emerged from his Tottenham nightmare.

He adds: "A lot of people said 'do you really want to move so far away from London'. "I said that doesn't bother me.

"What bothers me is playing football on a regular basis and getting back to the form I can show.

"I didn't need to be in London, a place where it is very much fashion and restaurants first and football second.

"Up here it is all about the football and that is why I needed to be here.

"The north-east is one of England's best kept secrets. You don't know how nice it is until you get here. I don't understand people who said they didn't want to move to Sunderland. Players are texting me to get them a move here, and no, I won't tell you who they are."

He has taken advice from Shearer, heaps praise on Andy Cole but doesn't want the blank the former Newcastle striker struck on the international stage: "I want success with England on my CV."

On the catwalk, team-mates Kenwyne Jones and Anton Ferdinand strut like they were born for the limelight that a fashion show affords them.
Bent sits on a table in the shadows, shifting to watch those at centre stage.

He cannot participate because of a hamstring injury, left on the sidelines to watch the main show. It should be him. He knows it.
It is the perfect analogy.

"I want to be up there," he adds. "I want to be centre stage. Next year I will be."

Mr.Nice Guy · 13-12-2009 6:00am

Good article. Certainly sounds like Bruce has found out what makes him tick.

therokerroar · 13-12-2009 4:44pm

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Good article. Certainly sounds like Bruce has found out what makes him tick.

He sure has.

Love him and he'll score goals, and I'm certainly loving him being at Sunderland

ctrl-alt-delete · 16-12-2009 5:59pm

Good news today that Sunderland was chosen as one of the cities for Englands 2018 bid,

Newcastle is there too, great news for the North East,

i thought it was going to be either/or.

therokerroar · 17-12-2009 12:07am

Very good news indeed mate.

Stadium of Light can also be extended to 60,000 easily aswell, so if the FA wish for us to host a quarter or semi final then we could be in a very strong position to do so.

therokerroar · 26-12-2009 2:43pm

Just got a phone call from someone in Sunderland saying that Cattermole and Richardson are doubts for today.

A massive blow if Catts is out, especially when today was a day we could really do with the reunited centre midfield partnership of him and Cana.

ctrl-alt-delete · 27-12-2009 7:34pm

therokerroar wrote: »

Just got a phone call from someone in Sunderland saying that Cattermole and Richardson are doubts for today.

A massive blow if Catts is out, especially when today was a day we could really do with the reunited centre midfield partnership of him and Cana.

Was at the match yesterday,

Other than a brilliant link up between Jones and Bent leading to a great goal there was nothing to shout about.

Sunderland were terrible in the 2nd half, they really didn't show up. The centre backs had a decent game, but other than that the rest of the team were very poor.

The quality of passing from both teams at times was not something you'd expect to see at a Premier League game.

It really has been a frustrating campaign for Sunderland so far, it's pot luck as to which team turns up. They have shown they have the quality for a decent top half finish, but have been anonoymous at times too.

Blackburn away next, i was at the home game, in the away end and Blackburn were robbed that day. It's going to be a tough game for Sunderland especially as Cattermole and Richardson will not make it either, and i think Mensah will be missing too.

what do you think roker?

therokerroar · 27-12-2009 7:47pm

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Was at the match yesterday,

Other than a brilliant link up between Jones and Bent leading to a great goal there was nothing to shout about.

Sunderland were terrible in the 2nd half, they really didn't show up. The centre backs had a decent game, but other than that the rest of the team were very poor.

The quality of passing from both teams at times was not something you'd expect to see at a Premier League game.

It really has been a frustrating campaign for Sunderland so far, it's pot luck as to which team turns up. They have shown they have the quality for a decent top half finish, but have been anonoymous at times too.

Blackburn away next, i was at the home game, in the away end and Blackburn were robbed that day. It's going to be a tough game for Sunderland especially as Cattermole and Richardson will not make it either, and i think Mensah will be missing too.

what do you think roker?

Nice one mate, did you enjoy the day?

I agree with most of what you say, I think Jones had a decent game, along with Mensah and Da Silva, other than that there was no-one who really stood out. Bent was pretty quite despite scoring and showed a complete lack of vision when deciding to go right to Zenden rather than look up and spot Henderson who was better placed when we broke in the second half.

The reason we have struggled thus far is down to a few things IMO:

Injuries to our Gordon along with injuries and suspension to our defenders which has led to us not being able to field our first choice Goalkeeper and defence for a number of weeks now. A settled back 4 is vital at this level, something which we have not been able to produce, through no fault of Bruce may I add.

Also, the same few players seem to be letting us down time and time again, these players are not players Steve Bruce has brought to the club. The likes of McCartney and Nosworthy will soon be let go and like I've said time and time again, it's not fair to judge Bruce for another couple of transfer windows at least, as until then, he'll not have a chance to get who he wants in, or peddle who he doesn't want at the club.

Yeah Mensah's out, Catts 99% ruled out which are big losses especially after Mensah's terrific display yesterday, however Richardson out is a blessing in disguise, he's been very poor this season and I'd be utterly shocked if he was still an SAFC player come next August.

Blackburn have been excellent at home since Big Sam took over, and we've been awful away which means there should be only one outcome but for some strange reason I'm confident.

I'm going to go 1-2 Sunderland with Bent and Jones getting the goals.

ctrl-alt-delete · 27-12-2009 8:02pm

therokerroar wrote: »

Nice one mate, did you enjoy the day?

I agree with most of what you say, I think Jones had a decent game, along with Mensah and Da Silva, other than that there was no-one who really stood out. Bent was pretty quite despite scoring and showed a complete lack of vision when deciding to go right to Zenden rather than look up and spot Henderson who was better placed when we broke in the second half.

The reason we have struggled thus far is down to a few things IMO:

Injuries to our Gordon along with injuries and suspension to our defenders which has led to us not being able to field our first choice Goalkeeper and defence for a number of weeks now. A settled back 4 is vital at this level, something which we have not been able to produce, through no fault of Bruce may I add.

Also, the same few players seem to be letting us down time and time again, these players are not players Steve Bruce has brought to the club. The likes of McCartney and Nosworthy will soon be let go and like I've said time and time again, it's not fair to judge Bruce for another couple of transfer windows at least, as until then, he'll not have a chance to get who he wants in, or peddle who he doesn't want at the club.

Yeah Mensah's out, Catts 99% ruled out which are big losses especially after Mensah's terrific display yesterday, however Richardson out is a blessing in disguise, he's been very poor this season and I'd be utterly shocked if he was still an SAFC player come next August.

Blackburn have been excellent at home since Big Sam took over, and we've been awful away which means there should be only one outcome but for some strange reason I'm confident.

I'm going to go 1-2 Sunderland with Bent and Jones getting the goals.

Aye i had a good day, it was a bit chilly, and i had to cross a few ice rinks on the way down to the ground, i hope thats not how Cattermole tweaked his hamstring!

I wouldn't blame the injury to Gordon on any bad form to be honest, Fulop is a great 2nd choice keeper, and he has kept Gordon out a few times when Gordon was fit. Fulop had a few chances yesterday to throw a quick one out and didn't, but to be honest there were never that many in forward positions in the 2nd half.

I agree McCartney and Nosworthy are not up to it anymore, Nosworthy is a beast and he has a few fans in the ground it seems, but when he came on yesterday i was thinking to myself that it could swing it for an Everton goal. It needed 100% concentration to keep Everton out the way it was going, and i think having to make that sub done them. They got a bit lucky with the deflection bringing it to fellaini, but he had too much time after that to score that goal.

I thought Jones and Bent both went missing in the 2nd half, but it was due to Sunderland sitting so deep in fairness. There was one time when Jones went in with his foot so high at one stage, when he may have been able to throw his head at it, he makes some stupid decisions at times.

The main problem i see with Sunderland is the lack of that creative spark in midfield. When all are fit and able its Cana & Cattermole in the centre, and when you play two players like that you need top quality wingers who can both defend and attack - and at pace might i add.

In that regard i think Malbranque is past it, Reid has had a great season on the left but he has dipped in form of late. Reading the Sunday Sun today i see they mention bellamy - i think he'd be a great signing.

Bruce needs to have a look at spending some money on left back, right back, left midfield and the right midfield positions in my opinion. I think they have enough in the Centre of defense. Hopefully he can shift some of the deadwood to raise a few funds or at least make some room on the wage bill.

Tomorrow will be a tight game, Blackburn have found it hard to score of late, they are decent at home, and as you said Sunderland do not win away from home. I think another draw might be in store for both of them, which isn't really good enough considering how tight it is down there again.

therokerroar · 27-12-2009 9:10pm

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Aye i had a good day, it was a bit chilly, and i had to cross a few ice rinks on the way down to the ground, i hope thats not how Cattermole tweaked his hamstring!

I wouldn't blame the injury to Gordon on any bad form to be honest, Fulop is a great 2nd choice keeper, and he has kept Gordon out a few times when Gordon was fit. Fulop had a few chances yesterday to throw a quick one out and didn't, but to be honest there were never that many in forward positions in the 2nd half.

I agree McCartney and Nosworthy are not up to it anymore, Nosworthy is a beast and he has a few fans in the ground it seems, but when he came on yesterday i was thinking to myself that it could swing it for an Everton goal. It needed 100% concentration to keep Everton out the way it was going, and i think having to make that sub done them. They got a bit lucky with the deflection bringing it to fellaini, but he had too much time after that to score that goal.

I thought Jones and Bent both went missing in the 2nd half, but it was due to Sunderland sitting so deep in fairness. There was one time when Jones went in with his foot so high at one stage, when he may have been able to throw his head at it, he makes some stupid decisions at times.

The main problem i see with Sunderland is the lack of that creative spark in midfield. When all are fit and able its Cana & Cattermole in the centre, and when you play two players like that you need top quality wingers who can both defend and attack - and at pace might i add.

In that regard i think Malbranque is past it, Reid has had a great season on the left but he has dipped in form of late. Reading the Sunday Sun today i see they mention bellamy - i think he'd be a great signing.

Bruce needs to have a look at spending some money on left back, right back, left midfield and the right midfield positions in my opinion. I think they have enough in the Centre of defense. Hopefully he can shift some of the deadwood to raise a few funds or at least make some room on the wage bill.

Tomorrow will be a tight game, Blackburn have found it hard to score of late, they are decent at home, and as you said Sunderland do not win away from home. I think another draw might be in store for both of them, which isn't really good enough considering how tight it is down there again.

Yeah I was just reading on RTG that a few people fell on the ice with one potetially serious injury, to be fair to the club though, they got no help from the Council and had to set about gritting all the roads themselves, when one considers that the Wigan game was called off last week due to the same reasons I think we did well to get it played at all.

Nah I'm not specifically blaming the poor form on Gordon's injury mate, moreso on the fact that due to injury and suspension we haven't been able to get a settled defence, and that doesn't look like changing any time soon. On the subject of Gordon V Fulop, I don't rate Fulop to be honest, I agree he's decent back up but because of Gordon's injury problems he's featuring a lot more than a back up keeper should. He's a decent shot stopper which most keepers in the league are, however his distribution and command of his area are woeful, whereas Gordon's distrubution is as good as anyone's IMO. One thing's for sure, we looked much more solid at the back when Gordon was gaining form, it's just a pity Defoe kicking him and breaking his arm has curtailed his involvement since October.

Don't get me wrong, I love Nuggsy and he really is a cult hero, he's just not good enough for where we want to be heading now, I doubt he'll be leaving until at least the summer though, he signed a new contract a couple of months ago and if any defender leaves in January, it will be Anton Ferdinand possibly in a swap deal for Alan Hutton of Spurs, that deal was talked about on deadline day but at that stage there wasn't enough time to go through with it.

I agree though, full backs and wingers is where we need to strenghten.

Gordon

Bardsley (Hutton) Turner/Da Silva Mensah McCartney (Figueroa)

Henderson Cana Cattermole Reid/(Adam Johnson)

Bent Jones

What I've done here is posted the strongest line up we have at present with everyone fit. Those in brackets are the players I think and would like to sign in January and those seperated by the / are the ones I think will be rotated around with each other in each particular position.

therokerroar · 28-12-2009 6:10pm

Disappointed not to win after taking the lead twice but considering how poor we've been away from home as well as missing 6 first team regulars today I can't really complain with the result.

It stops the rut and I'll take it as a point gained.

A few goals V Barrow and a win at home to Bolton whilst getting our first team players back fit alongside a couple of new additions and things are looking up again.

Y2J_MUFC · 28-12-2009 7:44pm

Where was Andy Reid today? I picked a good week to get rid of him off my fantasy football team...

therokerroar · 28-12-2009 11:15pm

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

Where was Andy Reid today? I picked a good week to get rid of him off my fantasy football team...

He picked up a knock V Everton on Saturday and didn't have enough time to recover.

I'm actually shocked whilst I type this but Daryl Murphy was excellent in his absence.

eoin2nc · 30-12-2009 11:47pm

Transger window coming up, heard we are looking at Hutton, Figueroa and Johnson? Hopefully we can get johnson ahead of chelsea, hes a serious talent, another off the production line at Boro!

Thought meyler has a strong game the other day, whats he been like in the reserves?

Good to see young lads like himself and Henderson coming through the ranks, any other young lads to look out for, i hear Colback and Waghorn are doing well on loan

therokerroar · 31-12-2009 2:30am

eoin2nc wrote: »

Transger window coming up, heard we are looking at Hutton, Figueroa and Johnson? Hopefully we can get johnson ahead of chelsea, hes a serious talent, another off the production line at Boro!

Thought meyler has a strong game the other day, whats he been like in the reserves?

Good to see young lads like himself and Henderson coming through the ranks, any other young lads to look out for, i hear Colback and Waghorn are doing well on loan

Yeah the Figureoa deal is done. Harry Redknapp was apparently asked about him in by a reporter the other day and said he'd be interested but a deal is already done to sell him to another club, he didn't mention a name but it's Sunderland. The deal has been done for months now, we only didn't get him in August as Wigan failed to sign a replacement in time, he'll certainly be ours during the first few weeks of January though.

The deal for Hutton was almost done in the summer too. On deadline day we proposed swapping Ferdinand for him, but there wasn't enough time to get everything sorted. I'd be surprised if Spurs went for a straight swap deal now due to Ferdinand's decline this season, but a reliable source on our main forum reckons the deal for Hutton is done for £4m and this particular source has been spot on with his transfer information in the past.

We will get in ahead of Chelsea for Johnson. He's Sunderland through and through and he knows he'll get first team opportunites with us, he won't at Chelsea. He's still a young lad and won't have to move if he signs for us, everything is set for us to sign him and the word in Sunderland is that he'll also be ours for around £3m in January.

Those three are as good as you'll get to confirmed transfers at this stage but I'd be doubtful that we'd sign anymore than that in January.

Meyler was excellent on Monday, he didn't look out of place at all. His style of play resembles Henderson's. Bruce has been true to his word of giving both a chance and although it's far too early to comment for sure on Meyler, Henderson certainly hasn't let him down.

As for the other youngsters coming through, it's basically Waghorn and Colback who are doing very well out on loan and the Trevor Carson the Goalkeeper who is third choice at the minute but I'd expect him to become understudy to Gordon and for Fulop to move on in the Summer.

therokerroar · 31-12-2009 6:42pm

Just heard there might be a problem with Fulop for the game V Barrow.

He didn't train and young Ben Wilson was called over to train with the first team, looks like Trevor Carson will be getting his debut if Fulop doesn't recover in time.

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