Football 2010-2011

[ralph250]

Yep, done excellently and definitely instilled belief, but Clarke deserves a lot of credit aswell. Would assume he picked up most of the defensive coaching, which is the main improvement. They were leaking goals earlier in the season and having to score 2 or 3 to get anything out of games.

January acquisition of Suarez has helped aswell, given them some missing guile, and more motivated than Torres was in his latter days there.

It is a relatively weak Liverpool team compared to some of their other teams, but they don't have universally awful players, just some major gaps in the squad and most of their bench options still learning (N'gog, Shelvey Pacheco, Wilson etc) or lacking (Poulsen, Jovanovic, Cole if continues as he has).

[worm]

and still limited Sunderland yesterday to just one shot on goal in the 88th minute.

To anyone that's been paying attention tho it's no surprise. Sunderland just aren't that good, tho not helped by ending the season with poorer strikers than they started with. But for a team whose most expensive player cost just £13M and none of the others being better than that it's no great surprise.

[strummer77]

so not quite the best then - but it's something he's done with players that are overall just about universally thought of as poor, which makes that achievement to-date all the better.

[strummer77]

It is a relatively weak Liverpool team compared to some of their other teams, but they don't have universally awful players, just some major gaps in the squad and most of their bench options still learning (N'gog, Shelvey Pacheco, Wilson etc) or lacking (Poulsen, Jovanovic, Cole if continues as he has).

[eFestivals]

Yawn.

Yawn away.

Those of us without the North East disease of hoping and believing that a turd can be polished spotted what would happen months ago.

[strummer77]

Hhahhahahahhahahahahahahhahahhaha

[TheGayTent]

Liverpool were very ordinary against us...

Were we that good? Or did Liverpool have an off day? Or did Grant out wit King Kenny with his tactics? Perhaps a combination.

Either way, we fully deserved a two goal victory and on the evidence of that game I'm quite surprised at Liverpool's progress - perhaps their upturn is more to do with the (poor) quality of the league and the teams around them than anything else...?

[strummer77]

Liverpool were very ordinary against us...

Were we that good? Or did Liverpool have an off day? Or did Grant out wit King Kenny with his tactics? Perhaps a combination.

Either way, we fully deserved a two goal victory and on the evidence of that game I'm quite surprised at Liverpool's progress - perhaps their upturn is more to do with the (poor) quality of the league and the teams around them than anything else...?

Edited March 21, 2011 by strummer77

[eFestivals]

Liverpool were very ordinary against us...

Were we that good? Or did Liverpool have an off day? Or did Grant out wit King Kenny with his tactics? Perhaps a combination.

Either way, we fully deserved a two goal victory and on the evidence of that game I'm quite surprised at Liverpool's progress - perhaps their upturn is more to do with the (poor) quality of the league and the teams around them than anything else...?

I didn't watch the WHU match very closely at all, so couldn't really comment on that.

But I'd say that Liverpool's recent upturn is a combination of things.

The first is much better defending. The switch of Johnson to the left has been a genius idea, even tho I'm not entirely sure why it's succeeding.

The 2nd is lifting themselves for the bigger games - as shown by the victories against Chelsea and Utd.

And the third is the general shitness of the league. While worm might like to blame the ref for yesterday's defeat, it's simply the case that a team playing as poorly as Sunderland did yesterday (even before the injuries and penalty; they got more of the ball, but they did f**k all with it) is prime for the taking by any team that half turns-up. Liverpool were quite poor yesterday overall, but Sunderland made it very easy for them.

And actually, I reckon those three things are probably the combination that had WHU win against Liverpool - plus a bit of Grant. While the defending is better it's not that good; it wasn't 'a big game' against WHU so Liverpool didn't try as hard as they might have against a team that wasn't at the bottom of the league; and West Ham bothered to turn up in a way that Sunderland didn't yesterday. Then of course there's the fact that WHU are playing their best footie of the season now, for a variety of reasons - improvements by some players; new players that have been great buys; others back from injury; plus Grant having stuck with the tactics that the teams he was putting out earlier in the season couldn't make anything out of.

[TheGayTent]

plus Grant having stuck with the tactics that the teams he was putting out earlier in the season couldn't make anything out of.

[ralph250]

Gutted for the lad but Holden out for 6 months. Rough challenge.

Been superb for Bolton this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/9431341.stm

@stuholden

Well, on the bright side.. im trending on twitter.. ive officially made it!! ha ha !!

[eFestivals]

Gutted for the lad but Holden out for 6 months. Rough challenge.

Been superb for Bolton this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/9431341.stm

I wonder when Fergie's going to comment that that tackle was more 'disgusting' than anything managed by Carra in 14 seasons.

[strummer77]

I wonder when Fergie's going to comment that that tackle was more 'disgusting' than anything managed by Carra in 14 seasons.

[worm]

Those of us without the North East disease of hoping and believing that a turd can be polished spotted what would happen months ago.

Edited March 21, 2011 by worm

[eFestivals]

That very definitely isn't it. Our tactics have completed changed since Hitzlsperger's return from injury.

perhaps tactics was the wrong word. More what I meant was Grant's belief in trying to play football, rather than parking the bus to try and win a point that might not otherwise be won.

Anyway, WHU's form had picked up before Hitzl was back playing, so while he's an important player for you and no doubt adding to the up-turn, there's more to WHU's improvement than anything around just him.

[The Nal]

I wonder when Fergie's going to comment that that tackle was more 'disgusting' than anything managed by Carra in 14 seasons.

Edited March 21, 2011 by The Nal

[worm]

even before the injuries and penalty; they got more of the ball, but they did f**k all with it.

[TheGayTent]

perhaps tactics was the wrong word. More what I meant was Grant's belief in trying to play football, rather than parking the bus to try and win a point that might not otherwise be won.

Anyway, WHU's form had picked up before Hitzl was back playing, so while he's an important player for you and no doubt adding to the up-turn, there's more to WHU's improvement than anything around just him.

[eFestivals]

You've spotted nowt. What you've done instead is babble a load of safe-crap based upon your ignorance of anyone who isn't an elite.

No, I've noticed what you haven't - that SAu7nderland are a long long way from near that elite.

The reality is that Sunderland are a side comprised of some very good players and is getting stronger all of the time. This is off-set against a back drop of having the worst injury list in the Premier League by a significantly large margin. This is simply fact.

they're better than they were, but they're still a long way from being as good as you fantasise them as being.

And they're not the worst injuries, Arsenal have been hit harder.

Getting into the internal debate, there is the fact of whether or not Bruce is up for the job, as he's having to look after a significantly better squad than he ever has in the past. It's also a very attacking squad, something he isn't particularly good at realising. Some fans would say I'm being harsh to call for his head, and I accept that he hasn't had much time, but he's doing nothing to prove otherwise. If he continues I fear that he'll devalue the players and our development plan can ill-afford that.

he's succeeding in getting the players to play to their level.

He's perhaps not managing to get them playing above their level, but few managers can. Be careful what you wish for, you're sounding like every Newc fan.

You, on the other hand, seeem to think that we have the infra-structure of a disposable team winging life in the Premier League, such as in the case of Wimbledon or Southampton or Charlton or Wigan or Blackburn or WBA. It just proves your ignorance.

The ignorance is yours, in believing that you have better at Sunderland than the teams you list had at their peaks.

Do you have a squad chock-full of top internationals, or do you merely have a few middling international players as Wimbledon, Soton, Charlton, Wigan and Blackburn* have had in their better years? Someone not in dreamland is able to make the proper comparison.

(* that's excluding the Prem winning squad).

Your record signing is just £13M - and he's twice as good as your next best player. That's something you need to grasp, to not be suffering that horrible North East disease.

[strummer77]

You've spotted nowt. What you've done instead is babble a load of safe-crap based upon your ignorance of anyone who isn't an elite.

The reality is that Sunderland are a side comprised of some very good players and is getting stronger all of the time. This is off-set against a back drop of having the worst injury list in the Premier League by a significantly large margin. This is simply fact.

[eFestivals]

Apart from play undoubtedly the most attractive football of the otherwise dire match. The best move in particular being the samba style link up between Welbeck and Gyan that carved Liverpool's usually solid left flank apart, delivering a ball just cm's away from Richardson arriving a little late in front of goal. Richardson being a natural defender, if you remember.

This all coming from a team wracked by injury, who had to put two unfit players on to replace two out of position players, within 20 minutes. Oh, and Welbeck having to go off after 60 minutes, which led to his replacement Muhammad-Ali doing nowt but running forward, leaving the left flank open for Suarez to exploit for a second.

Attractive football wins you nothing by itself - as you're always so very quick to point out with Arsenal.

Thru-out the whole game, Liverpool looked the far more likely to score - even when S'land were getting the better of the game early on. Not that too much about any team's strength for a whole game can be taken from the first 20 minutes anyway; you're fooling yourself if you give the first 20 minutes of any game too much significance.

And while you want to bang on about your own sides injuries, you seem to be forgetting that Liverpool were missing their most influential player (Gerrard) as well as one of their better players since Kenny's been in charge (Kelly). S'land without injuries and Liverpool without injuries is unlikely to have seen much of a different result.

Edited March 21, 2011 by eFestivals

[ralph250]

Nah Rio said on twitter it was a "good honest tackle". Hypocrites the lot of them

[worm]

Whilst I agree with some of your post... That bit is anything but 'fact'

http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php

[worm]

Attractive football wins you nothing by itself - as you're always so very quick to point out with Arsenal.

[eFestivals]

I guess you watched a different game, wshere Sunderland had good players on the field and not the going-nowhere shit I saw.