Man o match etc etc

[Guest gizowl]

Bannan was awesome last night, start to finish, Hooper And Reach got better as the game went on, Hooper started dictating link up play and Reach got his positive head on, started driving forward, attacking the fullback and getting crosses into the box. The second half has got to be played for the full 90 minutes. 

[Shetland Owl]

People need to understand that Abdi is still not fully fit, needs more game time 

[Blatter]

Voted Bannan but there were several surprising performances.

 

Reach Hooper and Pudil all put in great performances

Hunt stuck to his task well in spite of taking a terible knock in the 3rd minute

Lees didn't look his usual self, his distribution letting him down

Jones scored a wonder goal but was otherwise unimpressive.

 

Rest were pretty average

[Miffed]

I was torn between Bannan and Reach. Went with Bannan as the only difference was he did it all game. As good as Reach was in the second half, it was only one half.

[Miffed]

1 minute ago, Shetland Owl said:

People need to understand that Abdi is still not fully fit, needs more game time 

 

True, but this still doesn't put him anywhere near our MOTM last night.

[Guest gizowl]

Which raises the question, what do we do if Bannan gets injured, were fcuked Let's get Irvine from Burton, he could play alongside Bannan instead of Jones who played well last night, or cover for an injured Bannan with Jones. 

[bradowl]

Bannan, best out of all 22 players on pitch. 

[Dutch McLovin]

Bannan played well. 

[Mike Hunt]

Even the Bannan Haterz  I hope are seeing that he was playing to deep (on instruction )  and now having the shackles removed he can express himself further up the park . 

[frastheowl]

 

Westwood - 5 - At fault for first goal. Rash decision to come rushing out.

 

Hunt - 6 - Not sure if he was holding himself back after the early injury, but didn't attack nearly enough playing wing back. Stifled our effectiveness down the right side.

Lees - 5 - Dreadful distribution. For a team that allows they centre backs to have so much of the ball, it's odd to have a centre half so poor at passing the ball out.

Pudil - 7 - Played well. Looks a much better centre half than he does full back at the minute. Strong in the air, and came out well with the ball.

Reach - 8 - MOTM - Did OK first half, let down by final ball too often. Grew into the game, and was fantastic in the 2nd half. Gave Jones & Honeyman a really headache for Sunderland.

 

Jones - 6 - Started the game well, and was ticking things along. Suffered when crowd turned on him, and began to try and force things too often. Got to grips well in second half, and a stunning strike.

Bannan - 8 - Brilliant performance, especially 2nd half. This system suits him so well. Stick Lee at the side of him, and we cause teams so many problems.

Wallace - 6 - Quiet game for Wallace. Seems to be lacking a bit of confidence. Had a few opportunities to shoot after cutting inside, but opted against it. 

Abdi - 5 - This system and role should suit him, but he looked off the pace. Either not fit, or he's still struggling to adapt.

 

Hooper - 7.5 - Class act. The stand out performer in the 1st half, and could have won the game with a superb piece of play late on.

Winnall - 6 - Struggled again last night. Tries hard, but is it enough? 

 

Fletcher - 7 - Big catalyst for the improved 2nd half display. Linked up brilliantly, and was a strong physical presence. Must start alongside Hooper.

Rhodes - 6 - Had an impact when he came on, but should've done better with the chance he got. What's happened to this clinical Rhodes we signed?!

 

Overall - Far more encouragement from this display than QPR. Sunderland, in the end, were fortunate to come away with a point. However, it's now been a year of the same old story...start poorly, go a goal down, spark a revival. We must start the game brighter, otherwise it'll end in disappointment again.

[Night King]

Bannan by a country mile. Reach was very good second half too. 

[akbuk]

11 hours ago, Lawrie Madden said:

Mostly stemming from Bannan putting him in position

It is a team game you know 

[Concrete Owl]

Bannan bossed it for me. 

Edited August 17, 2017 by Concrete Owl

[HarryJ]

Voted for Pudil. Thought he had an excellent game and epitomized at the end when he battled and won against 3 Sunderland players. Ran his socks off and brought the ball out of defence well but also defended and won most of the stuff in the air as it looked like Sunderland were targeting his side a lot of the time.

Bannan close behind and looks like he gets more freedom in this 4-4-2 diamond/4-3-3 shape. Both Hooper, who deserved a goal, and Reach candidates too but Pudil deserved it for once especially after all the stick he has taken on here recently.

[sonofbert2]

Pudil for a great game out of his comfort zone and also handling the additional pressure of being "targetted" as a perceived weakness by Sunderland.

 

Not our best player on the night but best performance in the circumstances and a big reason for us refusing to crumble after an early setback.

[smhouston]

Bannan 100%. 

 

I'm a massive critic of Reach, but I must admit he looked a lot better in the second half and put some dangerous balls in. Still a long way to change my mind on him, but it's a start at least

[Tapeworm]

Hooper again. I still can't quite believe he was benched for the opener at Preston.

 

I must be in the minority but I thought Abdi looked decent first half and was disappointed to see him taken off. 

 

Noteable mentions to Bannan, Reach and Fletch for their 2nd half contributions. 

 

 

[shtommer]

Reach is a decent winger, but is becoming an outstanding left back. We should keep playing him there, he's miles better than anything we've had in that position for years.

 

If/when FF gets back he should play left wing, with Reach LB.

[Greengrass]

Thought Reach and Bannan were the pick, best I've seen Reach play, and Bannan must have run 30 miles last night.

[Ante's Bubbly]

14 hours ago, james o connor said:

Whoever has voted jones and abdi have got to be sniffing some pretty toxic fumes 

 

The irony of someone called James O'Connor saying that is just stunning.

 

Sorry I should say james o connor as you prefer not to use conventional methods of writing the English language.

 

I voted for David Jones just above Adam Reach and then Jack Hunt and Bannan, because if you take the time to watch him play for just ten minutes you get to realise thatthe reason we have so much possession when he is on the pitch is because he links up play, rarely loses the ball, plays a wide range of long and short passes, takes the ball off the opposition, generally breaks up play, has a wonderful repertoire of fouls and allows the flair players that catch the eye with their daring play to do exactly that, while watching their backs and getting ready to join in when it goes well or shut up shop when it goes wrong. He was more heavily involved in the game last night than anybody else in the team and when the flair players failed to score he weighed in with two great shots, both of which beat the keeper and one of which was a screamer of a goal. 

 

I don't give man of the match awards for past glories or for a handful of stunts and risky play which catches the eye but puts the team in danger, I gave it Jones because I think he was the most influential player on the pitch for us last night and an unsung hero, pretty much as Lee was before everybody finally realised how good he was. We would have lost the game last night with anybody else playing there I reckon, however eyecatching they might be occasionally.