James Copley and Phil Smith answer your questions after Sunderland's loss to Leicester City in the Championship.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of On The Whistle. You're very lucky that you're
00:12 actually getting this video because someone did just try to reject us from the stadium.
00:15 Phil had to pull that I'm from the Southern Echo. I just sat in silence obviously. So
00:20 yeah, I mean some of you might be thinking what a great shame that you weren't removed
00:24 but anyway we're here. Maybe we'll post the bloopers of that. Yeah, so we'll crack straight
00:28 on with it. Listen, a really strange place to be tonight I think in the sense that it's
00:34 five defeats in a row. That is clearly a long way short of acceptable for Sunderland at
00:38 this level. It's kind of inexcusable really and yet it's a game that leaves you with slightly
00:42 mixed emotions because there are a lot of key players missing at the moment and in the
00:47 second half against a very good Leicester side there was a lot of positives in the display.
00:51 They were really tenacious. They did push Leicester back but I suppose you have also
00:55 brought back knowledge that they didn't really carve out any chances again. It was long-range
01:00 efforts. It was occasionally set pieces. So I feel like there were some positives for
01:04 us to take from that but ultimately the issues why Sunderland have fallen completely off
01:08 the play-off pace were there again. Yeah, I think attitude and application in the second
01:13 half, very good. That's good to see, especially for a team who've lost so many on the bounce.
01:19 They didn't really play like a team that have lost that many on the bounce in the second
01:23 half which I think is good because sometimes when a team is in such bad form the whole
01:27 confidence goes, the whole shape goes, everything goes and you can see it and you can smell
01:31 it. For me it was positive. There's still something there but as you say you can't hide
01:35 from the fact that without Clarke they don't look like scoring and the step forward options
01:40 aren't good enough and there's just a lot lacking in the final third. How many times
01:45 are we going to say that this season? Probably another 12 or however many games are left.
01:50 Even in the spells where they're playing well it's quite hard to see where the goal is actually
01:54 going to come from and that's a huge worry. Sunderland's big shout towards the end of
01:59 the game was Dan Ballard, the centre-back running through on goal and if we'd had a
02:03 couple of those runs maybe in the first half. But then it's the chicken and the egg isn't
02:07 it because does Hemiya get enough service, does he make the right runs, are Sunderland's
02:11 attackers confident enough in him, is the team cohesion there? Probably no to all of
02:15 those things so I'm not really sure what the solution is anymore to be honest. We'll get
02:19 straight into the questions because I feel like the first couple I'm going to ask kind
02:21 of lead into that debate about the game. John Ridley asks, "Why didn't Dodds go with the
02:24 team and finish the game? Gave them too much respect in my opinion, especially with us
02:28 at home." And then somebody else has also asked, Adam Holmes has asked a question, "Is
02:32 it worth giving Hemiya a long run in the side or is the obvious death?" I think they're
02:35 two kind of questions to get into the heart of what we're seeing. So I'll start. I like
02:39 the idea of trying to give a striker a run. I think like everybody else it feels really
02:43 frustrating when you just chop and change and you feel like these lads deserve an opportunity
02:48 to at least show us what they're all about over a longer run. I also think at the moment
02:53 like Louis Hemiya doesn't look to me ready to impact Championship games. I think what
02:58 we saw in pre-season in flashes and what we hear about in training is that he's a good
03:02 finisher and that he's someone who can score you a goal but at the moment this side isn't
03:07 in a position where it's creating lots of chances for a striker in the box and away
03:10 from that. I just don't feel like he's involved enough whereas I feel like at least with Rooston,
03:15 although the connection's not always there with his teammates, you do get a lot of running
03:19 from him and at least that sort of gives you something. So for me, I like the idea of trying
03:24 to give a player a run but it just feels like Louis Hemiya isn't quite the answer at the
03:28 moment and just going to Jon's initial point, I did think the first 20-25 minutes was really
03:32 poor. It was another example like the Swansea game where either the players weren't executing
03:37 the game plan or they really didn't understand what their roles were and there was just so
03:40 much space and that's so frustrating. Leicester were so good in that first one. They're the
03:44 movement of the ball. A bit like Swansea to be fair, they showed a lot of quality. The
03:48 number 10 was just so, so fast. He's got 10 goals this season. Jamie Vardy for 37 at pace
03:55 and I actually thought, 'Oh my God, this could be a real problem' but it's incredible. Just
04:01 on Hemiya though, I'm not sure he played with strengths but I'm also not sure what his strengths
04:05 are yet. He's still developing in front of our eyes. He was making runs today but then
04:10 his body language, he was visibly getting upset that he wasn't being found. Some of
04:13 them weren't looking for him. They don't look to hit balls over the top, they don't look
04:18 to hit the striker into the feet, they don't play him behind which is where Rousseau struggles
04:22 as well. I think when he comes on he makes a lot of good runs but some of them don't
04:25 play him behind. It's almost like we've gotten so used to playing without the striker over
04:30 a season and a half that when there is one on the pitch everyone's a bit aloft to what
04:34 to do. I do agree but I think it goes both ways. I think ultimately you've got to show
04:39 the players in defence and midfield that if they give the ball to you, you're going to
04:43 make it stick. I do think that's a little bit of an issue. I do agree with it. Hopefully
04:46 we've kind of agreed with it. I do think it was a really disappointing start to the game
04:49 so neatly again. Especially with the way the team is at the moment. You can't give teams
04:55 a head start because there's not enough firepower and goals in the team. As much as I think
05:00 they deserve some credit for the second half, I think you've also got to say that the start
05:06 was really, really poor. Ultimately, although Leicester didn't offer a lot in the second
05:09 half, they didn't have to because they already had plenty. It's really interesting, just
05:12 quickly on that striker situation, really interesting because I've said when you go
05:16 with one, when you pick one, stay with them. I would have liked that to have been Roos
05:20 and it hasn't been. Now, I don't really want to go back on my word and say that Leymah
05:23 should be dropped off in two games because I still think some of them need to pick a
05:26 striker but for me he just didn't offer enough. I think that's true.
05:30 Okay, we've got one from Oli here who says 'who are you impressed with?' That's not so
05:33 impressive tonight and looking ahead to Saturday, should Dodds be making further changes? Well,
05:37 I think there was two positives tonight. One is obviously Chris Rigg who was a few straight
05:41 passes early on but he's 16 playing against Leicester City. I didn't think he played with
05:45 any fear. He gets about the pitch, his quality on the ball is good, he's got so much in it.
05:50 I thought he caused Leicester a lot of problems in the second half. I'm not criticising the
05:53 decision to take him off, he's 16, he's only starting the Championship game but I think
05:56 Leicester would have been relieved to see him go off.
05:58 The biggest compliment I can give Chris Rigg in that second half was that my thought was
06:01 just give him the ball, which is an extraordinary thing to say about a 16-year-old playing out
06:06 of his position off the right although he can play there. He's more of a midfield player
06:09 against a Premier League team in Wales.
06:11 Yes, I think you've got to be careful with him. I think it's important we don't go like
06:15 he has to play every minute of every game because he's 16 and we've talked so much about
06:18 Burnham and stuff with other players but I do think if you can get Chris Rigg in the
06:22 starting line-up, give him where the season is now, you have to do it. If you can do it
06:26 while looking after him, I think you absolutely have to do it.
06:28 You have to do it as well to try and keep him as well because there's going to be a
06:31 lot of interest in him. We know there's a lot of interest in him. He wants to play,
06:35 that's why he's still here. He could be anywhere and he's here because he wants to play games.
06:38 The other player I wanted to mention was, because I brought him up in the pre-match
06:41 press conference yesterday, I spoke about him on the podcast. I can't understand why
06:45 he had the lousy. He wasn't getting more opportunities, given how poor someone had been in the final
06:49 third. In fairness, God said yesterday, kind of implied that his concentration and focus
06:53 behind the scenes hadn't been great but it had improved and that's why he gave him an
06:56 opportunity. Look for me, he hasn't got a goal or an assist there but he brought so
07:01 much energy, always looking forward. His set-piece is where he is comfortably the best set-piece
07:05 to get outside of Pritchard.
07:07 He's gone now.
07:08 Yes, that's what I mean. But that has been a huge loss since Pritchard went. It's been
07:13 a massive loss since Pritchard went. So can we please get more minutes for Aushish?
07:17 Having Ecuador on corners in the first half and the majority in the second half, it's
07:22 something that didn't look a threat.
07:23 I think the game really changed when Aushish came on and I think he deserves some credit
07:28 for that and hopefully a start in the near future.
07:30 So we're just going to go with one or two more. We've got one here asking about, with
07:35 the number of losses, would Dodds be at risk of getting sacked? Surely he's part of the
07:40 problem. Listen, it's just not going to happen. He's going to be here until the end of the
07:43 season. What I would say is, I think it's fair to say the Southampton game was a big
07:47 missed opportunity because what they tried to do in the first half did not work at all
07:51 and left them too much to do. I do think I have some sympathy with Dodds in that the
07:55 list of players he's had absent is really, really significant. I think as much as I've
08:00 defended Tony Mowbray and everybody knows that and I think he did a great job and should
08:04 have stayed, I don't think his team would have looked amazing without Patrick Roberts,
08:08 Jack Clark, Dan Ballard for a couple of days. Now Luke O'Neill for a couple of games.
08:12 So I do have a lot of sympathy with Dodds and he's not above criticism and that's another
08:17 game where the team he picked didn't work at first and looked a bit more old and ultimately
08:22 left them too much to do in the game. But I think he's going to be here, the players
08:25 like him, he's a good communicator and hopefully he can build on that second half and turn
08:30 things around a bit and at least send us some luck.
08:32 He mentioned the sort of bad luck to do, didn't he? He can't really catch a break. He's
08:36 taken good of the luko that he's going to be off first in the two games, that's a good
08:39 thing for captain. But he has had to put up with a lot. I can't imagine it's been a particularly
08:44 enjoyable period of his career with, you know, Bob Raleigh, the player from the NAME, he's
08:49 been in the hot seat, out the hot seat, then he's working with a new man and there's all
08:53 of the noise around him. It can't be easy, but I don't think he's gone anywhere, no.
08:57 No, it's difficult. It feels wrong to always be positive because someone should never be
09:03 losing five games at this level and it's just not good enough. But I just feel like with
09:07 the team at the moment, I think there's reasons for it and I think to be fair, most people
09:11 would agree, that means that when you... Oh my word, my seat has just collapsed!
09:17 That was an absolutely sensational catch. I'm sure you're a cricket pro, I stare to be fair.
09:22 That was wonderful.
09:23 Sorry, just taking a moment there. What was I saying? Yeah, I think that ultimately when
09:26 we assess what's gone wrong, it's gone wrong.
09:29 We'll see if that's what's gone wrong.
09:31 Yeah, Sunderland, please don't bill me for that seat, it's not my fault. But yeah, I
09:35 think that I'm reluctant to criticise the players or the current interim head coach
09:38 too much at the moment.
09:39 You have to look above, don't you?
09:41 Yeah, I think so.
09:42 It's a whole different video.
09:43 We're seeing the squad depth I think, late in there. There we go. I'm going to put my
09:47 hand on this seat.
09:48 Last question.
09:49 Yeah, the last question is from Tony. Tony, thanks for sending your question and for watching
09:53 again. How do we close the gulf in class without premiership money? It's a huge question but
09:58 I thought it was a really good one because we have to be fair when we talk about Sunderland
10:02 and especially this team, going back to what I was before. Leicester's bench strength was
10:06 an absolute joke. Bringing on Ian Atchell and James Justin and Deveen, I mean that is
10:12 ridiculous and it is a huge challenge for Sunderland.
10:14 And Ian Atchell couldn't even get into their last squad by the way.
10:17 Unbelievable.
10:18 The last squad he couldn't get into.
10:19 Unbelievable.
10:20 Insane.
10:21 So, I'm going to do probably a full column on this, Tony, because I think it's such a
10:23 good question. I'll give you my brief thoughts. I think probably, I think it's very difficult
10:27 to do without good loans and I think Ahmad probably showed that and I understand loans
10:31 are difficult for Sunderland because they want to invest in their own players and you could
10:34 argue that the struggles since Ahmad left underline why they're such a big risk. But
10:39 I do think invariably the teams that go up without a parachute are the ones that can
10:42 do really good loans and I think that kind of has to be part of the future.
10:45 Yeah.
10:46 And even though it's difficult.
10:47 Callum Doyle for Leicester at the moment.
10:48 Yeah. And even though it's really difficult, we have to get someone who's ready to lead
10:53 the line in next season. It feels almost reductive to just keep saying strike, strike, strike
10:57 but yet again, another second half performance where Sunderland actually played quite well
11:01 and yet the goalkeeper hasn't had much to do and yes, we can talk about the service
11:04 and developing the style to offer more services and I get that but fundamentally I think that's
11:09 the biggest issue and maybe it's the loan market or maybe they need to try and find
11:12 a gem like they did with Ross Stewart. But I thought it was a good question because it
11:16 is a fair point, you know, and another reason why I don't want to criticise Dodds too strongly
11:21 because the fixture list has not been kind to him.
11:23 Any closing thoughts?
11:24 I think with that, how do you get to the Premier League without spending Premier League money
11:29 and having a Premier League parachute game? It's open that interior Louisianians will
11:32 have to put their hands on it, possibly a little bit more but I think what will be key
11:37 and what will be really interesting to see, we all know there's going to be player sales
11:41 and I think that's just an exceptional part of football and life in the Championship.
11:44 It's how that money is then invested because the Ross Stewart money, some of these players
11:49 might come good but in terms of here and now helping the squad, here and now back in the
11:52 summer, it hasn't really panned out as we would have hoped. So I think that money needs
11:56 to be, to coin a phrase, spent on oven ready players more so. Everyone's still building
12:03 for the future, buying young talent, all of that, but we do need some players that can
12:07 go in the summer I think.
12:08 Yeah, I agree with that. It's a big moment in terms of if that significant Jack Clark
12:12 or anybody else, you know, still happens and that part of the reason sports are probably
12:16 a bit content at the moment is like you say, is that the Stewart money so far hasn't yielded
12:19 success and I think that's maybe the answer we think, Tony, is that although we want something
12:24 that's sustainable and sensible and not potentially leave themselves with future big financial
12:28 liabilities, but I think maybe that bigger investment that comes in from a players sale
12:34 is an opportunity to slightly tweak what they do and find a bit of a better balance because
12:39 you can't knock it, they've identified some really good places they came in, but ultimately
12:43 these five games have really exposed the squad depth I think.
12:46 And experience, lack of experience.
12:48 Yeah, I think so. So listen, thank you very much. That was a challenging edition of El
12:52 Oso. I've got to pause some bloopers from that book. But we are still here and we managed
12:56 to get through it. I think I speak for me and James, we really enjoy doing these. It's
13:00 been like the engagement, it's been like really good, positive or negative comments and we're
13:05 really enjoying doing so. Please keep sending your questions in and we'll keep doing it.
13:08 Also, if you've got any other video ideas, stuff you'd like to see us do or talk about,
13:13 please get in touch as well because like I say, it's a lot of fun doing it when you send
13:17 your questions in. So thanks again and I'm going to manifest. We'll be back on Saturday
13:22 after three points for the play-off challenge back on. Fingers crossed.
13:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]