Phil reviews Sunderland's defeat to Sheffield United and answers questions from readers
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of On The Whistle, where I'm afraid
00:18we've got more summoned frustration to talk about after they fell to a late defeat at
00:22Sheffield United going down 1-0. It's again, it's kind of a similar theme really to recent
00:30videos that we've done where we talked about a sudden performance with loads of good stuff
00:34in it but where ultimately they've let another opportunity slip by. In this particular case
00:40I think the frustration is even more acute because going into the game you're looking
00:44at Sheffield United's home record with a bit of awe really. They'd taken 22 points in their
00:49eight games so they'd only dropped two points at home. They'd scored 13 goals and conceded two.
00:53So this looked like a huge challenge for Sunderland and honestly for the first half I
00:58thought they played as well as they have done in the circumstances this season. Defensively
01:03really robust, really resilient. I thought they had really good control of the midfield and that
01:07allowed them to just produce a string of really dangerous counter-attacks really. I thought Tommy
01:12Watson it was a bit of a breakout performance from him. The game obviously suited him, maybe
01:17more so than the last couple where Sunderland were having a lot of counter-attack opportunities
01:20which obviously gave him the opportunity to show what he's all about which is driving
01:24forward, cutting inside, creating opportunities. Up until the penalty miss from Patrick Roberts
01:29I thought that Sunderland were by far the better team. Obviously the red cards sort
01:36of changed the flow of the game for a little while and then at the start of the second
01:39half I thought that without having quite the same level of dominance in terms of chances
01:44created I thought Sunderland were just about the better side again. I thought it was quite
01:48a brave move from Labreece not to bring another defender on. So Sunderland basically played
01:53like a three at the back in possession and a four at the back out of possession. The
01:57game then was almost by design. I think Sheffield United were happy for Sunderland to have the
02:02ball because they wanted to counter. I think they sensed an opportunity out wide with this
02:05shape that Sunderland had changed to. So I think that while they were happy for Sunderland
02:09to have the ball, I still think Sunderland were playing pretty well really. Again, and
02:14we'll talk about this when we go on to your questions later, a persistent theme at the
02:17moment, I did think Sheffield United finished the game the stronger. That's not to say that
02:21there was anything inevitable about the winner or that it was definitely coming or that Sunderland
02:24weren't present in the game. But I think after Isidore's big chance quite early in the second
02:29half where him and Rigg pressed really well into the box, the ball broke and Isidore just
02:33flashed it wide of the near post. I did think in terms of chances Sunderland ebbed away
02:37a little bit and that's definitely a concern. So I think again we're in that position where
02:42you have to step back from the games before it and judge the game on its own merits and
02:47say that's a performance with a huge amount of positives for Sunderland. I think what
02:51they've again shown that they can match any team in this division, that's one of the toughest
02:54assignments they've had yet and I thought large parts of their game were excellent.
02:58Don't forget again that they were missing some key players in the likes of Denis Sirk and Romain
03:02Mundo. So loads to take from the game but I think you could sense from both Regis,
03:07Lebris and the players afterwards that they knew that they'd let a huge opportunity go by them.
03:11It's a big three points for Sheffield United. I think we can still be really positive about
03:15the team going forward while acknowledging that the longer this run goes on, the more
03:20years Sheffield United's leads, Burnley's, are going to pull away a little bit at the top and
03:24we know from experience that catching these parachute payment teams when they get out of
03:27their lead is going to be really difficult. So a night of mixed emotions really but
03:32ultimately obviously frustration. So thanks again everyone on Blue Sky who sent you your
03:37questions and comments in, got loads through which is fantastic. I'm going to stick to using Blue
03:41Sky for this so if you're not on there and you want to get your questions in for On The Whistle
03:45and your comments and be part of the conversation then I'm at Phil Smith Reporter. Right, where do
03:51we start? So I've got two questions from Carl which I'm going to start with so thanks for sending them
03:58in Carl. The first one is do you feel like Sunderland's points over the last six games
04:01match the performance levels? I feel like our games have been tight over the season.
04:04Just early on we came out on the winning side of those. We aren't being clinical at both ends
04:09right now which is leaving us unable to put this tough run. Carl I think from my perspective you
04:14pretty much hit the nail on the head. I think that Sunderland have deserved more points than the last
04:19six games. I think in some ways it's quite remarkable that they haven't got a single win
04:22from those. When you look at the quality of the first half performance against Coventry,
04:26you know if you look at the strength of performance against Millwall given the
04:29players that were out, if you look at last night's performance, you know I think that
04:33their games were in that run so Preston I thought were the better team that night. I think Brian
04:38Large leads with a better team when the two sides played at Stadium Light. Obviously Mesley's error
04:43sort of bailed Sunderland out a little bit. I think Sunderland have been really lucky with their
04:49points return in that period. I think you're right in what you're saying that I think the margins
04:54have been fairly tight all season. It's not as if Sunderland were other than Sheffield Wednesday
05:00who I think they did blow away in that first half at the Stadium Light. The games have been pretty
05:03tight margins and I think the point you make is a really good one in that you know I think things
05:09have levelled out a little bit in terms of I think Sunderland were just coming out consistently on
05:12the right side of tight games and now they're consistently coming out on not the right side
05:16of games. I think that's true. I think two things that have definitely changed, I think you're
05:20absolutely right, some of them being less clinical than they were earlier in the season. If you think
05:24of Burnley as home for example where they get one real early chance, Romain Mundell buries it and
05:28then they defend brilliantly for the rest of the game. That isn't quite happening at the moment.
05:34The other thing I would say is the one thing that has definitely changed is that you know
05:37Sunderland are definitely, although they're not a team that gives loads of chances to the
05:41opposition, I think the defensive structure is still really strong. They are definitely giving
05:45up a few more chances than they were in the early parts of the season. If you look back to those
05:49opening four games before their first international break, they were barely conceding any chances and
05:53that's changed a little bit. So I agree with you Karl, I think it's mostly just about being clinical
05:57in both boxes. I think what we're seeing is Sunderland are being a bit less ruthless in their
06:00finishing and because perhaps understandably they haven't been able to maintain those sort of
06:06brilliant defensive levels that they had in the first four or five games of the season, I think
06:09it's just caught up with them a little bit. Definitely got the sense from Lebris after the
06:13game that the final third is where he's really kind of stewing at the moment, where he wants to see
06:17some improvements. It's going to be really interesting going forward, whether that's in the face,
06:21whether that's just somebody who wants to work on the training ground, or whether he's going to
06:24start tinkering things and making some alterations to personnel and partnerships. So that's
06:28definitely one to watch. Karl also mentioned, do you think there was anything to read in throwing
06:32Aushish on at the end regarding his future or was it just an act of desperation, had the feeling he
06:36would just be isolated until January and then he may be moved on? Yeah, I think from what I
06:42can gather over the last sort of few weeks, I think Aushish's attitude is kind of impressed
06:46everyone behind the scenes and I think the feeling was that he deserved an opportunity to
06:50get a chance. I think obviously Aushish has been in a difficult situation where he didn't get into
06:54the team at the start of the season. I think it was pretty obvious that Sunderland were happy for
06:58him to go and then Lebris has used him really sparingly since in fact those were his first
07:02minutes since deadline day. From all accounts, Aushish has done everything right. He's come back
07:10and he had a little break when some of the players had a break after sort of deadline day
07:13during the international break. Since then Sunderland have been really impressed with
07:16what he's done just in terms of getting his head down, training, you know,
07:20hasn't thrown his toys out the pram. He's played in some under-21s games and you know,
07:24gone away to sort of quite unglamorous under-21s fixtures and put a shift in.
07:28So I think the feeling has definitely been that he deserved an opportunity and so I think you
07:33can read something into that, Karl. I think that was a bit of a nod from Lebris to what he's been
07:38doing. Obviously I think a big part of it was in that stage and you saw it from Sheffield United's
07:43goal. I think Chris Rigg was fatiguing pretty severely so I think that's why he felt the need
07:47to make a change as well. I'm not reading too much into it. I still think the likely scenario
07:52is Aushish goes in January. I expect Sunderland to do a bit of their own recruitment. By that point
07:56you'll have Romain Mundell coming back, you'll have Alan Brown coming back. I think you will
08:00start to see the opportunities for Aushish get squeezed significantly. My expectation would
08:04still be that he goes but I think Sunderland felt that he didn't write for an opportunity
08:10because of the way he's applied himself and you know, logic follows in the next few games when
08:14Sunderland I think is still going to give a bit light in terms of attacking options.
08:17There might be some more minutes for him so I don't think there'll be a huge change
08:21but yeah I think that's definitely a reward if you like for how he's applied himself behind the scenes.
08:27So next question comes from Glenn who has done some great stats work. Glenn, I'm going to assume
08:36you've got this right. I'm going to trust you and I'm going to put your stat out there. Thanks
08:39very much for sending it in. We've only scored two goals out of 26 after the 70th minute yet
08:44we've conceded six out of 13 at the same time. Does that show a lack of squad depth, lack of
08:49trust or pivot tactics? Most games will hardly look like scoring the later the game goes on.
08:54Glenn, it's seriously good stats work. I think this is a really interesting debate and I agree to a large extent.
09:02The one caveat yet I would put forward in Sunderland and Regis Lebrie's defences,
09:08consistently what we saw through the first part of the season was that Sunderland were scoring first
09:13in games. You know if you think back, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Middlesbrough
09:20even Watford and Plymouth took the lead, didn't they? I hope I haven't got that wrong. I feel like I've done a lot of games recently.
09:26So I think it's inevitable to an extent when you're consistently leading in games that the other team
09:30is going to be on top towards the end because you know you have the luxury of being able to sit in,
09:35keep your shape and break. So I think that's a big part of why that's happened.
09:40I do also agree with you though that I think the squad depth is massive. I thought this was yet
09:44another game and I'm almost bored of talking about it but it's still a game.
09:48I'm really struggling to think of a game in which Sunderland have been able to turn it later on and finish right in the ascendancy.
09:54Maybe if you think there's one out there that I've forgotten, stick it in the comments because I'd be
09:58really interested to get people's opinions on that. But I think it's a consistent theme
10:01where Sunderland struggle to turn games and the opposition finish it in the ascendancy.
10:06I think for me, primarily Glen, it is a game where the opposition have been able to
10:12turn games and the opposition finish it in the ascendancy. I think for me, primarily Glen, it is a
10:19lack of trust, a little bit harsh because I think a lot of the time, I think it's a fair call from
10:23Lebris in terms of the inexperience he's got on his bench. I think it's really difficult to bring
10:26on players with next to no championship experience in a really tight game like last night for example.
10:31We should also say that Lebris did make four subs in the end last night which is
10:34an unusually large number for him. He actually said in his pre-match press conference which
10:40I thought was interesting, I'll relate to you, I did do a little piece on the echo but in case you
10:44haven't seen it, saying that he does feel like now, you know, he uses defence as an example where he's
10:48now got a lot of options. It's basically saying that his lack of substitutions isn't by design.
10:54It's something that he thinks fans will see start to change and he will be more proactive moving
10:58forward. But I definitely think it's a big issue. I think it's primarily a lack of depth, obviously
11:03injuries have been a big factor in that. But I'm just going to chuck in another question because I
11:09think it's on this theme. So thanks Mark for sending this in. We're playing well but not
11:12getting the rewards. It feels like something's missing. Will that something come in January?
11:15Again, I think January is going to be really, really important. I totally accept the argument
11:19Lebris has made in terms of saying that, you know, there's a lot of players who could come
11:25back to fitness by January. Abdullahi, Sam Ed, Perveda, Mundo, Brown and that's because he's got
11:31quite a full squad. If that happens and they're all back fit and everyone in the squad is fit
11:35and firing then maybe January doesn't look so massive. But at the moment now, I think we're
11:38consistently seeing Sunderland struggle to finish games on top. I think we're struggling to see them
11:42turn their level of performance into wins and I do think that means there needs to be a bit of an
11:46injection of competition, depth and quality in January if Sunderland are going to keep the pace.
11:51There's loads to be positive about. I'm certainly not panicking because they haven't won in six. I
11:55think you have to be objective about last night's performance and say how good it was for larger
12:01parts. But I definitely think that for me that's shaping up to be a really important window. Yes,
12:05there's a chance that by that point the squad is full and looks fantastic and if that's the
12:08case, happy days. But the experience of the season so far suggests it might not be as simple
12:13as just getting everyone back fit and firing at the same time. So, yes, let's see how it develops.
12:18Just on that theme, Shiny Tom says, why is he reluctant to use his bench? Always reactive
12:24and never proactive. Taking off Watson who was causing problems when Rig had faded.
12:28Yes, I think that the Watson one was really frustrating because he was so dominant. I
12:32understand the context of that in terms of he was obviously tiring. It was his third start
12:38in six days, which at senior level is not anything like what he's faced before in the past.
12:42So, I was frustrated with that one, but I understood it. But I agree with you that Rig
12:46was tired as well. So, that didn't really work pulling him over to the left. It's definitely
12:54something to watch moving forward. As I say, Lebris has said that he thinks Sunderland fans
12:58will soon be more proactive and use his bench more now that he's getting more options. It's
13:03going to be really interesting whether he sticks to that because at the moment,
13:07I definitely think that's a persistent issue. I've got two comments on some of the theme here,
13:12so I'll chuck them in together. Thanks for sending them in. Chris says, thought RLB was as animated
13:16and annoyed as I've ever seen last night. An undeserved defeat after two games where fine
13:20margins spent two points rather than six. Always a general annoyance that we are blowing our lines
13:24in front of goal. Stu says, not a question of such, but that fire in RLB's belly in the post-match
13:28interview was really good to see. I hope this is a turning point in our season. We were superb
13:32tonight. It came with nothing. Need to use that frustration positively. Yeah, I agree with you
13:37both. Lebris by the time it comes to his major commitments with me, it probably cooled off a
13:41little bit and was probably a little bit more like his usual self. But I think as well, speaking from
13:45Ligo 9, I think definitely there was a level of frustration that we haven't necessarily seen with
13:50some of the recent results, both from Lebris and the dressing room. I think it's interesting to me
13:56because I think going back to my previous question about, I know on previous videos,
14:00there was a bit of frustration with Lebris' downplay in the January window. I think Lebris
14:07is too cute to give away a headline about, I need this in January, I want this in January.
14:13I think sometimes you can be a little bit cuter and see some of his other body language and some
14:19of the way he talks about other issues. When you see about the frustration he talks about last
14:22night about the squad depth, when you see the frustration about not turning good play into
14:27goals in the final third, I think he's given you a little bit of a clue that while he might be too
14:32clever to get drawn into and give a big headline about putting the pressure on speaking for January
14:36recruits and that kind of thing, he is feeling that frustration for sure. I definitely think
14:42that he gave the impression that he wants to win, changing things up a little bit, as I say,
14:47whether that's personnel in the short term, whether it's an injection of quality in January.
14:52But I agree with you, there was a real sense of frustration from the players and the manager last
14:56night that they didn't get what they deserved out of the game. And I agree, let's hope that that
15:00puts some real fire in their belly. Three tricky games coming up when they return to action,
15:06but not three sort of insurmountable games. If someone want to be genuine promotion contenders,
15:10it's three games that they really have to attack. So let's hope they can use that frustration.
15:15It's kind of fuel on the fire. Ian says, not a question of such, but I think tonight demonstrates
15:21we can live and dominate better and richer teams in the league with a very young team.
15:24There should be no fear. It is all great experience and they should get better for it.
15:27Patience is the key. Keep the faith. Yeah, I think that's a really fair comment, Ian. I think we can
15:32acknowledge all the frustration from the game while also acknowledging there were loads of
15:36positives, especially, as you say, with many of those young players equipping themselves really
15:40well against a top-flight position. So thanks for your comment, Ian. I think that's a fair thing to
15:48say. Also, I had a couple of comments here about Patrick Roberts and his output, which I think is
15:55fair. Obviously, a bit of a sort of the headline and missing the penalty, but wasn't his best
15:59night. I talked a bit about Roberts earlier in the season and I absolutely stand by it. I think
16:03his goal and assist output, albeit his goals from a penalty or from open play, was decent through the
16:08opening stretch of the season. And as I've said before, if you look back and go through Sunderland's
16:12first 15, 20 goals, you'll find that Roberts is at the heart of so many of those moves. I thought
16:16he had a great start to the season. Undeniably, the last couple of games, I think he's come off the
16:21boil a little bit. And I thought even taken away from the penalty, I thought last night wasn't his
16:25best performance. So whereas previously when people have asked me about Roberts, I've not
16:29even really considered taking him out of the team because broadly, I think his contribution has been
16:33good and he hasn't always had the headline stats to show that. The last couple of games,
16:38definitely, he hasn't been at his best. And I think Mienda has shown in the last few games
16:43where he's come off on the right that he's a really dangerous player. So I definitely think
16:46that's one to watch moving forward. I've no doubt Roberts will come again. I think he's got a
16:52massive part to play in the season. I thought he saw us at the start of the season how good he is.
16:56Long Championship season, it happens. Players come in and out of form. It's very difficult for them
17:00to be at their absolute peak physical condition and play at their best for 46 games. So I think
17:05Roberts will come again. But for sure, I think in a way that I wasn't considering would, you know,
17:11LeBreeze make a change on that front in the next week or so. I probably would have said no until
17:15the last couple of games. But I do think maybe we'll see a bit of rotation in the next couple
17:20of weeks. Let's see. So yeah, I'm going to leave it there because I've been talking at you for
17:25quite a long time. Thanks so much for sticking with me. Again, I'm a Phil Smith reporter on
17:31Blue Sky. So I'm taking the questions on the whistle and your comments and posting most of
17:36my updates and stuff. So thanks so much for sending your questions in. Sorry that it was
17:40another video of frustration. Hopefully, we'll be able to talk about a win when I see you in a week
17:46or so. Cheers.