Phil discusses Sunderland's 1-0 win over Portsmouth and takes questions from fans
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00:00Morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of On The Whistle where we're going
00:13to be having a chat about Sunderland 1 Portsmouth 0 and I'll be chatting through all your questions
00:17and comments as per. Thanks so much for sending them in. Nice to have another Sunderland win
00:21to talk about. It's been a really positive start to 2025 so far. Albeit, I think yesterday
00:26was obviously a very different kind of occasion to the Sheffield United game. I think Sunderland
00:31were obviously short of their best. It was quite an odd game in that actually the open
00:36exchanges of the game, I couldn't really believe what I was seeing. I think we'd all been really
00:40impressed and really pleased with how effective the 4-4-2 had been against Sheffield United,
00:44how dangerous Isidoro Mienda had been in attacking the space and behind Sheffield United's defence.
00:49I think we thought this game was going to look completely different and Portsmouth might
00:52try and shut down that space for Isidoro Mienda, maybe defend with a little bit of
00:57a low block. Actually, they were super aggressive pretty much from the start of the whistle.
01:01At times when their goalkeeper was taking goal kicks and set plays, they had pretty
01:05much five players up on Sunderland's front line. Obviously, it cost them in the seventh
01:09minute when Sunderland nicked the ball back and again we saw that combination up front
01:13work really well. Mienda with a lovely pass to Isidoro and a fantastic finish from Isidoro.
01:18I couldn't really believe what I was seeing. I couldn't really get my head around Portsmouth's
01:22game plan. In fairness to Portsmouth and their head coach, John Massinio, I think that through
01:26a passage of about half an hour after that, you could actually really begin to see what
01:30the game plan was. I think, to be fair, they actually had some joy pressing quite aggressively,
01:36getting a lot of players high up the pitch. Quite direct in possession, but the main thing
01:41about that was that I was quite impressed was they were getting a lot of players actually
01:44around their centre forward, so it wasn't aimless. They were actually being quite brave
01:48in what they were doing. So, to be fair, I think they made it a really uncomfortable
01:53first half for Sunderland. Sunderland did finish the half really well. Obviously, Wilson
01:57Isidoro has that goal that he scores where he was offside, but it was a matter of inches.
02:01Really, a really nice move and a couple of chances for Mienda. The penalty claim where
02:06I think there was a bit of contact, but he probably goes down too easily. So, I think
02:09you can understand the penalty not being given. And then the other one where he connects quite
02:13nicely on his right foot, but puts it into the side net. So, I thought half-time came
02:16at a good time for Portsmouth and they actually kind of reset really well. Started the second
02:21half well again. Anthony Patterson got away with a little bit of a poor kick-out, a couple
02:26of other sloppy pieces of play. And, yeah, I thought that, again, Portsmouth did reset
02:31and I thought they were playing pretty well, causing Sunderland some problems. Red card
02:35changed it. Obviously, more good play from Isidoro, more good awareness, good speed forces
02:39the red card from Armond Pack. For about a 15-minute period after that, I thought Sunderland
02:43did well and were unlucky not to score again. Rob Atkinson made what I thought was a brilliant
02:47blot from the ladders in the end after a lovely bit of play between Roberts and Hulme down
02:51the right flank. A couple of shots that deflected just wide, a couple of big interceptions.
02:56I thought Sunderland were playing pretty well, but they didn't get that second goal. And
03:00I think what we saw at the end was Portsmouth almost just, their strategy, I think, after
03:03the red card, which again, I thought was fairly sensible. Their strategy was just to hang
03:08in the game. And then the last five, 10 minutes, they got some strikers on, got some more plays
03:12in the final third and just started bombarding the box. I thought Sunderland looked very,
03:16very tired in that phase of the game. They were really struggling to retain possession.
03:20I think you could see there was some fatigue in their decision-making. But on balance of
03:25play, I do feel that Sunderland were reserved winners. That was definitely not Sunderland
03:29at their best. I thought it was a difficult game for them in tricky conditions. But I
03:33do think on balance of play, ultimately, they created by far the bigger chances throughout
03:37the game. Josh Murphy obviously missed a big chance for Portsmouth in the first half. There
03:41was that brilliant cross from the right, right towards the end, which could have dropped
03:44anywhere. And yes, Portsmouth could have scored from that. But by and large, I think if you
03:48look at the number of shots Sunderland had, the number of shots on target, the number
03:51of big chances they created, I do think that even though this was a difficult game and
03:55Portsmouth's game plan was actually quite close to coming off in some phases of the
03:59game, I do think that Sunderland deserved the win. And ultimately, it wasn't their best
04:04performance, but I think it was a day about just staying in touch with the top two. It
04:08was just about getting the result. And I think when you look back on it, it's a festive
04:13period that's been frustrating at times in terms of obviously the late goals against
04:16Blackburn and Stoke. It could have been better. But I think ultimately, when you look at how
04:21small Sunderland's squad has been through this period, how stretched they have been
04:24with injuries, I think to take 10 points from five games over the festive period, that's
04:29a decent return. And I think we have to keep in perspective that they're two points off
04:33the automatic promotion places, and they're now 11 points clear of seventh. And I think
04:37that is a fantastic position for them going into the rest of the season.
04:42So let's have a look at your questions. There were quite a few along a similar theme, but
04:45the first one from Zeus Stelic says, was Alisse Serkin so tactical or injury-based? So we
04:50spoke to this with Regis Lebris in his post-match press conference. He basically just explained
04:56that he'd been feeling ill and wasn't well at all. And with Serkin kind of fit and ready
05:01to go, he felt it just didn't make any sense to sort of ask Alisse to push on through the
05:06second half. It just made sense to make the substitution. So yeah, certainly not tactical,
05:12but also no real concerns about injury other than he's just feeling poorly. So we hope
05:17he gets well soon. I thought Serkin had a really good second half. I thought he looked
05:21really back to his sort of live wire self. I thought he offered a bit of an outlet, overlapping
05:26from Arshish, and I thought that helped Sunderland create quite a few openings in the second
05:30half that something else, something more could have come from. So I think that was a big
05:34positive from the day for me. I think that Serkin hasn't played badly by any stretch
05:38of the imagination since he came back from his wrist injury, but he definitely looked
05:41like he'd lost a little bit of rhythm going forward that he had at the start of the season.
05:45So I was quite encouraged by that, but nothing to worry about on the Alisse front. Obviously,
05:48we hope that he gets well soon, but by all accounts, he should be back and available
05:52next weekend. So hopefully nothing long-term to be concerned about there.
05:57A few of you asked along a similar theme. So Chris says, stick with two up top or revert
06:02to one once Rick is back. Chris Liddell says time to go back to the tried and tested formation.
06:08I think we are way too open and we'll get punished against better sides playing 4-4-2.
06:13And Michael says, I was sure that the current 4-4-2 system is a long-term solution or a
06:17short-term one. We seem to give up a bit of control in the middle of the park. I can't
06:21really see Regis sticking with this when Rick, Brown, Samed and other possible midfield options
06:25are fit. It's at least a good plan B. Yeah, I think that's a really good summary, Michael.
06:29I think ultimately we saw that while there are a lot of positives from playing with two
06:33up top and we saw that again with the goal and I thought Miandri and Isdal were a threat
06:36all the way through. I definitely didn't think Sunderland had control of the midfield that
06:40they would like to have. And going forward, I do think that once Rick is fit, once Brown
06:44is fit, I do expect Sunderland to revert to a 4-3-3. I think it gives them better control
06:49of the game. I think Lebris really likes the way that Sunderland build up through those
06:53triangles down the right and the left. You know, with Rick, Roberts and Hulme, especially
06:57on the right, I think it is ultimately a better formation for Sunderland. But I think
07:01as you've rightly said there, Michael, I think this has been a really valuable period for
07:05Lebris in terms of finding a genuine plan B, especially later in games and in certain
07:09situations where Sunderland are happy, for whatever reason, for the game to be a bit
07:13more open or they feel that the game's open enough that they can use their pace on the
07:18break to really hurt teams, then it's something they know they can go with. But for me, I
07:22prefer Sunderland in a 4-3-3. I think you saw yesterday they didn't have the level of
07:27control over the game that you would like them to have against a team that has been
07:31struggling away from home all season. So I definitely think we saw the downside of the
07:354-4-2 yesterday when we saw the positive against Sheffield United. I think realistically, there's
07:40so few teams now in the modern game that actually play a 4-4-2 because I think the control of
07:45midfield has become so important in the modern game. Thinking off the top of my head, maybe
07:49if you folks can think of any other examples, stick them in the comments, but Simeone's
07:53Atletico Madrid are pretty much the only very, very successful 4-4-2 I can think of
07:57in recent times. They obviously had a very, very distinct style that is not the road that
08:01Sunderland are going down. Sean Dyche has obviously had a lot of success, especially
08:05at Burnley in the Premier League. Again, a very, very different style. So I think that
08:08it's a good plan B. I'm not sure I see it as the kind of formation that Sunderland can
08:12play week in, week out. The only caveat I would say to that is that I asked Lebris about
08:16this a little bit after the game, whether he felt that the lack of control Sunderland
08:19had showed the downside of playing with a 4-4-2. And the one thing he did say was that
08:23he actually felt that the main issue really was that Sunderland didn't find it particularly
08:27easy to control Portsmouth in their direct side of play. So he basically just felt that
08:31Portsmouth were winning too many first contacts and too many second balls, which made it really
08:36hard for Sunderland to get a foot on the ball and really dictate play for long periods.
08:40So I think his implication was that actually, in this particular occasion, maybe a third
08:44midfielder wouldn't have made all that much difference because it wouldn't necessarily
08:47have helped Sunderland win more first contacts and more second balls. So maybe we shouldn't
08:52go too overboard down that route. But I think what we've definitely seen across the two
08:55games is we've seen the positives and the negatives of the 4-4-2. I think it could be
08:59a really effective weapon for Sunderland at times, but I don't think it's going to be
09:02the formation that they play regularly, and especially going away from home. I think certainly
09:08if they're still playing quite a front foot open style, I think it's going to be quite
09:11difficult for them to play 4-4-2. So one to watch. I think it's definitely a really effective
09:16plan B, but let's see going forward how often Sunderland use it.
09:21Ian says, a case of job done today, Phil, especially considering limited options over
09:24the whole festive period. Yeah, as I said, I totally agree with that. I think we have
09:28to put Sunderland's performance yesterday in the context of how many minutes a lot of
09:31these guys have played over the festive period. And I think when you do that, I think the
09:35points return is a fairly solid one. He says, which of the injured players do you think
09:39will be under consideration for the Burnley game? So it's all quite hard to sort of two
09:45or three weeks out, obviously with the FA Cup next weekend to work out exactly who'll
09:48be back then. Dan Ballard and Chris Rigg definitely should be available for that game. Both of
09:53those players have an outside chance of playing against Stoke next Saturday. Obviously, I
09:57don't see Sunderland taking any major risks with it being the FA Cup. I love the FA Cup
10:02and I wish teams didn't rotate as much, but I think that's the reality of the modern game.
10:05So I think Sunderland will do that. So that should definitely mean Ballard and Rigg are
10:08available for Burnley. Salisa Abdul-Samad should be available to be in the squad. Sunderland
10:14are hopeful that he might be able to play some part in the FA Cup next weekend. Although
10:19again, they're not going to rush him, so I'm not sure if he'll be in contention to start.
10:23But in theory, he should also be able to play some part against Burnley again, whether he'll
10:28be in a position to start a game at that magnitude. I'm not quite sure, but he should be part
10:31of the squad. So those are the three players I definitely expect to be back. Alan Brown
10:37and Romain Mundel should be starting to sort of come into contention around then. But I
10:41think from what Labrie said last week, that game will come a little bit too soon for them.
10:46So I certainly wouldn't be expecting them to have a significant role in that. So yeah,
10:50I think Ballard, Rigg and Samad would be the three who I think could be in a position to
10:53really play a part in that game. Maybe there'll be one or two other surprises by the time
10:57we get round there. But yeah, hopefully that gives a bit of an overview about how the injury
11:02situation clears up.
11:04So Ross says, thoughts on Connolly not getting a single minute over Christmas. So yeah, it's
11:09a fair point. I mean, Connolly did get one appearance over Christmas, but it was only
11:1315 minutes against Stoke. So I think across the five games, he'll be very, very disappointed
11:18with his lack of game time. Excuse me, just need a sip of coffee.
11:23Yeah, we spoke about Connolly with Labrie and his post-match press conference. The quotes
11:28are over on the Summer Decca website now, so you can go and read them. Labrie, to be
11:33honest, was pretty candid about the fact that, you know, he said it was not a reflection
11:38on Connolly, who's trained well. I mentioned on my On The Whistle a couple of weeks ago
11:42when I was asked about this, that we'd spoken with Labrie and he said he'd been really impressed
11:46with Connolly's training levels, which he felt had been right back up to where they
11:49were when he first sort of arrived. And yet that hasn't translated into any minutes.
11:54Now, I can understand in the last two games why he's gone with Roosen ahead of Connolly.
11:58It's been stoppage time. It's been games where someone had been defending the lead.
12:02And I think Roosen's sort of pace and athleticism have been the obvious choice because it's
12:06been about, you know, potentially chasing the ball into the channel, holding play up.
12:10It's been about applying some pressure on the goalkeeper or the defenders to try and
12:14shut down the sort of long balls into the box. Clearly, Roosen is more suited to that
12:18style. But it is interesting that Connolly is not being used earlier in games or in games
12:26at all. And like I say, Labrie was quite candid that you can understand, you know, he sort
12:30of said, look, he's still in me and his performances kind of speak for themselves, which completely
12:34accept. But he was quite candid in saying that, you know, Connolly, Aaron's going to
12:38have to be patient, really. There's no obvious route into the team for him at the moment.
12:43And obviously, the other aspect of this is that we know that Sunderland are very aggressively
12:47looking to sign another striker in the January transfer window. So that potentially pushes
12:51Connolly down the pecking order even more. You then have by the end of the month, we
12:55would expect Ahmed Abdullahi to be in contention. Now we don't know what level he's going to
12:59be at. We don't know whether he can force his way in sort of the reckoning in Championship
13:03football straight away. But I think it's fairly clear that it's looking tricky for
13:08Connolly to get regular game time at the moment. Labrie said he would have a lot of talks with
13:12Aaron Connolly. He would assess the situation over the course of the month. But I do think
13:17it was kind of implied that, you know, they may be open to letting Connolly pursue other
13:23opportunities if they're available. Now, it's way too early in the month to say that's going
13:26to happen. We've seen with Adil Houshisa's season that things can change very, very quickly
13:30in football. So who knows? There might well be an opportunity for Connolly against Stoke
13:36this coming weekend. You know, we don't know if something they're going to recruit in time.
13:39And I would imagine, we'll come on to it in a little bit, but I would imagine they'll want
13:43to rest one of, if not both of Isidore and Meander. So that could be a way for Connolly
13:48to get his opportunity and fingers crossed he can kind of take it and force his way into
13:51Labrie's thinking. But at the moment for sure, Ross, it's looking difficult for him to force
13:57his way in. And with only a few months left on his contract, maybe there'll be a decision to
14:02be made. But I think it's a little bit early in the month to be definitive on that. And it's one
14:05that we'll have to wait and see how it goes. So Mark says, we made heavy work of that,
14:11which inevitably brings up the seemingly constant substitutions question. But let's twist it,
14:16you're the manager, what changes would you have made and when? That is a cheat question, Mark,
14:22because you're going to show everybody that I don't know what I'm talking about. So I'm not
14:26entirely sure I'm a fan of that, but let's get involved anyway. Listen, I've been more sympathetic
14:30with Labrie's stance on substitutions over the festive period than I have been previously in
14:35the season. There have been times earlier in the season where I felt quite frustrated. I felt that
14:39there were players on the bench who could have been used, who could have made an impact, who
14:42could have freshened things up. I think when you look at the bench over this festive period, it has
14:47been really, really young, really, really inexperienced. And I don't think there have
14:50been too many occasions in games where I've really felt that. More subs was what was required,
14:57really, to be honest. Yesterday, I thought the Alexis Roushish sub was a good one, but I would
15:04have made it 15 or 20 minutes earlier. I thought that Roushish did look tired. I've been really
15:09impressed with Roushish. I've got a lot of respect for the way he's forced his way back into the
15:12reckoning. And I think he's made some good contributions. I do also think that in the last
15:17couple of games, inevitably, he's looked fatigued in the second half. You expect that. He hadn't
15:22started a game all season, and then he's played kind of three games in a matter of days over the
15:26festive period. I thought Alexis, he's got a real bit of pace on him and he's got a good touch. And
15:31I thought bringing him on on the left wing for a bit of extra energy was the right move. I just
15:34thought it was a little bit late. I would have liked to have seen that 15, 20 minutes earlier.
15:38I would have also looked to bring Miander off probably 15 minutes earlier. I can understand
15:43why Lebris was reluctant to take him off because he was still getting opportunities.
15:46The way that Portsmouth were pushing bodies forward, I think Lebris knew there would be
15:50space on the break. And we all know how Miander, how dangerous he can be in those scenarios. So,
15:54I can kind of understand that. But I do think you saw some fatigue, a little bit like Roushish,
15:58you saw some fatigue in his decision making. So, I would probably have 15, 20 minutes earlier.
16:02Personally, I would have brought Conley on, given him an opportunity to get on the ball.
16:09I think there would have been space for him. Let's see what he can do.
16:12So, to be honest, I wouldn't have done too much differently. I would have brought Miander off,
16:16and I would have brought Roushish off earlier. So, I would have made those changes a little bit
16:19sooner. But yeah, I think that, broadly speaking, Mark, I'm a little bit more sympathetic over the
16:25last few games. I do think that the decisions have made more sense in the context of where
16:32Sunderland squad right now is. The question is, from the evidence earlier in the season,
16:36is are we going to see much change when those options are actually there later in the season?
16:41I don't think we can say that with any certainty. So, we'll have to wait and see on that one.
16:46So, Danny says, would you agree we need another experienced centre-half,
16:49a defensive midfielder and a fox in the box this January to push for a top two spot?
16:54Yeah, personally, I'm not sure that Sunderland need a centre-half. Obviously, we know that
16:58Elisey is an injury issue. I think that he started the season very, very well in central defence.
17:03So, I think that with Ballard, Mepham, O'Neill and Elisey, I think Sunderland are pretty well
17:08stocked in that position. You've also got Leo Yelder to consider as well. I'm pretty comfortable
17:13with Sunderland's centre-half options, personally. I think it's very difficult to recruit a player in
17:18that position because I think they'll be looking at it thinking there's no realistic pathway to
17:22the team, really, for the rest of the season. I certainly agree with you in terms of midfield.
17:27I think, obviously, if Solis Abdul Samad is fit and available, it gives Sunderland real depth.
17:33But we just can't hang our hat on that at the moment, given how long he's had absent.
17:37La Brice actually confirmed it and read the quotes, although you'll have to go back a few
17:40days on the Etco website saying that Sunderland were looking for a midfielder for that exact reason.
17:44So, I definitely think that the club are in agreement with you on that, Danny,
17:48and certainly up front. Although I think Isidore and Mienda are doing brilliantly, which is great
17:52to see. I think we all feel another striker would be really valuable and Sunderland are definitely
17:58looking to do that as well. So, hopefully, Danny, if all comes to fruition, I think, by and large,
18:02you'll be quite pleased. But let's see what happens. Moving on a little bit, Stu says,
18:0711 changes for Stoke. Personally, I think the fact that we don't really rotate between league
18:10games means we have to rest everyone for this one. Plus, I'd really like to see Jones and
18:14Ogunsoori get an opportunity. So, I largely agree with you, Stu. It really winds me up when
18:20teams write off the FA Cup. I love the FA Cup. I think it's an amazing competition.
18:25So many happy memories from following Sunderland in the FA Cup. And I wish teams would make a go
18:31of it. But I kind of agree with you. I think you also have to be pragmatic. I think the situation
18:35that Sunderland is in right now, I think there are a lot of players who have played too many
18:39minutes out of necessity over the festive period and they need a rest. So, I don't think there's
18:43any doubt that Sunderland have to rotate. Will they go as far as to make 11 changes? I think
18:48you've got to be a little bit careful, Stu. I think there's a risk when you put too many young
18:51players in at once and in new partnerships in a new environment. It can sometimes do more harm
18:58than good if they're not able to show what they're made of in the game. I think you've got to get a
19:01little bit of a balance so that the young players that you do put in are given the best chance to
19:05perform because they've got players in a bit of match sharpness and also with a bit of experience
19:09around them. So, I see some fairly significant changes being made for sure. I think Simon
19:14Moore will play in goal. I think there'll definitely be some defensive rotation. I think
19:19Leo Yelder will definitely come in and play. I agree with you. I think Harrison Jones will get
19:24an opportunity in midfield. I think it'll be a really good opportunity to look at him. I'm not
19:28sure whether Ogunseyi will get a start because I think maybe he'll need to give Conley and
19:32Meander some minutes in case he does need them in the league moving forward. I think it's a valuable
19:36opportunity to get some minutes into them from the start of the game. But I definitely think
19:41Ogunseyi is a very obvious option to come off the bench. So, I could definitely see five, six,
19:48seven changes, Stu, 100%. I do think someone would have to be pragmatic about that game.
19:52But I do think it's important that you have a few experienced campaigners in there as well
19:56just to balance it out. I'm looking at, as I say, I think Conley talked about him before,
20:01maybe having a bit of an uncertain future, but I think it's a good chance to have a look at him.
20:05I think maybe someone like Luke O'Neill might play just because we know how robust he is.
20:09There's obviously sort of a few days either side of the game to rest and someone like that could
20:13be really invaluable for the younger players who do play. But I agree, it'd be nice to see those
20:17guys get an opportunity. I certainly think Harrison Jones would definitely be one who's
20:21going to be in contention for a start. So, it'll be great to see how he goes. And there you go,
20:2620 minutes. So, I've done it again. Thanks so much for watching. Really nice to be chatting
20:30about Sunderland winning games with you. And yeah, we'll be back later in the week. In the meantime,
20:35keep your eye out on the Sunderland Deco website because we will have stacks of not just match
20:38content, but absolutely loads of January transfer window content as well. So,
20:41you can follow all the latest on there. Thanks for watching.