Roker Report: FanPosts

Where is the continuity?

2013-05-25T00:50:08Z

Let me just preface this by saying I don't go to any games seeing as how I am Aussie and live on the other side of the world. I have only been supporting the club since Roy Keane was in charge but I love being able to have a team that I can support in the area my family is from.

Is it just me or is the thing Sunderland might be missing is a bit of consistency from season to season? Each season brings with it a new raft of players, a new manager and a new playing style. How are we supposed to build any sort of team culture and consistency when none of the players have been at the club longer than five seasons?

I know that it is a results driven business and I get that being in the premier league is financially so important now. However I don't have any sort of affinity with anyone playing for the club like I do for other sporting codes. I think that mostly it comes down to loyalty, there doesn't seem to be any players that want to buy into Sunderland emotionally, no-one lives and breathes Sunderland like the fans do.

I think the remedy to this is quite simple, pick a group of players/staff that you want to take your club into the future and stick with them through thick and thin. Good players don't lose their talents, they just might go through a dry spell or a lack of confidence so we need to help them through that rather than simply discarding someone for poor form. I think we have taken the right step forward with our managerial structure as far as trying to maintain a semblance of continuity but we need to take it further than that.

The AFL club the Sydney Swans have successfully implemented a disciplined and hard working culture in their players that was only put into place in the seasons under then coach Paul Roos (2002-2010) and now continues through to their current squad. There is nothing to say that as a club Sunderland can't institute a similar ethos amongst their team.

What will Fergie's imminent departure mean for the Premier League?

2013-05-08T12:49:21Z

When I heard, I was in shock. The seemingly unthinkable had occurred. The greatest manager of our age was stepping down from his post as one of the most commanding figures in the modern game. The realization that the usual whispers and murmurings of his impending retirement, that had initially fallen upon upon deaf ears, were not something dreamed up on a fancy, was hard to take. There has not been a day I have lived without Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm of English football's now most successful and famous club; Manchester United, and the days ahead certainly seem shrouded in mist and fog as a result.

As the reverberations of Sir Alex's imminent retirement continue to travel, it is worth considering what impact this has on the Premier League.

This is assuming of course, as indeed I think many are, that we will be one of the 20 teams comprising the best league in the world come August (as a result of our battling point at home to Stoke City on Monday night and Wigan's graciousness to twice throw away a lead at home to an out-of-form Swansea City on Tuesday). If Di Canio can indeed lead us to safety, we will be part of a league where I think there is potential for an exciting battle for the title once again.

Ferguson's retirement poses so many questions; many of which will be answered in the coming days as a replacement is announced. (I have to agree with the bookies that David Moyes is indeed the favourite for the vacancy. His mix of nurturing talent and success on-a-budget make him an attractive proposition for a club with a transfer kitty capable, for instance, of buying Cristiano Ronaldo back from Real Madrid as has been reported.. Certainly the term "a poisoned chalice" comes to mind , when referring to the behemoth of a shadow Sir Alex will leave on his successor, but I think Moyes is the best equipped for the job). Whoever does step into his rather sizable shoes will be expected to get results from the start. Although United were widely considered to have by far the best playing squad in the league (to which their winning the league title back from their "noisy neighbours" Manchester City at a canter has been attributed), it remains to be seen how much of United's recent success is solely down to Ferguson. My personal opinion is rather a lot.

There is a possibility that United could "become an Arsenal" in the next few years. They could go from being the team-to-beat, to settling for a Champions League finish. I realize this does not quite sum Arsenal up either; as in I do not see United becoming a selling club which struggle to finish in the top four, but rather, a drop in quality from The best to simply one of them. This would result in a far more open race for the title, and the top 5 clubs would consider themselves capable of a pop at the Premier League cherry. Would the new manager be given time if this drop in quality were to happen? How much of their transfer kitty will they want to spend with a new manager at the helm? It doesn't matter who the new man is; he has to adhere to the demands of keeping the title away from London and the blue side of Manchester. United will certainly appoint someone with longevity in mind, and their transfer dealings this summer will play a substantial role in the outcome of next season's title (as was proved with Manchester City's lack of marquee signings last summer). Money will need to be spent, and with cash-rich teams like Manchester City ironically realizing that now more than ever, the next few months will certainly be very interesting.

Of course, much of this is pure speculation, and United may continue to succeed at the same rate under their new manager as under Ferguson, but I think an exciting end to next season at both ends of the table is in store. Something akin to last season, when first City then United blew the chance to be champions of England. The Stadium of Light may have turned out to be the place where Ferguson's retirement plans stemmed. The agony he and his club suffered on 13th May 2012, at the hands of their bitterest rivals (accentuated by our own fans - something seemingly not forgotten!) seemingly ignited a fire within him which culminated in this season's almost obliteration of the competition.

Who can blame him, after such a turnaround, to walk away on a high.

I must admit though, an imminently Fergieless footballing landscape leaves a lump in the throat.

As the reverberations of Sir Alex's imminent retirement continue to travel, it is worth considering what impact this has on the Premier League.

Who can blame him, after such a turnaround, to walk away on a high.

I must admit though, an imminently Fergieless footballing landscape leaves a lump in the throat.

Attack is the Only Possible Defence for Sunderland

2013-04-09T12:01:22Z

In Paolo Di Canio's first game as Sunderland manager his team showed a much greater attacking spirit, at least in the first half, than had been the norm this season under Martin O'Neill. Connor Wickham, Stephane Sessegnon, Seb Larsson and Adam Johnson all pressed high up the pitch to win the ball back, and at times did indeed look like the front four of a 4-2-4; a formation Di Canio had discussed using earlier in the week. This strategy paid dividends as Wickham, Sessegnon and Johnson were all rewarded with more chances in one half than we have seen in several months. These chances were, of course, mostly wasted, but that they were created at all is a positive that the team can take forward into less trying fixtures than against the self-proclaimed "Champions of Europe" (they know what they are).

As well as the confidence this might give the team, fans can take confidence that Di Canio appears to be aware that attack is the only way Sunderland are going to avoid relegation this season. In the second half Sunderland sat a lot deeper and invited pressure onto them, much as was the case when Martin O'Neill was in charge, and I imagine many supporters were worried that Di Canio had decided, predictably fruitlessly, to just sit back and defend the lead his team had. However, in his post-match interviews Di Canio stressed that it was a lack of fitness that had made his side unable to keep up their heavy pressing during the second half, and not a defensive tactical approach from the manager.

That attack is the only way Sunderland will survive is shown by the teams around Sunderland in the relegation battle. At the bottom, and almost certainly relegated as they have been for months, Reading and Queens Park Rangers are often bereft of any form of attacking threat. Reading's only consistent threat on goal this season was Adam Le Fondre during his run of goal-scoring appearances off the bench, but that is not a reliable strategy for winning games, as has been shown since his goals dried up. Without Le Fondre scoring, Reading really do look absent any threat on goal at all, so it is not surprise that they are going back down to the Championship.

Queens Park Rangers can boast of a mildly impressive forward line, with Loic Remy, Bobby Zamora, Junior Hoilett and Adel Taraabt all probably worthy of a place in squads not fighting against impending relegation. However, Remy and Zamora have been kept out for much of the season through injury worries (and of course Remy only arrived in January), whereas Hoilett and Taraabt are to inconsistency what Alan Pardew is to smarmy. The bottom two, then, can both point to a lack of goals as the clearest reason why they are going down.

This is shown even more clearly when you examine the other sides in the bottom half of the table. Recent victories for Southampton and Newcastle seem to have assured both sides' Premier League survival, and this is in no small part down to their impressive attacks. Southampton's defence (which still regularly contains disaster zones such as Hooiveld and Fox, and not to mention occasional starts for Kelvin the Clown in goal) is arguably as weak as any currently in the league, yet their forwards are extremely impressive. Pocchetino's recent preferred three of Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Gaston Ramirez is an enviable and flexible group of attackers, and it is they, not the Saints' defence, that seem to have kept them up this season.

Newcastle's attack has, in fairness, been extremely inconsistent this season, with main man Demba Ba departing for pastures Bluer in January and last year's star striker Papiss Cisse struggling for much of the season. However recently with Yohan Cabaye's return to fitness, Moussa Sissoko's arrival and a period of decent goal-scoring form for Cisse the Mags look to have clawed their way out of the Premier League basement, and realistically need only perhaps a win and a few draws until they can plan comfortably for another season in the top flight.

The other teams firmly embroiled in the relegation battle at this stage are Sunderland, Wigan, Aston Villa, Stoke City and Norwich. Out of these five clubs, Aston Villa look to be the team with the best momentum and, unsurprisingly, are also the team with the most impressive attack. In Christian Benteke, Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Wiemann Villa have a group of forwards that wouldn't be out of place at a solidly midtable side. At the moment Villa's form suggests that they will just about manage to survive, and that they can do this with the most consistently inconsistent, naive, error-prone and weak defence in the whole league is a credit to the strength of their forwards.

Norwich are perhaps the complete opposite of Villa. Their primary forward this season has been, like last year, Grant Holt. However unlike last year his goal-scoring has been staggeringly indifferent, if not down-right poor, and January signings of Lucciano Becchio and Kei Kamara have failed to add teeth to Norwich's attack. In contast, their defence has been rock-solid for most of this season, with ex-Black Cat Michael Turner forming a solid partnership with Sebastien Bassong in the centre of defence. Another team that struggles to score goals is Stoke. With the uninspiring forward line up of Peter Crouch, Kenwyne Jones, Cameron Jerome and Jon Walters it is unsurprising that the Potters have failed to win a game since Boxing Day. Wigan's attack appears to be a microcosm of Roberto Martinez's side as a whole; talented but hair-tearingly inconsistent. On form, Arouna Kone, Callum McManaman and Shaun Maloney are a dangerous front three, and if Martinez can get them on song then the Latics stand a reasonable chance of staying up this season.

To survive, then, Di Canio has to coax goals out of Sunderland's attack. On paper, it looks as good as any in the bottom half of the table - Steven Fletcher and Danny Graham are proven Premier League goalscorers, Connor Wickham is a promising talent, Sessegnon should be capable of pitching in with a significant addition as he did last season, and the same could be said for James McClean, Adam Johnson and Seb Larsson. However, the only consistent scorer out of the group, Fletcher, is now out for the season, and the efforts of the remaining attackers have been, frankly, laughable. Martin O'Neill seemed to be trying to build a Sunderland side based around strong defensive foundations, however as shown by Norwich's travails this is perhaps not the right strategy. What Sunderland need to copy now is the free-wheeling attack of sides like Southampton. We can no longer rely on defending ourselves out of trouble with 0-0 draws and narrow 1-0 victories, we need goals, even if they come at a cost of conceding we just have to try and score yet more. Increasingly the bottom of the table is becoming polarised between those teams with a reliable attack, and those without. If we wish to stay up another season, Sunderland have to jump from the latter group to the former.

Nick Holden; @nhldn on Twitter.

Caught in the middle of the Di Canio debate

2013-04-03T09:01:07Z

Over the last few days I’ve read a ridiculous amount of forum posts, articles, tweets and facebook statuses regarding the appointment of Paolo Di Canio. I've not read every article that have been posted, and I've only been able to skim through some of those that I have read. I think it’s been impossible to read every single thing that’s been written. There’s just been far too much.

One benefit of reading all of this, and not posting too much about it myself is that it's given me an opportunity to sit back and try and work out what I actually think about the whole thing. The problem is for all I've had this benefit I've not actually been able to form a proper opinion of the situation.

I must admit that after reading everything I do feel better (Not good, better) about him than I originally did when he was first linked with the job. I believe that he has been misquoted on a fair few of his opinions. Notably what he's said about Mussolini. Having read the full quote I think I've been able to form so sort of understanding as to what he was saying. He doesn't appear to be trying to defend anything that Mussolini did, indeed calling it vile, but more that he did do some good for Italy at the start. That he was a man who allowed his ethics to be corrupted. I'm not saying I agree whatsoever with what he was saying, but I can understand it. That is if I've read it correctly, I don't pretend to be particularly intelligent when it comes to politics, or particularly articulate when it comes to writing down what I'm feeling and thinking. Just hope it comes across.

At the same time there are things I cannot defend. The picture of him giving a salute in a bar surrounded by skin heads I cannot defend. Publicly stating that "I am a fascist" I cannot defend. Part of me believes he needs to come out and clarify his beliefs. Part of me thinks why the hell should he have to. I really don't know.

Getting off politics, I do think, based on what I've read of his management techniques, his footballing philosophy and his attitude to fitness and training, that he will keep us in the premiership. I can't help but feel a little bit excited when I hear him talk about the club and his plans, and I just wish we could have got this side of him without the baggage, because I think he will make a good (If not great) manager. He has one of the main things that stopped Roy Keane becoming a good/great manager, and this is that he learns from his mistakes. Football-wise anyway. The various posts I’ve read from Swansea fans have excited me. His eye for detail and his meticulous preparation for a match are exactly what we need right now, and if nothing else he’ll give the players a good kick up the backside and get them showing some level of fitness that they’ve not exhibited this season. I’d love to know what was going on in Titus Brambles head on Sunday night.

It has genuinely saddened me to see what's happened with some of our fans recently. One of the worst things about this appointment is how it has fragmented the fans. I’ve seen old friends fall out, and well reasoned arguments turn into mindless abuse. I don't blame specific people. Everyone perhaps has to share some of the blame. But I don't fully blame Ellis Short, Margaret Byrne, Di Canio himself, David Milliband, or certain members of the local and national media. Everyone has to take a portion of the blame.

I don’t really know where I stand. Part of me does believe that his personal politics shouldn't be so important in football, then I read a post that convinces me that they should be, then I read another that convinces me they shouldn't, then I read a post that convinces me that none of us actually know what the hell he thinks, then I read one that shows me that, actually, we do. I've been through this process about 10 times over the last 24 hours.

I'm probably somewhere in the middle.

It's tiring.

But one thing I have taken from this is that I am not going to let this ruin any friendships that I have, whether that be "Online friendships" with people I've never met, or friendships with people I've known for years. And I am sure as hell not going to let it stop me from supporting MY club. A club doesn't stop at the manager. It's the players, the fans, the academy team, the young children that aspire to play in red and white, the groundsman, the tea lady and the programme sellers. Sunderland Association Football Club is a community and, for better or for worse, a damn important part of my life and I refuse to let anyone take that away from me.

I'm probably somewhere in the middle.

It's tiring.

Paolo: passion and politics

2013-04-01T23:23:27Z

“Why have Sunderland hired a Nazi manager?!” a non-football following friend asked me on Facebook on Sunday evening.

I, as much as anybody, was surprised by the timing of the dismissal of Martin O’Neill. To say it was a ‘shock,’ however, would be going a bit too far. Performances have been inadequate this season. The team has been terminally devoid of any spark. Most significantly, O’Neill had lost the magic with which his management style had always been associated. His first three months on Wearside were incredible, but the team soon settled down into mediocrity (and that is being generous).

I think most Sunderland fans had probably come to a realisation in recent weeks: this would be O’Neill’s last (only, I suppose would be most accurate) season with the club. Still, few would have expected the axe to fall at this time. Perhaps more significantly, even fewer were actually baying for his head. O’Neill still commands a great deal of respect and admiration amongst the Sunderland supporters. His time at the club, for one reason or another, just didn’t work out.

Whatever people’s views on Ellis Short’s decision to sack O’Neill, and the thought processes that went into making the decision at that time, soon pales into irrelevance. The fact of the matter was that on Saturday night O’Neill was no longer the manager of Sunderland AFC, and the process of finding a new manager was underway.

While the sacking was not a ‘shock,’ I think the appointment of Paolo Di Canio was. The move was either bold or risky, two words which have essentially the same meaning but each with a different emphasis. His only previous job came at Swindon Town (where he achieved significant success in both League One and Two), and he has never managed in the top flight.

He was a controversial figure at Swindon, but every voice I’ve heard come out of that club has said positive things. His management style is unique, but clearly effective. It would be unfair to judge him on the next seven games, when truly anything could happen and he has little scope for change. But Di Canio has promise as a manager. What is for certain is that he will introduce some excitement and entertainment into a club which has become stale and stagnant.

The discussion about his management style, his passion on the sidelines and his relations with players are all important ones. Yet they have been largely (completely?) overlooked.

The problem started with David Miliband’s resignation. On Monday night, John Motson on Radio 5 Live questioned how Miliband would have been able to continue as club vice-president anyway, considering his lucrative and high-profile new charity job in New York, which forced his resignation as MP for South Shields last week.

I am a Labour supporter, and had been an admirer of Miliband. But he seems to have quickly jumped to a conclusion on Di Canio’s political beliefs using only a miniscule and selective cross-section of the available materials. He did so surely only to protect his own back, like a true politician. If anything, this reveals Miliband still has ambitions to return to front-line politics in the UK.

But Miliband has turned out to be the snowdrop which set off the avalanche. Season ticket holders and supporters groups have come out to voice their displeasure. It has been headline news, back-page and front, inspiring radio phone-ins and expert discussions. We have Miliband to thank for setting it all off.

The club’s response on Monday did little to help matters. Yet the club did not really allay the fears of many fans. I get the impression that Sunderland try to do everything by the book, but sometimes that can leave a lot to be desired.

Di Canio is no fool; put him in front of an assembled press and I’m sure he could answer their questions, perhaps in his own unique manner, and dispel any lingering doubts about his fitness to manage Sunderland. The statement which was released by the club, on the other hand, was too rigid and inconclusive.

Nonetheless, Di Canio’s quotes on the matter were admirable; he expressed disappointment that certain things he had said in the past had been taken out of context. During his time at Sunderland he intends to keep politics out of football. It is probably significant that, since the Roman salute incident when playing for Lazio in 2005, Di Canio has not made any statements of politics.

Di Canio’s Roman salute was ill-judged. Nobody is trying to justify it. But when you actually read enough of what Di Canio has said in the past, it soon transpires that many of his views are not fascist at all. Excerpts from interviews and biographies have revealed Di Canio to hold views on race, multi-culturalism and class-conflict which in fact are the antithesis of right-wing belief. He has expressed a ‘fasicnation’ with (note, not support of) Mussolini, but also criticised his ‘vile’ actions and how he compromised his principles.

That is not to say that Di Canio is not a fascist. He has self-identified as a fascist in the past, but significantly not recently. He is certainly far from the ‘Nazi’ which my friend narrow-mindedly called him. When introduced on Monday he expressed his dismay at the media storm-in-a-teacup over his politics. At no point in this process has Di Canio brought up the issue of his beliefs himself; instead he has asserted his wish to concentrate on the football.

Whatever his private political beliefs, he has a right to hold them. He has made some rash choices in the past, which he may or may not regret, but management often makes a man mature. Roy Keane, anybody? Have no doubt, if he cracks out the Roman salute in the technical area he will be sacked instantly, and his chances of another managerial job (in England at least) would be reduced to zero.

And what has been forgotten in the maelstrom is what he has said about affairs on the pitch. He already looks set to shake things up. He is clearly going to inject some passion into the club. And boy is it desperately needed.

“Why have Sunderland hired a Nazi manager?!” a non-football following friend asked me on Facebook on Sunday evening.

The discussion about his management style, his passion on the sidelines and his relations with players are all important ones. Yet they have been largely (completely?) overlooked.

FanPost: Martin O'Neill - A Martyr For The Old School

2013-03-25T16:58:21Z

If you asked your average football fan to draw a list of the most well recognised managers of all time, you'd get the same names that kept cropping up. Ferguson. Shankly. Busby. Brian Clough.

Cloughie is a Sunderland legend and a man which our current gaffer has spent his career trying to emulate both in style and success. For this reason, Martin O'Neill has earned the accolade of being a real 'old-school' manager, and while in some respects this is fantastic given how much his ex-employees tend to look up to him, when results are not going his way you have to wonder if what he learned in the 70's and 80's still applies in modern football.

We've spent the majority of this season playing quite similar formations; 4-4-1-1 and 4-4-2, recently tending to use the latter. 4-4-2 is a very British formation. Four defenders, two centre-mids (one with a bit of flair, the other who knows how to tackle), two fast wingers and two goalscorers. It's very rigid and predictable, but when used correctly; also very effective. If Cattermole was fit he'd be picked ahead of N'Diaye, and with the exception of a centre midfielder with a bit of flair, and of course genuine full backs, we'd be quite comfortable playing 4-4-2.

The problem is it's not working. It hasn't worked all season. It's not just that we're not scoring, it's that we don't even look like scoring. If it wasn't for Gardner smashing penalties in and Fletcher's fine form in the early stages of the campaign we'd have next to no goals, and the introduction of Danny Graham hasn't helped matters at all. This leads me to my next point; O'Neill's transfer policy.

MON came to the club with a stigma; he buys local, and he pays big. His transfers since he joined the club have only supported this, and if you look at the current team selection, with the exception of maybe Sessegnon and N'Diaye, the rest of the team are either from the UK and Ireland, or have played their football here for a prolonged period.

If you were around then, take your mind back to Cloughie's 1980 European Cup final side which featured Martin O'Neill at its centre. A 4-4-1-1 formation with an entire team of domestic players. I'm not claiming to be Sherlock Holmes, as that formation or a variation thereof was pretty bog standard at the time, and domestic players were generally dominant, but its no secret that O'Neill took something from his time at Forest, and has based his team management around that.

30 years later and we're all banging on about 'tiki-taka', which is basically pass and move, only better. Imagine our current side trying to pass the other team off the pitch, it would be comical, but O'Neill's stubbornness to adapt both his playing style and player selection might have cost us gravely this season, and this is the reason why many are pointing the finger at him.

It's an extremely unattractive brand of football based upon firing the ball up to Steven Fletcher who has the choice of either nodding it to Danny Graham who will proceed to mis-control it, or trying to turn it into the path of a winger who will either fail to beat their man or send the resulting cross into the stands. Larsson in centre midfield doesn't help this either, because he's hardly capable of playing defence splitting passes. Nothing against Larsson, I like him, but who else would have thought of sticking one of the best crossers of the ball in the league, in an area of the pitch where he can't cross the ball. The playing style doesn't give us any advantages and our players aren't individually gifted enough to win games on their own. It's a mess.

Surely O'Neill's ideologies benefit the English game though? Buying English players encourages domestic development by rewarding players who came through club academies, as opposed to buying a foreign player for a cheaper amount, even though they may be more talented. The Premier League would also appear to praise O'Neill for this, given their recent implementation of 'Home-Grown' status players, you would assume that what O'Neill is doing is exactly what those sanctions intended.

Our current situation may highlight the flaws in these sanctions. The rich clubs can pay well over the odds for relatively talented home-grown players, who they need in their squad to fill a quota, where less financially gifted clubs like Sunderland are left with the scraps. Ask a mate why we payed £10m for Adam Johnson? I bet he says “because he's british” before “because he's good”. And yes, Johnson is a good player, but a Scandanavian player of Johnson's quality would go for around £4m.

Alfred N'Diaye would be the exception to the rule on O'Neill's part, but even N'Diaye very much fits a 4-4-2. He's basically another Cattermole by the looks of things, apart from his occasional ventures up front which Catts has conditioned himself to resist. I'm not a fan of warranting O'Neill the excuse of inheriting a shit Steve Bruce team either, because he's had 3 transfer windows to sort it out now, and he hasn't even scratched the surface. It's not like Ellis Short is a tight bastard either, because it seems since he came to the club he hasn't stopped throwing cash around, be it on players or investment into club facilities.

I'm not anti-O'Neill at all. I'm the opposite in fact. I like the bloke, I like how he conducts himself in interviews and I love his passion for the game, epitomised in his trademark jump after a goal. But our performances and results this season have been utterly dreadful and therefore O'Neill cannot be defended. If it was Curbishley or Allardyce, or even Bruce who was in charge now, I'd be staked outside his house with a sinister look on my face armed with a bottle of Lucozade and a Pepperami, but O'Neill is a personal favourite of mine and therefore I'm too proud to join in with the boo-boys.

The way things are, Sunderland are headed for the iceberg and O'Neill is too proud to let go of the helm. He wants to do it his way, and he's willing to risk getting us relegated in order to prove his point. I haven't done coaching badges, I don't know if his tactics are outdated or teams have us sussed out, but I hope for our sake that he does know what he's doing because the implications of relegation could be catastrophic not only for club finances, but for our support as well.

You can write your own FanPost like this any time you like, just CLICK HERE. We actively encourage you to do so and the best get promoted to our main page.

If you asked your average football fan to draw a list of the most well recognised managers of all time, you'd get the same names that kept cropping up. Ferguson. Shankly. Busby. Brian Clough.

You can write your own FanPost like this any time you like, just CLICK HERE. We actively encourage you to do so and the best get promoted to our main page.

"You Can't Polish A Turd" - O'Neill Still The Man For The Job

2013-03-18T21:46:18Z

Anyone that follows my twitter account is fully aware that I can be a bipolar little berk at times. There are days where I fully believe O'Neill is the man for the job over the long term and then I have days where I feel that someone else with new ideas would could come in and do a better job of making us a team that finishes consistently in the top ten of this division.

Right now, in the midst of yet another hopeless performance by the players yesterday against a depleted Norwich side, I still feel that O'Neill is the best man for the job. In fact, I'll stand by that statement now regardless of whether we are still in this league next season. I've decided to stop letting anger get the better of my thought process.

Has our quietly spoken Irish gaffer made big mistakes whilst in charge? Yes, there have been many. I'll list them for you if you like.

1. The signings of Kader Mangane, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Wayne Bridge still baffle me. I understand the need to strengthen the squad in the January window but I just see it a waste of club resources when we don't give any of them the chance to prove their worth to the first team whilst here. It ties in with the theory many fans have that O'Neill likes to pick his favourites - a debate for another day, perhaps.

2. What was the point in letting so many squad players leave the club in January, at a time when we already had a small and limited bunch to work with?

Fraizer Campbell is by no means the answer to our attacking woes but at least his pace offered us something different. It could be argued that David Meyler is a far better midfield option than any of the current crop bar Cattermole and N'Diaye - Vaughan, Larsson and Colback have hardly pulled up any trees this season in that position.

Ahmed Elmohammady has gone to Hull City on loan and has shown he's a very adept wing back, another option we currently don't possess. The fact we named such a poor bench last week at QPR would suggest we maybe should have hung on to one or two of them for a while longer.

3. O'Neill's persistence with starting Seb Larsson in central midfield.

We're 30 games into the league season and you can count the number of half decent performances he has had in the middle on a just one hand. He's not incisive enough, rarely takes on his man or makes a defence-splitting pass, which I presume is why he has been persisted with there.

On top of that, his free kicks have gone to pot and he can't beat the first man on a corner. He's become a worse player over the course of this season because he's woefully out of his depth as a central midfielder. What O'Neill sees in him is beyond me.

4. MON's reluctance to introduce substitutes into a game until it is far too late is increasingly frustrating when it's clear that whatever we are trying is not working.

This happens every week. What the hell was Wickham really going to do in five minutes yesterday? Why did McClean not enter the field until 70-odd minutes had passed taking into consideration that Adam Johnson had yet another disappointing game?

Perhaps I have only flirted over a couple of his flaws since arriving at the club, but you catch my drift. Those that I have brought to your attention seem to be the common complaints of the manager from our fans, anyhow.

The point, however, is this. He's not alone. All managers make poor decisions. It's part of the job. I myself coach a youth football team and sometimes question my decision making in hindsight. It's only natural that we acknowledge that we've made an error. We're only human after all.

His track record stands before him. He's got a proven record of success at almost every club he's ever managed. He's convinced that Sunderland are a top six club in the making. He's aware that we have not got the talent in the side. That, my friends, is the most important factor in all of this.

Our manager has publicly recognised that his team are simply not good enough.

Factor in that this coming summer is his greatest opportunity to put his own mark on building a potent and resilient squad, we'd be fools to not let such an esteemed manager take us forward.

It's completely astounding that people would rather pass this up and bring in yet another short term fix, another manager who will still have the likes of Bramble, Kilgallon, Larsson, Vaughan, Colback and Bardsley to shift off the wage bill in the summer. It doesn't matter who is in charge, they still have to work with the same squad of players that O'Neill has to.

Of course, we must not ignore the current predicament. We are in danger of yet another relegation from the top flight to the graveyard that is the Championship. It's nowhere near as easy to climb back out of that division as it was when Roy Keane dragged us to the top of the table in 2007, so it is massively vital that we do absolutely everything to stay up this season.

We have to cross our fingers and hope that we can come through the dreadful fixtures we have left with our Premier League status intact. We have to hope that this sorry bunch of no-hopers we currently employ at the club to represent our team have enough to see us through until the end of the season. Their distinct lack of character needs to improve very quickly before we find ourselves lost without hope.

There's only so much the manager can do. You'd be a fool to think our current situation doesn't hurt him as much as it does the Sunderland fans.

Gavin Henderson

Follow me on twitter - @GavinSAFC

Has our quietly spoken Irish gaffer made big mistakes whilst in charge? Yes, there have been many. I'll list them for you if you like.

2. What was the point in letting so many squad players leave the club in January, at a time when we already had a small and limited bunch to work with?

3. O'Neill's persistence with starting Seb Larsson in central midfield.

4. MON's reluctance to introduce substitutes into a game until it is far too late is increasingly frustrating when it's clear that whatever we are trying is not working.

Our manager has publicly recognised that his team are simply not good enough.

Factor in that this coming summer is his greatest opportunity to put his own mark on building a potent and resilient squad, we'd be fools to not let such an esteemed manager take us forward.

There's only so much the manager can do. You'd be a fool to think our current situation doesn't hurt him as much as it does the Sunderland fans.

Gavin Henderson

Follow me on twitter - @GavinSAFC

The View from Oz 2 - Go down swinging or go down.

2013-03-18T11:45:24Z

Hi Sunder-lads

It has been a while since I posted my first 'View from Oz', and a lot has changed about Sunderland. We have brought in the likes of Alfred N'Diaye who I highly rate, and Danny Graham who I don't, and seen the likes of Saha and Campbell leave. Some things have stayed the same, though, with Wes Brown still injured, Titus Bramble still a bad defender, Cattermole still a liability to us and MON still unwilling to change things.

Now, lets be honest here. Sunderland very well could go down. But, on paper, we have a squad that shouldn't be. So what should we change? Here I will post what I think we need to do in order to be playing in the EPL, and importantly to me, stay on Fox Sports Australia, next year.

GOALKEEPING:

Basically just keep Simon fit and healthy. He is amazing.

DEFENCE:

This is the source of our problems. John O'Shea is past it, as is Carlos Cuellar, and the only purpose Titus Bramble serves is to have a laugh. Danny Rose is a must at the left, and I think Craig Gardner is contributing well enough at the back to stay at right back. In the centre it seems O'Shea and Cuellar are the go, but i'd love to see Kadar Mangane given a crack; it isn't like he can do much worse

MIDFIELD:

A real source of head scratching. In my eyes, are 5 best midfielders, in order, are Sessegnon, Larsson, Johnson, N'Diaye and McClean; The issue here is that 4 of these are wingers. This season Johnson has toiled from wing to wing, and though he might like it on the right, he must be on the left because, quite simply, he cannot cross. In my eyes, Larsson should be on the right. Though he has played in the centre with decent results, last season Seb was an absolute boss on the right. Though Johnson wants to play there, he isn't up to it, and Sessegnon is too good in the centre to use out wide. I doubt Seb would get a chance at RM, but I think his crossing and skill is better suited out there. In the centre Alfred is a must because he is imposing, and lets be honest, he is better than the likes of vaughan and cattermole. To partner Alfred in the centre I would use Vaughan out of necessity because, quite frankly, Cattermole is past it, McClean can't play central midfield and sessegnon would be my centre forward. Though this may be a risky central midfield, I would rather us go down swinging then going down doing the same thing each week.

FORWARD:

Fletcher needs to be there. Simple. He has been a shining light this season. If we were to play 4-4-2, my partner would be Connor Wickham because, quite frankly, Danny Graham has been a James McFadden, but with more game time to waste. The young lad is big and imposing too.

MY TEAM:

So, here is the squad I would use to keep Sunderland in the premier league

Mignolet

Gardner - Mangane - O'Shea - Rose

Larsson - Vaughan - N'Diaye - Johnson

Sessegnon

Fletcher

It's risky, but isn't staying in the worlds most prestigious league worth it?

Hi Sunder-lads

GOALKEEPING:

Basically just keep Simon fit and healthy. He is amazing.

DEFENCE:

MIDFIELD:

FORWARD:

MY TEAM:

So, here is the squad I would use to keep Sunderland in the premier league

Mignolet

Gardner - Mangane - O'Shea - Rose

Larsson - Vaughan - N'Diaye - Johnson

Sessegnon

Fletcher

It's risky, but isn't staying in the worlds most prestigious league worth it?

Poll

Will We Stay Up?

Connection Section - Norwich City and Sunderland.

2013-03-14T14:59:14Z

It may come as a surprise to some that there are more links between Sunderland AFC and Norwich City FC than you think. You only have to look at the current coaching staff at Sunderland for further evidence of this.

Martin O’Neill is no stranger the dugout areas of both clubs. After five very successful years at Wycombe Wanderers, MON (who back then was still a spring chicken in management terms) left his post with the Chairboys to take up a position at Norwich, becoming their gaffer in June 1995. If MON was ever going to erase a period of his managerial career from the record books it would probably be his time at Carrow Road – he left in December of the same year having fell out with the chairman over the potential signing of Dean Windass from Hull City.

It was at Norwich that O’Neill became friends with Steve Walford - a defender hailing from Highgate, North London – and they have remained close allies to this day. Walford spent three years at Carrow Road as a player and has remained at MON’s side throughout his management career. Walford is currently the first team coach at Sunderland and can be seen delivering his instructions from the touchline alongside the Northern Irishman, usually sporting a fetching pair of three-quarter length trousers.

Oooh I say.

Whilst we are on the subject of managers and backroom staff, it is a good opportunity to mention another link between the two sides that still remains within football. Alan Durban, who managed Sunderland for three years during the early 1980s, is currently a scout for Norwich and still gets up and down the country watching games for the Canaries with his 72nd birthday approaching. A little known fact for you all – it was Alan Durban that introduced Sky Sports presenter David Jones to Sunderland AFC and Jones has remained a fan of the club ever since his youth, despite hailing from Stokesley (I know this as a fact as Jones told me on twitter once. FWEND, TWITTER FWEND).

When Sunderland faced off with the Norfolk side in the 1985 football league cup final, former black cats’ manager Steve Bruce was named man of the match as the Canaries went on to break the hearts of thousands of Mackems nationwide, with a Gordon Chisholm own goal the only strike between the sides as Norwich won the tie 1-0. At the heart of everything that day, Bruce went on to spend another two years with the club before moving on to Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, where he became a club legend. Bruce, now in charge of Championship side Hull City, was Sunderland manager from the summer of 2009 right up until he was sacked in November 2011.

One of Bruce’s first signings when he joined Sunderland was Hull City defender Michael Turner, who now plies his trade at Carrow Road. Turner, a no-nonsense centre half, left Sunderland to the surprise of many in the summer to join up with Chris Hughton’s side and has endured a stop/start period at the club since arriving. He’s expected to start the game on Sunday.

Another of Bruce’s signings when at Sunderland has history with the yellows. Titus Bramble, who still somehow manages to get on the pitch every week under Martin O’Neill, played a number of games for Norwich as a schoolboy before signing on for local rivals Ipswich Town, where he spent a number of years at the beginning of his career.

Just like Bramble, a number of players that have come through both doors have unsuccessfully trialled at both clubs too. Michael Bridges spent a week at the Colney training centre upon his release from Hull City in 2009 but was not able to impress then manager Bryan Gunn enough to win a contract. Craig Russell and Nicky Summerbee traded places when Sunderland swapped Russell + £1,000,000 for the son of Mike in 1997 with Manchester City – and both players have spent time on trial with the Canaries at some point during their playing careers. Russell is currently a masseur at Sunderland.

Jamie Cureton has had two spells with Norwich during his career and it was in the summer of 2004 that Mick McCarthy took the striker on trial after his release from Korean club Busan I’Park, where he had a disappointing spell, failing to settle at the East Asian club – alas, he didn’t do enough to impress McCarthy and instead signed for Queens Park Rangers.

After appearing in the feature length movie “One Night In Stevie”, the Sunderland careers of both Ben Alnwick and Chris Brown curtailed somewhat and they found themselves out of the door fairly rapidly having suffered the wrath of Roy Keane. Brown left his native Wearside to join up with Norwich in 2007 and had a terrible period there before leaving a year later to sign up for Preston North End.

Alnwick’s career has similarly gone down the pan since leaving Sunderland, despite showing so much promise as a young goalkeeper. It would be only fair to credit him with some brilliant performances towards the end of the 04/05 season to ensure Sunderland secured promotion to the Premier League. He was edged out of the number one jersey by Kelvin Davis in the following season and barely played another game before leaving under a cloud to join Tottenham Hotspur in 2007. He went on to have a number of sporadic loan moves around the country and found himself at Norwich in 2009, where his loan spell was cut short to three games after suffering a hip injury which sent him back to White Hart Lane rather frustratingly.

Kevin Cooper. Now there is a name that rolls straight off the tongue when reminiscing some of the greatest ever loan signings to have been made by Sunderland AFC. When Cooper arrived on loan at Sunderland from Wolverhampton Wanderers in early 2004 the footballing world stood still. Cooper went on to make a momentous impact on Wearside in his one appearance as a substitute before departing back to the midlands club. Women cried, children screamed, Blokes wore “I love you Kevin” T shirts and a minutes silence was held when he left the club; his contribution shall never be forgotten.

He eventually roc ked up a few weeks later at Norwich, again as a loanee, where his spell was slightly more successful, claiming a league winner’s medal as the Canaries went on to win promotion to the Premier League in 2004 – Sunderland, alternatively, were defeated by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals of the play offs that season. Who knows what might have happened if Kevin Cooper had spent the rest of the season on Wearside as opposed to Norfolk? We’d probably be world champions right now.

When Sunderland manager Niall Quinn signed backup goalkeeper Darren Ward from Norwich in August 2006, very few of us would have expected him to have played such a huge part in that season as we went on to win the league, but he did. Ward was brought in as experienced cover for Ben Alnwick but dislodged the youngster from the number one position in October of that year and never looked back, staking his claim as the best goalkeeper in the squad as we stormed to the top of the table under new boss Roy Keane. Ward kept numerous clean sheets and was one of the top performers for the side throughout the season, making a particularly class save in the home draw with Southampton in November 2006. George Burley, then the Saints boss, described the save as something “Gordon Banks would have produced”.

Ward eventually lost his place in the side when Craig Gordon was signed from Hearts and he saw out the remainder of his career with the club before retiring in 2009.

Another famous name to have been traded between the two clubs is Gary Rowell. I don’t really have to explain to you what Rowell did at Sunderland AFC but his time at Carrow Road was slightly less notable. Rowell was sold on to the Canaries in 1984 by then manager Len Ashurst, where he spent just a season before moving back up north to Middlesbrough FC the following season.

One of Rowell’s Sunderland team mates soon followed him out of the door to Norwich in 1986 when fan’s favourite Shaun Elliott moved south to join up with the Yellows. Elliott, a former Sunderland captain, led his side all the way to that Milk cup final in 1985 before missing out on the last game through suspension – some might say him not being included that day was a contributing factor in the Mackems not winning the trophy.

Like Rowell, Elliott didn’t last long at Norwich before he was moved along to Blackpool FC in 1988, where he spent two seasons as a first choice defender. In what is probably his most noteworthy achievement in his career, Elliott was named the 19th best defender to ever have hailed from the North by the Sunday Sun in 2011. Well done Shaun.

Another of the players that were part of the side that went on to play Norwich in the cup final of 1985 also played for both during his career. David Hodgson, best known for his time at Middlesbrough, Liverpool and as manager of Darlington FC, was signed in 1984 by the Mackems in a bid to bring more goals to the side but his spell here was a disappointing one and he was moved on to Norwich two seasons later in 1986, where he enjoyed a similarly poor spell.

Hold on…. Lee Power. Now there’s a player. He made three appearances on loan from Norwich in 1993. Despite his name having superb potential headlines-wise, his talent was not fully appreciated and he was sent back to his parent club where he became a bit-part squad player until leaving a few seasons later.

There have been many other names to have crossed into both territories – Calum Davenport. Stephen Elliott. David Healy. Carl Robinson. Chris Woods. None, however, could have pole-vaulted across from Norwich to Sunderland quite like Dickson “Big Dick” Etuhu did.

Etuhu, a six foot odd mountain of a man, was signed by Roy Keane in 2007 in a bid to bring power to the heart of the Sunderland midfield. Despite offering some promise, Etuhu couldn’t hold down a place in the side and was sold the following summer to Fulham, where he reached a career high and played in a UEFA Cup Final for the Cottagers in 2010.

Gavin Henderson

Follow me on twitter - @GavinSAFC

Oooh I say.

Ward eventually lost his place in the side when Craig Gordon was signed from Hearts and he saw out the remainder of his career with the club before retiring in 2009.

Gavin Henderson

Follow me on twitter - @GavinSAFC

FanPost: Kader Mangane - The Early View & His Starting Chances

2013-03-13T09:39:31Z

Upon hearing that a number of first team fringe players would be taking part in the U21's Wear-Tees derby on Monday night, I was buoyed that I'd have another opportunity to see what January signing Kader Mangane was all about.

I first saw him play two weeks ago for the second string in their home league game against Everton U21s and I thought throughout the game that he was solid, yet unspectacular. Overall, his performance was something you'd expect from a footballer who hadn't kicked a ball in a competitive game in so long (even longer if you discount the fact he's been playing in a Middle Eastern pub league).

Being an absolute monster, Mangane was always going to dominate the aerial duels against a forward that can't have been much taller than 5"9. It was in possession, though, that he most intrigued me. He seems to prefer to carry the ball out of defence, rather than hoof it to the strikers, which many would suggest is what we need in the first team, having endured Bramble and O'Shea aimlessly hoofing the ball forward for most of the season. His passing was not quite there but the idea that he likes to play a bit pleased me, as I feel it is the main issue we need to address with our centre halves this season. They all seem to have no idea how to pass forwards out of defence, especially when it makes more sense to keep the ball after spells of pressure from the opposition.

He's also a threat from set pieces, another area I don't feel we exploit properly. The majority of the corners played into the box are shite anyways but the ones that do make it into the area are not attacked well enough and the result is that we haven't scored a header from a corner in what feels like forever. Perhaps six foot and seven inches of pure Senegalese meat can go some way to helping us improve that part of our gameplan, but I'm not sure we'll ever find out. He had one or two incidents where he outpaced an opposition forward, and he seems to cover ground fairly easily for a defender.

It's important to remember that Mangane spent a large chunk of his career as a defensive midfielder, so him wanting to pass the ball and carry it out of defence should not come as a huge surprise.

He doesn't go without fault, though. During the Everton game he was easily sidestepped for their first goal and like I mentioned before, his passing was a little wasteful, even though he was trying to be ambitious and carry it out of defence to aid any potential attacking move.

Overall, his performance in the Everton game was pleasing. He looked everything that I thought he would - powerful, good in the air, and dominating in his area. He didn't look massively better than Harrison, his partner in the defence, but he showed enough to suggest that he might be of use with some big games to come before the end of the season.

Against Middlesbrough on Monday, his performance went down in a similar fashion. He was up against Curtis Main who never won a single header against the Senegalese international but had the pace and power to run the channels later in the game, which was ultimately the responsibility of the full backs.

He seemed incredibly wasteful at times with his passing, however. Again he showed he likes to venture forward with the ball, but I don't think many of his passes found a Sunderland player. Despite that, it's pleasing to see him trying something different to the rest of the first team defenders who ultimately prefer to remove all responsibility when in possession of the ball and hoof it forward. At least Mangane seems to have the confidence to play it out from the back, something which can take a lot of pressure away from the midfield when moving up the pitch.

He showed he has the legs to cover a lot of ground again, frequently going forward and tracking back quickly and efficiently. He liked to join in the attacks and move into the box to offer an outlet for the wingers to hit with their crosses and when we lost the ball he was back in position to deal with the counter attacks. He's no Usain Bolt but he is certainly not slow.

However the difference between rating his performance as 'good' and 'poor' was his sloppy passing in the first half. It's something he'll have to work on, clearly.

Overall, I wouldn't be pulling up any trees to put him straight into the first team but there are signs that he can offer something completely different to what Titus Bramble can. He has all the presence and power that Titus does but he prefers to use the ball, pass it and do his fair share when attacking, something our defence definitely lacks. I have no doubt that a fully fit Mangane can be very useful, but with only nine games of the season left I severely doubt we will ever see him play, especially with Cuellar back fit and Bramble unmovable. As of writing we have not seen him even leave the bench to take part in a game and it wouldn't be harsh to suggest that O'Neill doesn't feel he's ready to play, which disappoints me having been so enthused by his signing in January.

Gavin Henderson

Follow me on Twitter - @GavinSAFC

It's important to remember that Mangane spent a large chunk of his career as a defensive midfielder, so him wanting to pass the ball and carry it out of defence should not come as a huge surprise.

However the difference between rating his performance as 'good' and 'poor' was his sloppy passing in the first half. It's something he'll have to work on, clearly.

Gavin Henderson

Follow me on Twitter - @GavinSAFC

Martin O'Neill. Attacking Football or GTFO!

2013-03-10T13:59:56Z

Warrick Hunt here.

So I'll just jump straight to the point. Mr O'Neill has been the problem for a while now. Our problems started on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 at about 8pm. Sunderland 0-2 Everton. This was the start of our downhill spiral. That bastard, Jelavic. Let's take a look at our problems:

An AWFUL defense...

When you play Titus Bramble in defense, it's either going to be really, really good, or really, really bad. Lately, however, it's been a lot more bad. Since his last minute block to stop Danny Graham scoring (we'll get to him later) he's done nothing but make mistakes. Not half as bad as his defensive partner, John O'Hoof, who has been making mistakes ALL SEASON LONG. Count how many goals we've conceded that have been town to O'Shea. Why haven't we seen Mangane yet? If it's because he's unfit, why is he here? Why are we paying him 70k a week if he isn't going to play? Now to the full backs. Rose is amazing but the rest of them are not up to scratch. Gardner isn't a right back, but he isn't a center midfielder either. How he's bagged 7 this season is beyond me. Jack Passback isn't a footballer, as far as I can see. Phil Bardsley is like "I'll huff and puff but I'm still shite". Who else is there? I'd take Mr Mohamady at right back over the two fools there now.

No support...

There is no support to go to the forwards. Johnson can't cross a ball, so this means he has to cut inside. Any full back who does their homework realizes that Johnson NEEDS to cut in. This effectively means that Johnson can't beat his man, rendering him useless. Now we move to James McClean. Even without him saying he likes songs, calling Ireland shite and refusing to wear flowers on his shirt, he is another useless player. Last season, he would knock and run. Just bomb down the wing, whip a ball in, then take credit for his good performance. This season, he's been tampered with. A combination of Steve Guppy and Opposition full backs has stopped him from being the force he was last season. He's either a headless chicken losing the ball or a winger stuck in no mans land passing it behind to Colback (who can't pass a ball forward).

...but even if there was support, we've very little of an end product.

Before January, we had Fletcher, Saha, Campbell, Wickham, Ji, McFadden (HE WAS HERE!) and Sessegnon (he can play there) upfront. Now we've got Fletcher, Graham and Sessegnon. Let's look at our upfront options. Fletcher has banged in a lot of goals this season (I think he's up to 11 now) but he just doesn't get into enough goal scoring opportunities enough. Lets face it, if you put Steven Fletcher in a goal scoring opportunity, he will score 9 times out of 10. The problem is, he's always drifting out to the wings. I personally think O'Neill instructs him to do this. The other half of our strike force (unless we count Mandron and Noble) is Danny Graham. Now one thing people said after the boos when he came on for Swansea was "They won't boo him if he scores goals". Fair enough. One problem. HE DOESN'T SCORE GOALS! He doesn't shoot. I'm not actually sure that in his 4 games for the club that he has touched the ball yet. It's bad enough that he's a Newcastle fan (like we needed another piss take from the mags) but the fact that we've gotten rid of 5 strikers in January makes it even worse.

Nothing spectacular in the center of midfield...

We've already discussed Gardner and Colback. We know they are useless. Let's move on. David Vaughan. If he would ever win an award, it would be for the most useless substitute... ever. The only reason I don't mind him is because of THAT GOAL. The goal that gave us hope. But yeah, useless. Lee Cattermole. What a player he is, but he is a liability. On the pitch, he is fantastic. But aside from all those performances he is either injured or getting sent off. Now is the part when you say "he's cleaned his act up". How many times have we said that. We say he has cleaned his act up and then he gets sent off against the mags. We say the same, he gets sent off against MK Dons. Then he comes back like a knight in shining armor with all these great performances and gets injured. He comes back and gets booked within a minute against Arsenal and has to be subbed at half time. I'll leave this one for you to decide. Alfred N'Diaye. He came on, he made all these runs, he nearly scores with his first touch, he's the next Yaya Toure. Then he plays against Wigan. He runs, he sets up, then he tires at 60 minutes. Now he's been forced by Martin O'Neill to be a brick wall in the defensive midfield role. No runs. No assists. No goals. It's as if Martin O'Neill got a new toy for Christmas and broke it one of the first times he played with it. Only time will tell with Alfie. Last but not least. In fact, last and least, Seb Larsson. The only thing he seems to add to the team is free kicks. But it's actually been over a year since he scored one (Peterborough, FA Cup 3rd Rd) and think of the players who can strike a free kick. Craig Gardner, Adam Johnson, Phil Bardsley, James McClean and others. The rest of Seb Larsson is just run, run and lose the ball. Why again did we sell Meyler?

Stephane Sessegnon and his non existent end product...

We all love him, but why? Are we all blinded by his success last season? Or are we blinded by his little flicks and twirls that make him look good? The point is, apart from a few flashes, he has done nothing for us this season. Lets look at his goals:

1. Fulham (A). OK, it was a wonder strike and probably should have been goal of the month but it wasn't. It's one of them goals where it was good, but if RVP or Rooney had scored it, we'd still be talking about it now.

2. West Brom (H). It was an open goal. My missus could have scored that! (If she existed...)

3. Reading (H). It was decent. Reminiscent of Ji Dong-Won's late winner against City last year.

4. West Brom (A). So after 10 games of nothing, a deflection from Jonas Olsson got him a goal. Nothing spectacular.

5. Fulham (H). After Adam Johnson's... whatever it was, Sess provided a neat finish into the bottom left corner.

FIVE goals. FIVE! Hardly spectacular from the... whatever he is. If we lost him, I actually wouldn't really be fussed. But, among all the criticism, I will say one thing. EVERY goal we score, one way or another, comes from him.

Martin O'Neill and his non existent attacking style of play...

The climax of our article comes here. Mr O'Neill. Why oh why do you not play for the win. The games we should have won but haven't are ridiculous.

1. Swansea (A). We were in front TWICE. They had TEN men. And the last ten minutes was them charging forward, going for the win. Was one, could have been three.

2. Liverpool (H). One nil up. Park the bus. Suarez scores. Liverpool all over us but 11 men in the box saves our blushes.

3. West Ham (A). One nil up. Park the bus. Nolan scores at the end. Should have won.

4. Everton (A). One nil up. Park the bus. The 70s proves to be our collapse as Everton score 2 and get the victory.

5. Tottenham (H). One nil up. Park the bus. 5 minutes into 2nd half and they are in the lead. Should have gotten more.

I think I have sussed O'Neill out. If we play a good team, we will rely on an early goal. If the early goal doesn't come, push everybody back, take the battering and hope to God, Allah, Buddha, Moses and every other religious person that we get a point. If the early goal does come, push everyone back and hope for the win. If we play a bad/our level team, same procedure, except we don't stop till the goal comes. But 1-0 is not a sturdy enough lead. If we are settling for 17th and above this season, we need to aim for bigger things.

I'm Warrick Hunt. Leave your thoughts below.