The best/least worst option going forward would be to tighten things up with a defensive 4 2 3 1 but our recruitment (or lack there of) has burnt that bridge entirely. We don't have the defensive full backs, new competent CB's or defesive midfielder's to play alongside Dobson to pull it off. On top of that our marquee signing is a midget who was specifically signed to play in a pair up top. The management and owners should be hanging their heads in shame.
It took Methven until the end of October to sack the manager in Sunderland’s relegation season. The only thing the football side of this club is good at is making the same mistakes. So he’ll be gone then, which may be too late.
Not sure that is correct. Sunderland were never relegated under the Donald and Methvan ownership.
The best/least worst option going forward would be to tighten things up with a defensive 4 2 3 1 but our recruitment (or lack there of) has burnt that bridge entirely. We don't have the defensive full backs, new competent CB's or defesive midfielder's to play alongside Dobson to pull it off. On top of that our marquee signing is a midget who was specifically signed to play in a pair up top. The management and owners should be hanging their heads in shame.
We've literally signed the most in-demand free agent DM in League One? (And hardly played him)
The shape and setup we switch to, in hope of getting back into a game / making something stick, always ends up producing better moments than what we’ve planned and worked on! 🚩
Im conflicted. We have some fans saying he has a decent squad and we should have won most of the games so far therefore Holden out, and others are saying the squad is too small and injury ridden for anyone to get a tune out of so we are stuck.
Bowyer managed to get a promotion winning side from a squad that looked like relegation strugglers in August 2018, so it's possible to do better I think. LB had advantages that season that Holden hasn't got (maybe disadvantages too?), so it's not an apples to apples comparison. So yeah..... I don't know what to think.
My perspective is that it’s not a great squad (it’s very unbalanced for a start) but he should be doing better than relegation form with it. Mediocre squad and poorly performing manager is a bad combination, but it’s easier to change the latter part of that combination than the former.
For me we’re three players off having a decent-to-good squad:
A dominant/commanding, organising centre half.
A box to box, inspirational/captain type midfielder.
A target man who can hold the ball up.
But we need a backroom team who’d know what to do with them.
McGrandles has also performed the role with distinction elsewhere. I'm convinced we're somehow way worse than the sum of our parts, and I don't quite understand it
It took Methven until the end of October to sack the manager in Sunderland’s relegation season. The only thing the football side of this club is good at is making the same mistakes. So he’ll be gone then, which may be too late.
Different role at Sunderland, It’s not in Charlie’s gift to fire Holden, he does not have the authority.
The shape and setup we switch to, in hope of getting back into a game / making something stick, always ends up producing better moments than what we’ve planned and worked on! 🚩
Playing CBT as a wing back should be a sackable offence and written into any future managers contracts
We played well in the first 2 games with Terrel Thomas at LCB/LB behind Blackett-Taylor playing as a wing back/winger. Why did we change that for the next 3 games?
Isted Jones Hector Thomas Dabo Camara Dobson CBT Chem Leaburn May
Once we have a striker hopefully Holden goes back to his original plan. The back 3 is still a huge concern but I like the look of this team. Could even see it on Saturday if we get a good striker in this week
As it stands, I'd argue fairly strongly that while recruitment hasn't quite been what it could have been, a combination of us driving players to injury and Holden's poor in-game management and a lack of organisation is what's really fucking us right now. There's a big question mark over the owners, but they're not the ones who are making this bunch of really pretty good (in theory) League One players look like a rabble
It took Methven until the end of October to sack the manager in Sunderland’s relegation season. The only thing the football side of this club is good at is making the same mistakes. So he’ll be gone then, which may be too late.
Different role at Sunderland, It’s not in Charlie’s gift to fire Holden, he does not have the authority.
It took Methven until the end of October to sack the manager in Sunderland’s relegation season. The only thing the football side of this club is good at is making the same mistakes. So he’ll be gone then, which may be too late.
Methven wasn’t at Sunderland in their relegation season. He and Donald took over after the relegation
The best/least worst option going forward would be to tighten things up with a defensive 4 2 3 1 but our recruitment (or lack there of) has burnt that bridge entirely. We don't have the defensive full backs, new competent CB's or defesive midfielder's to play alongside Dobson to pull it off. On top of that our marquee signing is a midget who was specifically signed to play in a pair up top. The management and owners should be hanging their heads in shame.
I’m not seeing why Edun wouldn’t be comfortable in a back four? Taylor’s also a DM as others have said. I can see us playing 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 more often as a back 3 just doesn’t seem to work for the players we have. With 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 May is really the only player not suited to either of those formations.
It took Methven until the end of October to sack the manager in Sunderland’s relegation season. The only thing the football side of this club is good at is making the same mistakes. So he’ll be gone then, which may be too late.
Different role at Sunderland, It’s not in Charlie’s gift to fire Holden, he does not have the authority.
How would you inow that?
He’s a minority investor, and by his own admission is not involved in the day to day running of the club, merely the conduit between the majority investors and the SMT. No doubt he will have an opinion and a vote if that’s how it will go for DH, but he does not have the authority to remove Holden on his own, ie, he could not roll up at SL Tuesday morning and sack him on a whim himself.
We’ve been playing these formations 433 and 4231 352 for the last 3 seasons and got nowhere. How many seasons are we going to keep playing this crap. CBT will never be able to play wing back.his a winger. The team has no balance.
Then the manager leaves 1 player at back to throw away the last 2 matches. What’s plan next week send goalie up for set pieces as well.
Oxford played 442 system yesterday and looked like they had more players on pitch than us. There too now would have been a good point but no we chuck it away because we think we should beat everyone in this league.
Why are we obsessed with these formations last 3 seasons it hasn’t worked and we haven’t got any wing backs or full backs to play the bloody system anyway
Im conflicted. We have some fans saying he has a decent squad and we should have won most of the games so far therefore Holden out, and others are saying the squad is too small and injury ridden for anyone to get a tune out of so we are stuck.
Bowyer managed to get a promotion winning side from a squad that looked like relegation strugglers in August 2018, so it's possible to do better I think. LB had advantages that season that Holden hasn't got (maybe disadvantages too?), so it's not an apples to apples comparison. So yeah..... I don't know what to think.
My perspective is that it’s not a great squad (it’s very unbalanced for a start) but he should be doing better than relegation form with it. Mediocre squad and poorly performing manager is a bad combination, but it’s easier to change the latter part of that combination than the former.
For me we’re three players off having a decent-to-good squad:
A dominant/commanding, organising centre half.
A box to box, inspirational/captain type midfielder.
A target man who can hold the ball up.
But we need a backroom team who’d know what to do with them.
So the spine of the team then? I’d add a commanding goalkeeper to the list just to be sure.
Comments
We can't keep doing it.
We've got to find a manager that can withstand the slump and be brave enough to stick with him through it.
But we need a backroom team who’d know what to do with them.
either way it is his tactics that have been poor this season.
Jones Hector Thomas
Dabo Camara Dobson CBT
Chem
Leaburn May
Once we have a striker hopefully Holden goes back to his original plan. The back 3 is still a huge concern but I like the look of this team. Could even see it on Saturday if we get a good striker in this week
Isted
Dabo(!) Hector Jones Edun
Mcgrandles Dobbo Taylor
Campbell May. CBT
No doubt he will have an opinion and a vote if that’s how it will go for DH, but he does not have the authority to remove Holden on his own, ie, he could not roll up at SL Tuesday morning and sack him on a whim himself.