Sunderland 0-2 Bolton - FA Cup Replay

wanderlust wrote:

That team includes Knight, Alonso and Mears at the back. Are you now saying that they are first choice and that Freedman should stick with them?

I wouldn't pick Mears, but I'd pick everyone else who played last night.

By all accounts last night was our best performance of the season...why would anyone want to revert back to the shite that occured last Saturday?

Natasha Whittam wrote:

wanderlust wrote:

That team includes Knight, Alonso and Mears at the back. Are you now saying that they are first choice and that Freedman should stick with them?

I wouldn't pick Mears, but I'd pick everyone else who played last night.

By all accounts last night was our best performance of the season...why would anyone want to revert back to the shite that occured last Saturday?

I'm puzzled. It was our best defensive performance IMO, but going forward we did nothing in the first half and scraped it with the help of some shit Mackem defending in the second. I think the question is did our midfield line up help the defensive effort but took something away from our attacking effort - hence the other thread - because if we know that, we'll know what if anything could be changed for the better.

I think it's nice to see younger lads like Vela and Odelusi absolutely delighted to be involved.

Some of the younger lads are "buzzing" just to be getting a place on the bench.

Ok, they might not be up to top standard yet but it's nice to see players desperate to play for the club for a change, i think thats what Freedman says when he means "hungry."

I can't see why DF would consider changing anybody from the team last night for the game on saturday, unless they have picked up a knock then that same 11 that started last night should play against Palace IMO.

If Pratley is dropped again for Andrews i'll be pissed off to be honest, he has really started to find his feet under Dougie and plays the attacking midfielder role well.

aaron_bwfc wrote:I can't see why DF would consider changing anybody from the team last night for the game on saturday, unless they have picked up a knock then that same 11 that started last night should play against Palace IMO.

If Pratley is dropped again for Andrews i'll be pissed off to be honest, he has really started to find his feet under Dougie and plays the attacking midfielder role well.

Aaron - I thought Pratley was playing more defensive mid as he used to do for Swansea - he let Vela and Spearing push on a bit more last night by all accounts. TBF he does have box-to-box tendencies, but I think his main contribution has been in anchoring the midfield which is what we desperately need and why his performances/contribution have improved recently. I would also be gutted if Andrews is brought back - he doesn't have the legs or temperament for the job.

wanderlust wrote:

aaron_bwfc wrote:I can't see why DF would consider changing anybody from the team last night for the game on saturday, unless they have picked up a knock then that same 11 that started last night should play against Palace IMO.

If Pratley is dropped again for Andrews i'll be pissed off to be honest, he has really started to find his feet under Dougie and plays the attacking midfielder role well.

Aaron - I thought Pratley was playing more defensive mid as he used to do for Swansea - he let Vela and Spearing push on a bit more last night by all accounts. TBF he does have box-to-box tendencies, but I think his main contribution has been in anchoring the midfield which is what we desperately need and why his performances/contribution have improved recently. I would also be gutted if Andrews is brought back - he doesn't have the legs or temperament for the job.

If im honest, Im really looking forward to seeing a holden-Pratley midfield 2.

Holden was awesome when he played with Muamba - im not saying Pratley is a Muamba by any measure, but having somebody to 'sit' gives holden the right to roam and do his stuff - take defenders on without worrying to much about whats going on behind him.

Reebok_Rebel wrote:

Holden was awesome when he played with Muamba - im not saying Pratley is a Muamba by any measure

Good, because Muamba was rubbish. He'd have one good game then 9 awful ones. He couldn't pass and his shooting was criminal.

£5m we paid for that donkey.

disrespectful.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Reebok_Rebel wrote:

Holden was awesome when he played with Muamba - im not saying Pratley is a Muamba by any measure

Good, because Muamba was rubbish. He'd have one good game then 9 awful ones. He couldn't pass and his shooting was criminal.

£5m we paid for that donkey.

Muamba wasn't a great player, but what an engine on him. When the opposition had possession he was awesome, when he had possession he was awful. Pratley has a decent engine - not as powerful as Muamba - but he can use the ball better.

As for the Muamba fee - didn't the club get at least part of his valuation back from the insurance company?

wanderlust wrote:

Muamba wasn't a great player, but what an engine on him. When the opposition had possession he was awesome, when he had possession he was awful. Pratley has a decent engine - not as powerful as Muamba - but he can use the ball better.

As for the Muamba fee - didn't the club get at least part of his valuation back from the insurance company?

We're in the business of football, not stamina. I'm sure you could go into any gym in the country and find someone who could run non-stop for 90 minutes.

It still amazes me that someone with such poor basic footballing skills could ever make it.

Muamba was brilliant IMO.

The way he broke up play and man marked opposition teams best players out of the game was exactly what we needed/need. Yes his passing wasn't the best but we had stuey for that, it was only when holden got injured that muambas form dipped, as he was forced to do Holdens job.

Boggersbelief wrote:Muamba was brilliant IMO.

The way he broke up play and man marked opposition teams best players out of the game was exactly what we needed/need. Yes his passing wasn't the best but we had stuey for that, it was only when holden got injured that muambas form dipped, as he was forced to do Holdens job.

You are the new site WUM.

For sitting in front of the back 4 breaking up attacks and man marking there was nobody better than Fabrice but sadly he let himself down on passing and shooting. He wasn't the all rounder but for what he could do, he did well.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Good, because Muamba was rubbish. He'd have one good game then 9 awful ones. He couldn't pass and his shooting was criminal.

£5m we paid for that donkey.

Unfcukingbelievable! He might not have been blessed with great flair but he did a good job for us. He was never bought as a striker to start with.

I do think the club overpaid for Muamba, but that's the way it goes for young english talent, we know this.

He could never have been the main man in midfield, his passing was nowhere near the standard it should have been at premier league level.

But you can't underestimate the importance of having a player with his engine and physicality in the middle of the park, had he been an ever present for us last season I'm confident we would have stayed up and not have conceded nearly as many goals.

Central midfield is the most important area of the pitch IMO and ours has been shit ever since Holden's injury, now with Vela, Mavies, Holden and Pratley seemingly coming good I'm confident we'll see an improvement in results.

Still think we need to replace Muamba though, I'd love a quality holding midifielder. Abdoulaye Faye was class there for us if we got somebody like him in it would be perfect.

Fabrice wasn't a flair player, but he was determined and his main attribute was breaking up midfield attacks by the opposition. He was both dogged and determined. The term 'Solid' springs to mind.

With regards the Palace game, it'll be hard to second-guess what team DF puts out, for one very simple reason, he knows as much, if not more, about the opposition, as he does for his own team. I'm sure he's considering the strongpoints of each individual, and how he can spike their guns with the use of that understanding. It'll come down to one-on-one battles all over the park. The change for us is that if we now have Holden in midfield, who is (was) more than capable of moving the team around.

I don't think Holden will even make the bench, I hope not anyway.

Vela should be on the bench though.

Muamba managed two top-drawer goals for us before the untimely end of his career but passing, shooting and dribbling were never his strengths. Had he been allowed to stick to what he did best, we all would have been better off. Good lad, and I'm quietly disturbed© that he seems to be undervalued in some quarters. Our Douglas knows Palace and their new loanee inside out. I'm confident he will get us the three points and he has more options now with which to do so, than he did in our last meeting.