Sunderland - Post Match

[RedReet]

I think a lot of us would have taken 4 points from our next two games on Saturday morning, so now all we have to do is beat the Mancs. No problem.

I haven't read the match thread, but if the comments from DD in here are anything to go by...

[dww]

I thought there were a lot of promising signs. We played pretty well and unlike last season we kept going when we went behind - doing the right things and playing our own game. Still lacking a bit of cutting edge but I actually think if we defended better we would generate more pressure and we would get more out of our attacks. A few stupid errors cost us but I think it was overall a positive performance and a step in the right direction.

[Nicey]

there is progress, we have had a very tough start to the season in already tough circumstances, United at Home could be just the tonic ..

[Tee]

I thought there were a lot of promising signs. We played pretty well and unlike last season we kept going when we went behind doing the right things and playing our own game. Still lacking a bit of cutting edge but I actually think if we defended better we would generate more pressure and we would get more out of our attacks. A few stupid error cost us but I think it was overall a positive performance and a step in the right direction.

Totally agree. We are getting better and more fluid. Cannot account for sloppiness defending, but generally I took lots of positives from that game.

[Redspin]

Thought we played very well for the most part, need the midfield to offer more threat and creativity. We just don't create enough in the penalty area.

Well we did manage 9 shots on target plus hitting the woodwork twice so it's hardly like we were passing it sideways 40 yards from goal and offered no threat.

We were very comfortably the better team and had we won by at least a couple no-one could have argued we weren't worth it.

I had to watch it in Thailand with Mark Bright as the co-commentator on TV and he even he - who clearly hates us - was forced to be positive about us.

I also saw Sunderland's entire match against Arsenal away in the first game and they were full value for a point there - against a team that strolled around unchallenged at Anfield last week.

All in all I thought there were definite signs of progress. We actually took the game to them for 90 minutes and were the better team; we looked more like a team than in earlier games too, rather than (as we were) a group of players getting to know each other; their goalkeeper made a couple of crucial saves while Reina was a spectator.

The only negative was conceding a soft goal from a team that hardly threatened and never looked likely to score again. Poor defending by Suarez and Johnson letting their player get the cross in.

I also saw all the Man U game live over here and, despite the scoreline, they didn't look much. Wigan were embarrassingly abysmal and looked like they were trying to hand goals out. They were truly shocking.

After our performance and watching their match I'm very confident we'll beat Man U next weekend, which isn't how I felt after the poor performance against Arsenal

[Fredo]

Mos, do you have a rip of the match?

[Redspin]

It was never a dive, one of them I dont mind too much that we dont get, you can accept it. The infuriating ones are the awful challenges by Mertesacker and Kolarov that went unpunished. The Kolarov one should have been a pen to go 3-1 and the Mert one a pen to go 1-1 and v 10 men. We just cant seem to get anything off refs at the mo.

They showed the dive by Welbeck of Man U against Wigan on TV here. They got a penalty (thankfully justice was done and they missed) but it was such a blatant dive with no contact whatsoever. However they're Man U so we don't see yellow cards for such incidents. It was much, much more obvious than the Suarez one. My only surprise yesterday was that Atkinson didn't find a petty excuse like arguing to give Suarez another yellow. We always get **** all from him

[Redspin]

Oh pipe down

He could be and should be doing better than 7/11 with the kind of chances he is presented with. As for his dribbling, I was a fan until he started dribbling down blind alleys. He can pass a bit more or cross a bit more when he's playing wide.

Remember he scored close to a goal a game in his last full season at Ajax

I bet your a barrel of laughs to sit next to in the stands

[Eric Swindler]

Interestingly the analysis on the Irish version of MOTD (Premier Soccer Saturday) has Kenny Cunningham on it, who is actually a half decent pundit - anyway he was saying that he is stuggling to see how Gerrard fits into Rodgers system and that he's had a pretty woeful start to the season. Nice to see a pundit actually watching and understanding the game.

I've had it with MOTD after this weekend. It's utter garbage.

[Redspin]

Call me greedy but at your peak you should be doing better than 1 in 2 in the League.

Drogba, Henry, Torres, Rooney, Shearer, Folwer etc. all had about .66 or so in their better seasons and that's where Luis should be at being at his peak right now.

He should really be doing better and he isn't. For all the hype he generates, he just doesn't finish the chances he is presented with which is all that counts.

Rooney's an interesting choice. He's only scored more than 15 league goals in a season three times in his entire career, which is pretty poor considering that his goal tally includes lots of penalties.

So are we to look at only players "better seasons" and if so, what seasons should we choose for Suarez to make a meaningful comparison with the players you mention?

[Redspin]

Though Gerrard was decent today but he's going to get it now Carra barely plays.

To be fair I thought Gerrard played well. He's been off the boil generally for about three seasons but yesterday was his best performance of this short season and definitely a step back in the right direction

[el matador]

Interestingly the analysis on the Irish version of MOTD (Premier Soccer Saturday) has Kenny Cunningham on it, who is actually a half decent pundit - anyway he was saying that he is stuggling to see how Gerrard fits into Rodgers system and that he's had a pretty woeful start to the season. Nice to see a pundit actually watching and understanding the game.

I've had it with MOTD after this weekend. It's utter garbage.

If you compare gerrard with other number 10s like ozil messi silva aguero etc it doesnt do him any favours because those are all highly technical players who can operate in very tight spaces and still produce the goods.

Gerrard cant do that but what he does have is superb passing and very good vision. His best passes are often first time balls played on the counter for strikers to onto. Like he dis with torres. torres looked to get behind the defence at every opportunity whereas suarez looks to come short most times which is exactly into gerrards path.

I dont think they can work together as a front pairing. Whereas gerrard and carroll with suarez and sterling wide would be a different prospect.

[Vermilion]

Wow, differing opinions from pundits, fans and the media on the the game and players then, really surprised at that.

[RedReet]

Rooney's an interesting choice. He's only scored more than 15 league goals in a season three times in his entire career, which is pretty poor considering that his goal tally includes lots of penalties.

So are we to look at only players "better seasons" and if so, what seasons should we choose for Suarez to make a meaningful comparison with the players you mention?

Likewise, at Suarez 'peak' age Fowler was on the decline and had a worse goals to game ratio before then.

Drogba also only scored 22 league goals in his first two seasons, which Suarez will no doubt surpass, despite being younger.

I promised myself I wouldn't get involved, it's too ridiculous.

[Lee]

It's been said already but our biggest problem is lack of goals.

Johnson, Skrtel and Agger will chip in with a few this season. We'll get nothing from Lucas, Sahin and Allen. Suarez will score for us. Gerrard seems to have forgotten where the goal is, and who knows what Sterling, Assaidi, Borini and Downing will do.

We've got to get the groundwork done for the 1st January and bring a striker in on that day. Performances are fine but again we're struggling for goals.