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Dear Roker Report,
Because I live in Spain, I was able to watch the Fulham game in its entirety on DAZN and have to concur with the consensus that we got what we deserved: nothing, or “nada” as we say here. Without wishing to make any excuses, I’d like to make a couple of observations.
The first is linked to the comment made by Granit Xhaka after the Everton game and how poorly they trained beforehand — which resulted in a very bad opening half hour. He made the point that you can’t train poorly and then suddenly turn
it on at match time.
Interestingly, that was our first Monday night game and I wonder if the training wasn’t as good as it should’ve been because of the change in routine required for a Monday night? Two — almost three — extra days training, so do you train fully and risk fatigue on the day or do you hold back in training to keep something in the tank for the match?
Fast forward to last week and the return of many players from international duty. Some probably only arrived back on the Thursday and I presume the squad left for London on Friday.
So, what kind of training and preparation for the Fulham match could’ve been organised within that time frame? If Xhaka was concerned about the training routine with extra days for the Everton game, I wonder what he thought of just having one day available with the full match squad for the Fulham match?
I think that raises a broader issue of the international breaks.
They say “Well, it’s the same for everyone”, but that’s not true as we had extensive travel and others didn’t. Why not have the majority of main fixtures on a Sunday after the international break? To pay the piper (TV companies) why not have just a couple of games on a Saturday, where the least travel is involved?
For this weekend after the international break, it might’ve meant Everton/Manchester Utd and Arsenal/Spurs (both local) on Saturday and all the rest on Sunday. The biggest sufferers in this regard were probably Chelsea, with a Saturday lunchtime fixture at Burnley.
It was very noticeable this weekend that there were some very ordinary, lacklustre performances from several teams and not just Sunderland.
I’m not trying to make excuses, but these players aren’t machines and the authorities who make these fixture demands should pay a little more attention to wellbeing of the players; at the end of the day, it’s the game that suffers.
Indeed, should Régis Le Bris have gone with those available for training most of the week and rested those just returning, as he’ll have to play them at some point — December, when we lose players to AFCON.
So, when would you like to see the second string make their Premier League starts? Against Fulham, or leave it as late as possible with Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle lined up as likely contenders to give them game time?
David A. Ord
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, David. Thank you for your letter and for sharing your thoughts on the possible impact of mid-season international breaks and disrupted schedules.
Personally, I think it’s just the nature of the beast. We recruited accordingly following promotion and in the knowledge that if we wanted players capable of helping us compete strongly, there was a chance we’d be watching them jet off to all corners of the globe to represent their countries at various stages during the season.
I think that’s a source of real pride as a Sunderland fan (I loved seeing Paraguay’s Omar Alderete embarking on a one-man a**e-kicking spree against the USA, for example) but of course, it does place greater demands on players and as the likes of Manchester City’s Rodri have been vocal about, how sustainable is the current calendar?
This is where Régis Le Bris needs to utilise his wider squad to its fullest. I’m sure the club are already making real progress with potential January additions, and the good thing is that Le Bris does have the scope to rotate as and when he needs to. It’s a balancing act, but one I do feel we can get right.
Dear Roker Report,
I’m already reading and seeing meltdowns on Facebook and message boards because we lost a game. Some people need a reality check.
Success this season would be survival without much fuss, so providing we do that, we should be happy.
Anything else would be a massive bonus, and I think we’ll do so much more than just survive.
Ian Hughes
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Ian. Thank you for getting in touch.
I don’t think much — if any — of the fallout from the Fulham game descended into “meltdown” territory, but of course there was always going to be plenty of post-match chat about what went wrong for the Lads against the Cottagers.
That’s fair, and it’s also fair that if we praise the players when they deliver performances and results, we should have the right to be critical (albeit hopefully in a constructive way) when they fall short. For me, that’s how it was on Saturday and I didn’t see it as a particularly big issue!
Dear Roker Report,
I’d like to say what a great job Régis Le Bris is doing. To get so many new players gel so soon shouldn’t be underestimated — e.g. Liverpool.
At the moment, he would be a strong contender for manager/coach of the season, but now and then he reminds us that he’s human. Five defenders worked well against Chelsea — a one off. It failed vs Everton and Fulham, and against Arsenal, we rescued a point when they dropped off the ball and thought they could keep us out.
If during the summer planning it had been decided to play five defenders, the recruitment was wrong. Wingers aren’t wing backs and I think the problem is that the new wingers haven’t delivered as yet. A pragmatic coach would make the change to a midfield diamond. This would allow for two up top and having Brian Brobbey hold the ball up could work wonders for Wilson Isidor.
All the new defenders and midfielders have been tremendous, but the wingers have been average and Brobbey hasn’t had enough chances.
I don’t think we’ve seen the end of five defenders in certain games but I hope we stop trying to play two wide men with five defenders, as it can’t work long term.
‘Til the end.
Jim Wales
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Jim. Thank you for your letter.
I do think there’s a little bit of a puzzle to solve regarding the wide attacking options currently at our disposal — all of whom are very talented players and could certainly have key roles to play for us this season.
Simon Adingra is a very skilful player but has found game time hard to come by (perhaps because of his defensive weaknesses). Chemsdine Talbi has been in and out of the picture, and Bertrand Traoré — a hard worker and a solid option — hasn’t been setting the world alight in terms of attacking threat.
I’d like to see Talbi start against Bournemouth on Saturday and for Adingra to be given more opportunities, but at the same time, Régis Le Bris is the man making the big calls and he does get them right more often than not, so perhaps we’ll have to trust his judgement on this one.
