Sunderland v Aston Villa Match Thread

[dekko]

Its not the lack of possession per se that bothers me, its the way we drop so deep, what happened to that pressing we did at the start of the season?

On the plus side, I think the Delph-Westy-Bacuna midfield has a nice balance to it

[supertom]

Typically woeful again, but Sunderland look hopeless in attack. That goal just seems to have knocked seven shades out of them. They look a beaten team already, even despite having 75% of the ball.

Luna and Baker look bloody awful though so there's a chance we might gift them something back, but off their own back they don't look like scoring. We're the same though. We're just waiting for errors to pounce on. The lack of any skill or touch in our players is frightening though.

Second half, hopefully Benteke will get a goal. I think it'll transform him. He's had some nice touches today, he just seems worryingly fearful of the penalty box at the minute. He's dropping far too deep. That said, our midfield is so poor he's got little option but to keep coming short if he wants a touch of the ball.
Has Westwood touched the ball today?

[David_Nab]

Ki bossing midfield for them , if Swansea don't want him I'd take him looks class.

26% is pretty poor again but at mo we are winning so can't complain too much.

[Goldie.7]

Like to see Albrighton on for Weimann

This. All he's been doing is marking space i've been watching him close.

[Fergal]

28% and 2 shots on target, not good stats.  However the one that counts is 0-1.  How long can we carry on like this without getting another Chelsea like hammering?
We need to learn to pass the ball and hang on to it for a bit.

[rjp]

We look to have some of our attacking threat back.  There are still deficiencies but it's a definite improvement.

[Goldie.7]

Ki bossing midfield for them , if Swansea don't want him I'd take him looks class.

26% is pretty poor again but at mo we are winning so can't complain too much.

More like hanging on.

[TonyDaleysHair]

Does anyone else think wet wet wet had some good tunes?

No but my favourite cheese is goats cheese.

Wensleydale for me, as it is or with bits of apricot in it

Big shout on the Wensleydale but with cranberries in it for me!

[Smirker]

We're playing really well, come on Villa.

[eastie]

Will be a big 3 points if we hold on today - tough fixtures ahead and this would be a huge boost .

[Boz]

If we keep giving them possession and not pressing them, we'll pay the price, Ki looks likely as he keeps popping up with chances.

Lambert needs to stop them keep dropping too deep and allowing them to knock the ball about. One is not going to be enough.

[Keeno]

I'm convinced our inability to keep the ball is not to do with the midfield three, but the back four - their movement and decision making is utterly awful at times. Oh for an Okore to play with Vlaar and encourage us to play a little bit.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Taking into the conditions, I'm more than pleased with the first 45 minutes. Key factor is the midfield and defence working together as a unit. Not once have I been concerned about Sunderland scoring, it's all very controlled by us despite them having plenty of the ball. Whisper it but we're actually putting a few passes together. Best of all is we're giving Sunderland very little time on the ball.

So far, so good.

[ciggiesnbeer]

No cheese here. Just Belgian Waffles with whipped cream for brekkers. Yummy.

[Goldie.7]

Someone needs to tell Benteke to stop flipping moaning and get a grip. Played ok in the last 4/5 mins though.