Sunderland v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Fasth56]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

[Toronto Villa]

@RonVlaar4: Massive win and a great start of #2014. Too bad I couldn't hold for 90min. Felt great to play again. #UTV #AVFC #AVFCLIVE

That sounds optimistic.

very. Give him the week off against Sheff Utd and have him ready for the next league game.

[Toronto Villa]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

that's the thing. The pure possession stat doesn't tell the whole story. If we read that "Southampton had 54% possession against Chelsea" you'd never expect the next sentence to read "and they lost 3-0"

[chrisf]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

Yeah, you see, Fasth56, Ian Dowie was actually watching the game rather than writing miserablist drivel on the match thread.

[Ian.]

2014 P1 W1 F1 A0 100%!

Get it!! Happy days, well pleased with this. Happy New Year to all.

[berneboy]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

Yeah, you see, Fasth56, Ian Dowie was actually watching the game rather than writing miserablist drivel on the match thread.

The Radio 5 reporter was very positive, saying we played a disciplined counter attacking match.

[Percy McCarthy]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

Yes, that's how I followed the game and was really looking forward to watching us on Football First. Then I came on here and cancelled Sky.

[richard moore]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

Yeah, you see, Fasth56, Ian Dowie was actually watching the game rather than writing miserablist drivel on the match thread.

The reporter on Radio 5 - the very annoying Juliet Ferrington (SP?) who manages to always shout rather than speak normally - said pretty much the same thing, pointing out that, in truth, for all Sunderlands' huff and puff, we could have won by 3 or 4 clear goals

[dekko]

Despite the similar possession stats this was a long way from the smash and grab at Southampton:

Once Vlaar went off in that game we looked very wobbly at the back, but we won through extremely clinical finishing.

Today, we went ahead, never looked like losing (because our defenders generally had a good day, and Sunderland did nothing with all the ball they had) and if we had a shot conversion rate anything like we did at Southampton then we'd have won 3 or 4 nil.

Not a vintage performance by any means, but a vital 3 points.  We also showed in flashes that this team can still play the kind of football we all enjoyed during the tail-end of last season - they just need to CALM DOWN and regain a bit of composure and confidence.

[nigel]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

Yeah, you see, Fasth56, Ian Dowie was actually watching the game rather than writing miserablist drivel on the match thread.

Excellent 

[andrew08]

I was at the game today. Good turnout by the fans all things considered. In hindsight a routine win but nervy at the time. A second goal for us would have been derserved and would have probably lead to a couple more.

Baker or Clarke always look better with Vlaar and that made a difference and for me, away from home, Gabby, Benteke and Weiman always look dangerous. That said the defense and midfield have to improve, as we know, to give the attack the chance/chances to win games. Hopefully this will be addressed this window.

It's a long way home an all.

[Dave Clark Five]

I thought we were the shittest team in the league?

On our losing run it's perfectly possible that we played the worst football in the league, although West Ham would run us close.

So therefore winning, in whatever manner, is cause for celebration rather than wrist-slashing,

No question, but I don't think usav was hacking away at his wrists in misery, to be fair. We've won away at the bottom club in the league through an entirely fortunate goal. We conceded a really alarming amount of the ball again, though there is encouragement to be found in the chances we created and the solidity of the defence. It's fantastic to win, but let's not fool ourselves and now say everything's perfect and our problems have gone away, because they haven't.

They may be bottom of the league but the general consensus on here from Saturday until the teams were announced was that we would lose, with 3- and 4-0 being predicted. "In form" was a common description of them. To then complain about the way in which we won seems a bit disingenious, to say the least.

I thought that we might get hammered but also said we could win, as we are so unpredictable. We have won and are pleased with that but it does not reduce by one iota the need for more experienced players. Lambert seems to recognise this but I hope that he doesn't keep us waiting until the end of the window. We could also do with someone who is not cup tied.

[eastie]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

In fairness I think a lot  people commenting on the match thread were watching the game .

[Matt Collins]

For me, the killer stat from the Southampton game wasn't the percentage possession, it was the percentage pass completion - which was lower than 50%. That was the lowest of any side in a top European league all season

Looks like it was a much healthier 75% today.

There's nothing wrong with a counter attacking game away from home whereby you have less of the ball. But you need to be effective when you do have the ball. You could argue we were v saints but to me it was one of those freak games where we got lucky.

[Toronto Villa]

Well I'm confused, numerous people on here are declaring that we are crap and Sunderland outplayed us with 65% possession, yet on all the updates on SSN from Iain Dowie we were the better team and Sunderland hadn't got a clue. In fact in one of the reports he said we were passing Sunderland to death and they were creating absolutely nothing. I know it's Iain Dowie but surely he couldn't have been reporting something that wasn't happening?

In fairness I think a lot  people commenting on the match thread were watching the game .

the one thing that is always worth doing if you have time is to watch the game again without the natural emotion of a live event. Especially when you know we have won. It's amazing how much emotion can affect your judgement. The thing with the neutrals is that they have almost no emotion when watching a game and just call it is as they see it.