Blame Game

[Rochdaleblade]

Don't think it's quite that.

Berge is the closest and as Ba lines up to pass it should have been evident where it was going. It's all about having the vision of a rabbit. Berge has the vision of a mole

pommpey

Not really sure how Berge is meant to spot that there is an unmarked player behind him, whilst also looking at the ball.

 

[Geordie Blade]

Not really sure how Berge is meant to spot that there is an unmarked player behind him, whilst also looking at the ball.

He wasn’t behind him to start with. Berge jogged past him, so knew full well that he was there.

 

[sitwell]

Not really sure how Berge is meant to spot that there is an unmarked player behind him, whilst also looking at the ball.

So what is he doing ? Did he get a ticket ?

 

[MMBUTB]

Not for me. That’s not a good defensive line in that still. I think Robinson followed the runner when he should have passed him on and held his position. He didn’t and that’s what created the gap. Movement pulling the defence around.

 

[Chingo]

He wasn’t behind him to start with. Berge jogged past him, so knew full well that he was there.

As I said earlier Robbo had got him when Berge went past the scorer then for some reason followed Geldhart who Egan was covering, the pic above is about 2 or 3 seconds too late

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Robinson gets caught following his man rather than shouting to Egan that he's passing him on.

Coaching Basics. We coach our under 11's to do something similar. Get their main defender fascinated by our striker who then pulls him out of position and our AM then quickly steps into the gap.

Would have thought at this level, that doesn't work!! Will be showing the boys this goal on the iPad tomorrow!

 

[Rochdaleblade]

He wasn’t behind him to start with. Berge jogged past him, so knew full well that he was there.

JLT was also there. How was Berge to know that he had gone awol without a shout?

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Apologies, I've made my comment more complicated than it needed to be. Being a reductionist by nature, I see the argument simply being between posters that understand the game of football and those that go to bed in Sander Berge pyjamas & sleep under a Sander Berge bedspread.

Does my skin tight Sander Berge rubber onesie count?

 

[ChinaBlade]

Don't think it's Egan alone. The Sunderland goal is similar to Millwall, Wrexham or Burnley where the opposition switch play quickly to wrong side a 3 5 2 defence. Our defence is the strongest attribute so it's no wonder teams target it.
The fact it repeats points to the coaching not countering the opposition tactics.

It's certainly not solely Egan's issue, probably more to do with the fact he's often in-between where he should be and covering where Robinson should be.

Add this to having to build relationships and understanding with multiple players being shoehorned in at LCB, will no doubt have had an impact on his performance level.

 

[Geordie Blade]

JLT was also there. How was Berge to know that he had gone awol without a shout?

JLT wasn’t there - he was central from the original attack. Egan was LCB in that phase (it was Egan and Berge who won the ball back). JLT was not awol.


In Berge’s defence, at least he pushed out. Egan just ran square, five yards behind everyone else, playing the scorer onside.

 

[AWetFlannel]

Not really, the issue I had was that he played a bit of an aimless long ball and then jogged past the attacker to get back into position.

I'm ambivalent when it comes to Berge but I was chuntering at the time for 2 reasons, 1) the long punt to no one in particular 2) the amble back into midfield past the eventual scorer.

Having watched it back a few times Egan was also at fault as he ran back into the middle, where JLT had already gone.

I saw it as Berge working back, getting the ball and clearing it up the field. It was a good, long clearance and it also landed on Jebbo's head. Jebbo didn't manage to retain possession and we got attacked with players out of position.

For me the goal comes down to Egan and JLT swapping positions at the wrong time. They should have seen the attack was coming, Egan stays at LCB and Robbo keeps covering CB. They decide to swap, and during the transition we leave the man.

 

[AWetFlannel]

JLT wasn’t there - he was central from the original attack. Egan was LCB in that phase (it was Egan and Berge who won the ball back). JLT was not awol.
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In Berge’s defence, at least he pushed out. Egan just ran square, five yards behind everyone else, playing the scorer onside.

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Think this is close to being wrapped up.

JLT isn't AWOL, he was covering at CB for Egan. Between them, they agree to swap back to their positions and get caught during the transition. It's poor from them, as this is something you practice regularly.

Berge pushes out as he should, it isn't his man. However, a quality, defensively minded CM would sniff the danger and follow the man anyway. Similar with Lowe, it clearly isn't his man but he could have possibly covered if he read the situation perfectly. If either of these stopped the goal, it would have been brilliant play which isn't to be expected.

 

[Eric_Brooks]

Lots of discussion in various threads about the Sunderland goal - blaming Berge for not being closer to Michut, or blaming Lowe and Robinson for not being in front of Michut.

Watching live, I thought Berge should have been closer, but I have just looked at a replay and it is all down to Egan. We have a decent defensive line playing 2 of them offside, and Egan is wandering around like a schoolboy. This is not what an international centre half should be doing.

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Think you will find Robinson was in no mans land. Egan had already picked up the man in the middle, Berge could have seen the danger, but Robinson should have dropped back in