My take ...

[Richeee]

Wes 7. Hugely important save at 2-1

Baldock. 7. Defence looks much more sound that side with Furious back in there
Anel 6. Weird game some good some bad. I think on seeing the spurs game his best role is centre of the three.
Egan 7. Good game for me I don’t get the criticism of him on the goal he has to track the Centre man
JLT. 6. Collosal fuck up for the goal look like he dozed off for 20 secs. Other wise fine.
Lowe. 3. Has the positional sense of a Ming vase placed in a field of rutting rhinos. Big weak link for me.

Berge. 6 better game as he played higher up and ran with the ball still drifted in an out.
Doyle. 8. MOTM. Thats his position, Norwood with legs. At least for 65 mins.. needs to work on his stamina though.
McAtee 7. When on the ball looked a threat but like Berge he drifts in and out.. cracking goal.

Jebbo. 7. Looks so much stronger now, only 19.. could be a real beast in two years.
Illy. 8. He’s bloody good isn’t he?

subs
Norwood 6. Replaced the tiring Doyle, did okay, one bad challenge though lucky to get away with.
Fleck. 6 coming on when the opposition are knackered looks his best bet now
Bogle. 6 Did okay. Strange decision to bring Baldock off who didn't look tired.
Sharp n/a On to late to mark.

Hecky 8. After the cluster fuck of Saturday brave changes and they all paid off. More like that please.

Lowe "positional sense of a Ming vase placed in a field of rutting rhinos"

 

[sitwell]

A simply huge win tonight for United. In equal parts it was enthusiastically inspiring then frustratingly banal. Nevertheless, the three points we justifiably earned tonight puts a hell of a dent in Boro's ambitions to overhaul us and shows Hecky that being robustly stubborn will bring nothing but mediocrity and failure. The changes he made tonight worked for large parts of the match. We still have flaws and weak links however and he needs to address that as the pressure builds. Middlesbrough will never give up because they know we have weaknesses and can bottle events like this and are susceptible to injuries. But we just have to concentrate on the next game and not fucking lose. Ten Nine games left, twenty seven to gain and we need at least eighteen from wins and draws to make it certain. Boro have also some pressure on them and as long as we can keep more than four points between us we will get there. What we do with this flawed, aged and somewhat underhorsepowered squad if promoted is another debate. One thing is for certain, if we play what we have been playing in both boots on pitch and tactics we will be simply slaughtered. But there is a whole world of water to travel under the bridge before then.

The changes Hecky made were evident straight away. The midfield, which looked like two sets of two with Berge and Doyle dropped back to allow McAtee to run at them with NDaiye instantly showed great progress with passes and throughballs aplenty, albeit much of them misplaced but well intended. Sunderland looked rattled through this but typically we couldn't finish or capitalise. It was a definite positive development mainly because Doyle was all over the place getting involved instead of sitting deep holding Egan's hand like Norwood does. McAtee and NDaiye again carved chances and got into their box and Jebbo looked pacey and difficult for their particularly lumpen centrebacks to deal with. He had a decent shot at goal which was well saved but Berge later Kozluked a clear chance into the stands as they backed off. Sunderland couldn't offer much back and they endeavoured to play it out only to have it intercepted by the marauding Doyle. We found ourselves trapped in our corner and Berge whacked it out straight to their midfield who, as we drove outfield, found one of their players completely unmarked to run on goal and score as Berge and Lowe blamed each other, standing like fucking statues. It was a well taken and in fairness deserved (because they made the most of a meagre chance which we don't) Then we went shit and Sunderland were suddenly not allowing us to play in their half, no matter what we did. This is where Hacky shows weakness because it called for a switch in strategy rather than riding it out. Fodders made a decent low save and we looked rattled now as they won corners and pressed us into defence. They gave away the ball in midfield and Berge pounced feeding Baldock who rolled it into McAtee's path and he, doing what we've been screaming for for weeks, continued his run into the box, shimmied and clipped a fucking lovely drive into the far corner past their keeper.

Second half and we are actually expecting to win. It's the only result really. Grinding out a draw will just pile on the pressure and after ten minutes we are slightly on top with Doyle on FK duties he did what he threatened to do in the first half and curled a teasing cross unchallenged into the far corner. Was Berge offside? Yes, he was. So fucking what? We've had that kind of shit go against us in the past. It was good to see us weather Sunderland's inevitable storm for the next half hour although I didn't think reverting the team to the Luton staring lineup was a wise choice. It did fuck all to ease our confidence.

Foderingham 6/10: A couple of good stops. His distribution sometimes is pretty pissy.
Baldock 6.5/10: Good gains on RWB from Bogle. Although he's not as advanced and threatening he did set up McAtee's goal and added some robustness down that flank, if losing half a mark for mixing it up unnecessarily at times
Anel 6.5/10: Fairly solid outing from him with some deft touches and interceptions but again goes onto the yellow card roster having just been fucking banned for a pointless foul. We are gonna need him in the next ten games
Egan 7/10: Unremarkable game for Egan. Did his job okay and dealt with threats accordingly
JLT 6.5/10: Another typically robust if somewhat chaotic game. Equal parts to blame for their goal with Berge and Lowe
Lowe 3.5/10: A real weak link for us. His reading of the game is poor as is his positioning. Seems we are just waiting for the return of RND now
Doyle 8/10: Such an upgrade. In the Norwood role he covers more grass and gets stuck in. There's still work to be done but it was encouraging to see him driving the team up the pitch today, much like Michael Brown used to. Deserved his goal.
Berge 4/10: Better, but still lacklustre, slow and somewhat labouring. This deeper role had him more involved but he was nevertheless unproductive and at times simply fucking static.
McAtee 7.5/10: Full point for his superb goal and some dogged endeavour running at their robust midfield and backline. A bit isolated from NDaiye. One would hope a MGW/NDaiye partnership would start to grow where both run at backlines and through like last year. That, is how his goal came.
NDaiye 7/10: Again, our only real threat and source of inspiration with his slippery runs and dogged tenacity even when out of possession
Jebbison 6.5/10: Lower mark because he was, effectively starved of chances. A good attempt on goal in the first half which was well saved

McBurnie 7/10: Good outing from him both in defence and trying to get in and amongst it up front
Norwood 5/10: On for the first time for ages as a sub and did a bit of spadework in midfield. Would love to see him paired with Doyle instead of Berge
Fleck 4/10: Looks pounds overweight and too stocky to be effective now
Sharp 5/10: On the deck most of the time

HJ&SMcC 8/10: Firstly for changing shit round. Then for sticking by it, until they put the Luton team on then 4/10: for making us shit our pants in the final minutes.

Crowd 8/10: Heard throughout the match, in a big stadium. Well done you lot.

Sky Sports 1/10: Cunts. Goodman should never commentate on a team he so profoundly despises again. He spoke utter shit and with such a forked tongue. Also, protracted stills on people is dogshit sports coverage. I don't give a fat cow's cunt who the Sunderland chairman is bumming this week nor do I give a shit what is happening anywhere except on the pitch. Sky needs to alter it's editorial guidelines that if the ball is live, the director switches to the game play. Their colouring is better than SUTV though which always looks like there's summat wrong with your brightness and contrast.

pommpey

Yep agree with all that, Lowe is a weak link but we have no replacement really atm, Berge was half decent first half when he got carried along by the others who were excellent, but he went missing completely in the second half. People in the stand round me were fuming at the way he just let players drift past and left it to the defenders to sort out. I agree completely with you, why cant he play Norwood and Doyle together ? Doyle McAtee and Baldock were the standouts for me.
As for the police, giving coins up was ridiculous but at least they went to aid McPhails recovery, he also got a great ovation from all 4 sides of the ground, dont know if that came across. But all the faffing about with searches and queues and then an endless climb up to the stand was a ballache, and then they let Sunderland nobheads mingle near the coaches and buses, a few blades got clipped until a young lad off our bus just steamed in and they ran off, followed by the coppers waking up. The police we dealt with were west midlands for some reason and they were hopeless. still a nice drink in Houghton le spring a good 3 points leads to a good day.

 

[RammyBlade]

I think the only two things that could be added to last night for perfection, would be more legs coming off the bench.

Fingers crossed that Will Osula is nearing a full & fit return. If so, he has to be in front of BS and possibly McB off the bench and Osborn ahead of Fleck.

Hecky be brave! Mobility and heel snapping is needed from the 1st to the 90th minute from now on in.

Yes its a good point but also what about Andre Brooks who did so well against Spurs - is he injured as he looked really good v Spurs

 

[sitwell]

Berge was decent last night. A final product away from very decent.

3.5/10 is laughable.

He really wasnt, he took the piss in the second half, no effort at all. What exactly was he doing for their goal ?

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

I'm amazed by the number of people blaming Berge for the goal. He's part of the problem but it's not all down to him.

Firstly, there's no pressure on the Sunderland midfielder when he picks up the ball. Doyle comes haring out to him but that leaves Ba free for a simple pass. Ndiaye is bottom of screen, Berge to the right. McAtee has disappeared entirely. Egan looks to have dropped with Robinson in the centre half position when stepping out would keep the line and leave Geldhardt (?) offside.
View attachment 155955

Ba brings the ball forward under little pressure. Ahmedhodzic steps out to engage but doesn't commit. Robinson has continued his run into nomansland, Berge is oblivious to the danger and Egan is too deep. Lowe is caught watching the wide man instead of tucking in to cut off the through ball.
View attachment 155956

By the time the ball reaches Michut we're in real trouble. There are SEVEN United defenders in shot and they're all facing the wrong way. Robinson belatedly realises that's his man and tries in vain to get back. Foderingham's staring position is (IMHO) a step or two too far to his right but that might be subconscious given the he's left footed and presumably left handed and so stronger diving left.
View attachment 155957

Take nothing away from the finish, which was excellent, but it's yet another example of a loss of concentration and a lack of communication in the back line. Egan, as captain and centre half, should be controlling that situation and making sure that Robinson stays in position. Berge needs to take more responsibility defensively but we shouldn't be expecting him to pick up an opposition player in our back line when we're more than covered.


Agree with most of that except the apportionment of the blame. Most has to go to Robinson for leaving his LCB position which is where the goal comes from. Lowe is watching Roberts on the wing.

Firstly, a great detailed post.

Personally I think that in the 1st photo, once Doyle has been two'ed up, Berge has to move diagonally left rapidly in to the space to a.) try and cut the pass out b.) jocky Michut to a standstill c.) if a & b can't be done, to track his run.

In photo 2, that hasn't happened JLT has tried to react to the danger and close down, and Berge seems oblivious to the developing situation but also to where Michut is, who ends up making an untracked 20 yrd run after the give & go.

I agree that Lowe should be tucked in by 5 yrds and more in line with Egan

This isn't scapegoating Berge btw

 

[Eskimo]

I

I think that might be the fundamental problem with Berge. When he’s on the ball, he’s really quite talented. He’s just not very good without the ball.

He's an enigma. He has talent but should be taking more responsibility now and having a greater effect on games. Quite timid for a big lad and only really seems good when we are winning. Can't image him brawling in the playground. I think we want more Ragnar Lothbrook than Peer Gynt. Maybe we should send him the Vikings box set?

 

[Guesty]

Berge completely lost his man for their goal. He isn't the only one at fault - I agree the original Sunderland player in midfield should have been put under pressure - but he's largely to blame. It's a common problem in his game too, not tracking runners.

 

[Wards]

He really wasnt, he took the piss in the second half, no effort at all. What exactly was he doing for their goal ?

It's not Berge's job to pick up that man. Sure, he could've potentially spotted JLT and Egan trying to pick up the same player...but just maybe that goal was more due to those two not communicating.

People are seeing what they want to see, especially last night. Berge was absolutely fine. He's had a really ropey period but that's clouding peoples view of yesterday's performance.

 

[Ralph Blade]

Don’t care how the wins come as long as they do at this stage.

Any performance where you turn it round from a losing position is good.

Thought Sunderland would have been better, but you can only beat what is in front of you.

Great to see Baldock and Doyle start, hope it continues.

Hecky is risking it with the substitutions, if the opposition get a goal back or go ahead it’s difficult to see how we are going to score and that used to be one of our strong points, being dangerous to the end.

Marking for their goal was abysmal and that ain’t the first time recently.

Have not jumped on the blame Berge bandwagon, however I was amazed to see him walking at times even in the first half when the ball was in play.

Some of our players appear to make the most unintelligent decisions which lead to bookings.

Amazed their mouthy number 5 made it until added on time to pick up a booking.

Sky, what can you say? Why all those prolonged bits away from the pitch when the ball was in play. For the amount they charge they should be better and please, please, please take the Amazon route and have a crowd only audio option.

 

[sitwell]

It's not Berge's job to pick up that man. Sure, he could've potentially spotted JLT and Egan trying to pick up the same player...but just maybe that goal was more due to those two not communicating.

People are seeing what they want to see, especially last night. Berge was absolutely fine. He's had a really ropey period but that's clouding peoples view of yesterday's performance.

Of course its his job Robinson and Lowe had men while hes just trolling about doing fuck all as usual, if its not his job what was he doing there ?
I was there last night and he put minimal effort in the second half , his effort was nil, almost embarrassing at times.

 

[pommpey]

Of course its his job Robinson and Lowe had men while hes just trolling about doing fuck all as usual, if its not his job what was he doing there ?
I was there last night and he put minimal effort in the second half , his effort was nil, almost embarrassing at times.

Agreed. I found myself yelling at the telly at times, watching him walking after the ball leaves his location.

Hate to spin back to this but when I was doing my Level 2 we would have six and eight a side games during which we played very much like netball, you were not allowed past certain zones on the pitch. But Arthur, our fucking Jedi like coach would often blow the whistle and stop the game, sometimes frustratingly regularly, and point at people saying 'What are YOU doing, right now? What are YOU doing and what are YOU doing?' to point at people who, because the ball wasn't in their possession, they'd switched off and were coasting, just 'riding the game' (his words). He's regularly lambast us for not 'being available', adjusting our position, looking at who we were marking, dragging markers, creating openings, making runs or not 'being involved' with the person on the ball. When we weren't in possession he'd blow up and ask us what our next move was to cover and jockey. Gradually, we got the message and the noise levels went up as did our movement. To most players out there, that is readily coached into them and they do it automatically. Berge shows nothing of that. The only USP he has is that when he has the ball at his feet he is difficult to dispossess and glides in movements across the pitch. He's got nowt else in the bag. He's not particularly good at dispossessing and winning, shit at heading, doesn't distribute into the box very well, doesn't take set pieces and can't consistently shoot on goal. As soon as the ball has left his locale he's switched off, almost seemingly relieved he doesn't have to deal with it any more. Compare him to NDaiye who is literally starving for possession and as soon as he gets it, his compass swings him round and he's off toward their goal with two, maybe three players clawing the air to chase him. Yeah, he might be a bit greedy and wasteful but I'll trade that for luggage left out on the pitch. We are carrying Berge and wishing away hope that one day he'll switch it on and turn into Tony Currie or (god forbid) Michael Brown, two players he wouldn't even dream to better.

pommpey

 

[wadblade]

Lowe copping it left right and centre, thought he had a decent 2nd half. He was also marking their best player by a mile Roberts with no help from JLT or Berge.

Lowe was marking their best player and did a decent job of it, the fault for theie goal was Robbo's. Cannot help remembering all the bedwetters rubbishing RND and Osborne not to mention saint Robbo, how times change
He is a blade support him

 

[reedy63]

Great win 21 more points as it stands to auto promotion.

 

[ancientblade]

Great win 21 more points as it stands to auto promotion.

i think another 15 will be enough cant see boro winning 7 out of the last 9 theyve got a tricky april coming up and weve 5 home games

 

[Lane Ender]

A simply huge win tonight for United. In equal parts it was enthusiastically inspiring then frustratingly banal. Nevertheless, the three points we justifiably earned tonight puts a hell of a dent in Boro's ambitions to overhaul us and shows Hecky that being robustly stubborn will bring nothing but mediocrity and failure. The changes he made tonight worked for large parts of the match. We still have flaws and weak links however and he needs to address that as the pressure builds. Middlesbrough will never give up because they know we have weaknesses and can bottle events like this and are susceptible to injuries. But we just have to concentrate on the next game and not fucking lose. Ten Nine games left, twenty seven to gain and we need at least eighteen from wins and draws to make it certain. Boro have also some pressure on them and as long as we can keep more than four points between us we will get there. What we do with this flawed, aged and somewhat underhorsepowered squad if promoted is another debate. One thing is for certain, if we play what we have been playing in both boots on pitch and tactics we will be simply slaughtered. But there is a whole world of water to travel under the bridge before then.

The changes Hecky made were evident straight away. The midfield, which looked like two sets of two with Berge and Doyle dropped back to allow McAtee to run at them with NDaiye instantly showed great progress with passes and throughballs aplenty, albeit much of them misplaced but well intended. Sunderland looked rattled through this but typically we couldn't finish or capitalise. It was a definite positive development mainly because Doyle was all over the place getting involved instead of sitting deep holding Egan's hand like Norwood does. McAtee and NDaiye again carved chances and got into their box and Jebbo looked pacey and difficult for their particularly lumpen centrebacks to deal with. He had a decent shot at goal which was well saved but Berge later Kozluked a clear chance into the stands as they backed off. Sunderland couldn't offer much back and they endeavoured to play it out only to have it intercepted by the marauding Doyle. We found ourselves trapped in our corner and Berge whacked it out straight to their midfield who, as we drove outfield, found one of their players completely unmarked to run on goal and score as Berge and Lowe blamed each other, standing like fucking statues. It was a well taken and in fairness deserved (because they made the most of a meagre chance which we don't) Then we went shit and Sunderland were suddenly not allowing us to play in their half, no matter what we did. This is where Hacky shows weakness because it called for a switch in strategy rather than riding it out. Fodders made a decent low save and we looked rattled now as they won corners and pressed us into defence. They gave away the ball in midfield and Berge pounced feeding Baldock who rolled it into McAtee's path and he, doing what we've been screaming for for weeks, continued his run into the box, shimmied and clipped a fucking lovely drive into the far corner past their keeper.

Second half and we are actually expecting to win. It's the only result really. Grinding out a draw will just pile on the pressure and after ten minutes we are slightly on top with Doyle on FK duties he did what he threatened to do in the first half and curled a teasing cross unchallenged into the far corner. Was Berge offside? Yes, he was. So fucking what? We've had that kind of shit go against us in the past. It was good to see us weather Sunderland's inevitable storm for the next half hour although I didn't think reverting the team to the Luton staring lineup was a wise choice. It did fuck all to ease our confidence.

Foderingham 6/10: A couple of good stops. His distribution sometimes is pretty pissy.
Baldock 6.5/10: Good gains on RWB from Bogle. Although he's not as advanced and threatening he did set up McAtee's goal and added some robustness down that flank, if losing half a mark for mixing it up unnecessarily at times
Anel 6.5/10: Fairly solid outing from him with some deft touches and interceptions but again goes onto the yellow card roster having just been fucking banned for a pointless foul. We are gonna need him in the next ten games
Egan 7/10: Unremarkable game for Egan. Did his job okay and dealt with threats accordingly
JLT 6.5/10: Another typically robust if somewhat chaotic game. Equal parts to blame for their goal with Berge and Lowe
Lowe 3.5/10: A real weak link for us. His reading of the game is poor as is his positioning. Seems we are just waiting for the return of RND now
Doyle 8/10: Such an upgrade. In the Norwood role he covers more grass and gets stuck in. There's still work to be done but it was encouraging to see him driving the team up the pitch today, much like Michael Brown used to. Deserved his goal.
Berge 4/10: Better, but still lacklustre, slow and somewhat labouring. This deeper role had him more involved but he was nevertheless unproductive and at times simply fucking static.
McAtee 7.5/10: Full point for his superb goal and some dogged endeavour running at their robust midfield and backline. A bit isolated from NDaiye. One would hope a MGW/NDaiye partnership would start to grow where both run at backlines and through like last year. That, is how his goal came.
NDaiye 7/10: Again, our only real threat and source of inspiration with his slippery runs and dogged tenacity even when out of possession
Jebbison 6.5/10: Lower mark because he was, effectively starved of chances. A good attempt on goal in the first half which was well saved

McBurnie 7/10: Good outing from him both in defence and trying to get in and amongst it up front
Norwood 5/10: On for the first time for ages as a sub and did a bit of spadework in midfield. Would love to see him paired with Doyle instead of Berge
Fleck 4/10: Looks pounds overweight and too stocky to be effective now
Sharp 5/10: On the deck most of the time

HJ&SMcC 8/10: Firstly for changing shit round. Then for sticking by it, until they put the Luton team on then 4/10: for making us shit our pants in the final minutes.

Crowd 8/10: Heard throughout the match, in a big stadium. Well done you lot.

Sky Sports 1/10: Cunts. Goodman should never commentate on a team he so profoundly despises again. He spoke utter shit and with such a forked tongue. Also, protracted stills on people is dogshit sports coverage. I don't give a fat cow's cunt who the Sunderland chairman is bumming this week nor do I give a shit what is happening anywhere except on the pitch. Sky needs to alter it's editorial guidelines that if the ball is live, the director switches to the game play. Their colouring is better than SUTV though which always looks like there's summat wrong with your brightness and contrast.

pommpey

Lot better that more energy look more of threat from the off.
So long as the opposition hasent got a world beater to exploit our left hand side we’ll be ok.
Anel stop acquiring stupid yellow cards

 

[Richeee]

Yep agree with all that, Lowe is a weak link but we have no replacement really atm, Berge was half decent first half when he got carried along by the others who were excellent, but he went missing completely in the second half. People in the stand round me were fuming at the way he just let players drift past and left it to the defenders to sort out. I agree completely with you, why cant he play Norwood and Doyle together ? Doyle McAtee and Baldock were the standouts for me.
As for the police, giving coins up was ridiculous but at least they went to aid McPhails recovery, he also got a great ovation from all 4 sides of the ground, dont know if that came across. But all the faffing about with searches and queues and then an endless climb up to the stand was a ballache, and then they let Sunderland nobheads mingle near the coaches and buses, a few blades got clipped until a young lad off our bus just steamed in and they ran off, followed by the coppers waking up. The police we dealt with were west midlands for some reason and they were hopeless. still a nice drink in Houghton le spring a good 3 points leads to a good day.

We do have a replacement for Lowe though. Put Clark in the back 3 and move JLT to Lowe' s position as mentioned by other posters. Trouble is Hecky doesn't see it .

 

[adiosmiamigo]

Berge completely lost his man for their goal. He isn't the only one at fault - I agree the original Sunderland player in midfield should have been put under pressure - but he's largely to blame. It's a common problem in his game too, not tracking runners.

Is it not down to coaching,tracking runners etc?

 

[Alex Cheeseright]

Had a different commentator over here and was very complimentary to us. So for me that should be a 7 maybe 8. But rumor has it Don Goodman is opposed to the position on immigration..

 

[Alex Cheeseright]

Agreed. I found myself yelling at the telly at times, watching him walking after the ball leaves his location.

Hate to spin back to this but when I was doing my Level 2 we would have six and eight a side games during which we played very much like netball, you were not allowed past certain zones on the pitch. But Arthur, our fucking Jedi like coach would often blow the whistle and stop the game, sometimes frustratingly regularly, and point at people saying 'What are YOU doing, right now? What are YOU doing and what are YOU doing?' to point at people who, because the ball wasn't in their possession, they'd switched off and were coasting, just 'riding the game' (his words). He's regularly lambast us for not 'being available', adjusting our position, looking at who we were marking, dragging markers, creating openings, making runs or not 'being involved' with the person on the ball. When we weren't in possession he'd blow up and ask us what our next move was to cover and jockey. Gradually, we got the message and the noise levels went up as did our movement. To most players out there, that is readily coached into them and they do it automatically. Berge shows nothing of that. The only USP he has is that when he has the ball at his feet he is difficult to dispossess and glides in movements across the pitch. He's got nowt else in the bag. He's not particularly good at dispossessing and winning, shit at heading, doesn't distribute into the box very well, doesn't take set pieces and can't consistently shoot on goal. As soon as the ball has left his locale he's switched off, almost seemingly relieved he doesn't have to deal with it any more. Compare him to NDaiye who is literally starving for possession and as soon as he gets it, his compass swings him round and he's off toward their goal with two, maybe three players clawing the air to chase him. Yeah, he might be a bit greedy and wasteful but I'll trade that for luggage left out on the pitch. We are carrying Berge and wishing away hope that one day he'll switch it on and turn into Tony Currie or (god forbid) Michael Brown, two players he wouldn't even dream to better.

pommpey

I wander if during training he is told not to practice jumping? He didn't jump one time thru the whole game. If he did get a foot of the ground, as in 12 inches, what a weapon that would be. Guess we'll never know

 

[Varkanoid]

Berge is Sheffield United Marmite.

At the moment I think he is a wasted talent in the lazy category. What makes it so infuriating is when he tries he can ghost past players. Then other times he is the ghost.
Few times Ndiaye stormed back to help out defence, where was Berge. Somewhere in the middle chewing on grass.

 

[ancientblade]

We do have a replacement for Lowe though. Put Clark in the back 3 and move JLT to Lowe' s position as mentioned by other posters. Trouble is Hecky doesn't see it .

i prefer clark to robinson anyway at lcb but agree robinson could definetly play lwb lowe looks devoid of any confidence just now and needs benching other than that think osborn when fit is our other option at lwb

 

[Gavlar]

Berge for me has to be pound for pound the biggest flop I've seen in a blades shirt, £20m+ for continuous abject performances, when you consider didsy was a free and what he brought to the team, in this league a player of his supposed ability should have at least 10 MOM awards, I can't even recall him getting one.
Anyway great win tonight and huge 3 points

Ahem Brewster?

 

[MagnifiqueShorehamStreet]

I genuinely think Lowe secretly hates us as much as that cunt commentator Goodman, he played much better for florist & didn’t have that sly, shifty, wage stealing look about him there
- gerrim gone assp!!

Glad Hecky is finally listening to fans who know it’s a no brainer to start the Man City boys. Big improvement tonight.

The day Hecky pays any attention to most of the people on here, he’ll be sat in the stands next to em.

 

[Constantly Optimistic...]

Well, thank you as always for your take, you didn't see or take heed of my advice on match thread to just mark 0/10 for this abject, disjointed and pathetic performance. Save us the trouble in responding.
I think you were too generous tonight. The team selection was appalling, the player commitment non-existent, the plan, what plan? The disconnect between the forwards and the rest of team is so evident. The substitutions incredible. Luton were weak, we were weaker. Ageing Adabayu showed McB how a centre forward should play. I can't praise a single player who started today. JLT maybe showed the most effort. The game cried out for Furious George, the Man City duo, any of our progressive young strikers, a change of formation. RND is sadly missed. Hecky has lost it, many games ago. Meltdown beckons, team moral looks shot. Even I can't think of an optimistic point on this, the most appalling performance this season. Where do we go from here? Only downwards in my opinion. Constantly depressed now.

Thanks as always Pommps, I quote my post from last "my take". I'm thinking Hecky and Co are reading your thread and posts for guidance! The addition of Furious, Citeh duo and Jebbo as suggested transformed the team. Attacking, aggressive, pacey and committed. Everything we lacked against Luton. My depression lifted after that performance! Totally agree if we make EPL, frightening prospect with current squad and recent tactics.
I would not underestimate that performance though, our record away at Sunderland is terrible. Great result, resilience returned, let's keep that standard for the rest of the season and worry about EPL as and when we get there with the amazing Dozy on board perhaps . Optimism resumed.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Berge for me has to be pound for pound the biggest flop I've seen in a blades shirt, £20m+ for continuous abject performances, when you consider didsy was a free and what he brought to the team, in this league a player of his supposed ability should have at least 10 MOM awards, I can't even recall him getting one.
Anyway great win tonight and huge 3 points

Brewster is a lot worse

 

[Camden Blade]

A simply huge win tonight for United. In equal parts it was enthusiastically inspiring then frustratingly banal. Nevertheless, the three points we justifiably earned tonight puts a hell of a dent in Boro's ambitions to overhaul us and shows Hecky that being robustly stubborn will bring nothing but mediocrity and failure. The changes he made tonight worked for large parts of the match. We still have flaws and weak links however and he needs to address that as the pressure builds. Middlesbrough will never give up because they know we have weaknesses and can bottle events like this and are susceptible to injuries. But we just have to concentrate on the next game and not fucking lose. Ten Nine games left, twenty seven to gain and we need at least eighteen from wins and draws to make it certain. Boro have also some pressure on them and as long as we can keep more than four points between us we will get there. What we do with this flawed, aged and somewhat underhorsepowered squad if promoted is another debate. One thing is for certain, if we play what we have been playing in both boots on pitch and tactics we will be simply slaughtered. But there is a whole world of water to travel under the bridge before then.

The changes Hecky made were evident straight away. The midfield, which looked like two sets of two with Berge and Doyle dropped back to allow McAtee to run at them with NDaiye instantly showed great progress with passes and throughballs aplenty, albeit much of them misplaced but well intended. Sunderland looked rattled through this but typically we couldn't finish or capitalise. It was a definite positive development mainly because Doyle was all over the place getting involved instead of sitting deep holding Egan's hand like Norwood does. McAtee and NDaiye again carved chances and got into their box and Jebbo looked pacey and difficult for their particularly lumpen centrebacks to deal with. He had a decent shot at goal which was well saved but Berge later Kozluked a clear chance into the stands as they backed off. Sunderland couldn't offer much back and they endeavoured to play it out only to have it intercepted by the marauding Doyle. We found ourselves trapped in our corner and Berge whacked it out straight to their midfield who, as we drove outfield, found one of their players completely unmarked to run on goal and score as Berge and Lowe blamed each other, standing like fucking statues. It was a well taken and in fairness deserved (because they made the most of a meagre chance which we don't) Then we went shit and Sunderland were suddenly not allowing us to play in their half, no matter what we did. This is where Hacky shows weakness because it called for a switch in strategy rather than riding it out. Fodders made a decent low save and we looked rattled now as they won corners and pressed us into defence. They gave away the ball in midfield and Berge pounced feeding Baldock who rolled it into McAtee's path and he, doing what we've been screaming for for weeks, continued his run into the box, shimmied and clipped a fucking lovely drive into the far corner past their keeper.

Second half and we are actually expecting to win. It's the only result really. Grinding out a draw will just pile on the pressure and after ten minutes we are slightly on top with Doyle on FK duties he did what he threatened to do in the first half and curled a teasing cross unchallenged into the far corner. Was Berge offside? Yes, he was. So fucking what? We've had that kind of shit go against us in the past. It was good to see us weather Sunderland's inevitable storm for the next half hour although I didn't think reverting the team to the Luton staring lineup was a wise choice. It did fuck all to ease our confidence.

Foderingham 6/10: A couple of good stops. His distribution sometimes is pretty pissy.
Baldock 6.5/10: Good gains on RWB from Bogle. Although he's not as advanced and threatening he did set up McAtee's goal and added some robustness down that flank, if losing half a mark for mixing it up unnecessarily at times
Anel 6.5/10: Fairly solid outing from him with some deft touches and interceptions but again goes onto the yellow card roster having just been fucking banned for a pointless foul. We are gonna need him in the next ten games
Egan 7/10: Unremarkable game for Egan. Did his job okay and dealt with threats accordingly
JLT 6.5/10: Another typically robust if somewhat chaotic game. Equal parts to blame for their goal with Berge and Lowe
Lowe 3.5/10: A real weak link for us. His reading of the game is poor as is his positioning. Seems we are just waiting for the return of RND now
Doyle 8/10: Such an upgrade. In the Norwood role he covers more grass and gets stuck in. There's still work to be done but it was encouraging to see him driving the team up the pitch today, much like Michael Brown used to. Deserved his goal.
Berge 4/10: Better, but still lacklustre, slow and somewhat labouring. This deeper role had him more involved but he was nevertheless unproductive and at times simply fucking static.
McAtee 7.5/10: Full point for his superb goal and some dogged endeavour running at their robust midfield and backline. A bit isolated from NDaiye. One would hope a MGW/NDaiye partnership would start to grow where both run at backlines and through like last year. That, is how his goal came.
NDaiye 7/10: Again, our only real threat and source of inspiration with his slippery runs and dogged tenacity even when out of possession
Jebbison 6.5/10: Lower mark because he was, effectively starved of chances. A good attempt on goal in the first half which was well saved

McBurnie 7/10: Good outing from him both in defence and trying to get in and amongst it up front
Norwood 5/10: On for the first time for ages as a sub and did a bit of spadework in midfield. Would love to see him paired with Doyle instead of Berge
Fleck 4/10: Looks pounds overweight and too stocky to be effective now
Sharp 5/10: On the deck most of the time

HJ&SMcC 8/10: Firstly for changing shit round. Then for sticking by it, until they put the Luton team on then 4/10: for making us shit our pants in the final minutes.

Crowd 8/10: Heard throughout the match, in a big stadium. Well done you lot.

Sky Sports 1/10: Cunts. Goodman should never commentate on a team he so profoundly despises again. He spoke utter shit and with such a forked tongue. Also, protracted stills on people is dogshit sports coverage. I don't give a fat cow's cunt who the Sunderland chairman is bumming this week nor do I give a shit what is happening anywhere except on the pitch. Sky needs to alter it's editorial guidelines that if the ball is live, the director switches to the game play. Their colouring is better than SUTV though which always looks like there's summat wrong with your brightness and contrast.

pommpey

That's been a bugbear of mine for ages. Although BBC are guilty of it too. Show us the effing game, show us the ball, not protracted close ups of various faces or multiple replays when the ball is in play. Suggests the people in charge have never been fans.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

I've just got home from work so it was a pleasant surprise to see that we'd won tonight, as I was expecting a 1-1 draw. I'll give Hecky his dues for making positive changes in dropping Norwood, Fleck and Bogle, though I see golden boy had to play again (is it in his contract?). One swallow doesn't make a summer and Hecky needs to be this positive for the remainder of the season now that he's been handed a promotion lifeline. I still don't rate him, but credit where it's due. Two changes to midfield, two goals from midfield! Good stuff. I'll watch the highlights in the morning as I'm knackered.

Golden Balls did absolutely nothing.
Again.

 

[dublin 10 blade]

Thanks Pomps ,
Unable to see / hear the game
In hospital for 2 days
But great to read you view
Be able to see rest of season from home at least
So won’t be home for rest of season and our promotion to the premier league
UTB

 

[Keen Blade]

I'm amazed by the number of people blaming Berge for the goal. He's part of the problem but it's not all down to him.

Firstly, there's no pressure on the Sunderland midfielder when he picks up the ball. Doyle comes haring out to him but that leaves Ba free for a simple pass. Ndiaye is bottom of screen, Berge to the right. McAtee has disappeared entirely. Egan looks to have dropped with Robinson in the centre half position when stepping out would keep the line and leave Geldhardt (?) offside.
View attachment 155955

Ba brings the ball forward under little pressure. Ahmedhodzic steps out to engage but doesn't commit. Robinson has continued his run into nomansland, Berge is oblivious to the danger and Egan is too deep. Lowe is caught watching the wide man instead of tucking in to cut off the through ball.
View attachment 155956

By the time the ball reaches Michut we're in real trouble. There are SEVEN United defenders in shot and they're all facing the wrong way. Robinson belatedly realises that's his man and tries in vain to get back. Foderingham's staring position is (IMHO) a step or two too far to his right but that might be subconscious given the he's left footed and presumably left handed and so stronger diving left.
View attachment 155957

Take nothing away from the finish, which was excellent, but it's yet another example of a loss of concentration and a lack of communication in the back line. Egan, as captain and centre half, should be controlling that situation and making sure that Robinson stays in position. Berge needs to take more responsibility defensively but we shouldn't be expecting him to pick up an opposition player in our back line when we're more than covered.


Agree with most of that except the apportionment of the blame. Most has to go to Robinson for leaving his LCB position which is where the goal comes from. Lowe is watching Roberts on the wing.

Berge is our closest man to their scorer.
Berge can see that our defenders have made a combined mistake and left their scorer alone on the edge of the box.
But does Berge try to help his teammates and sprint back to cover or jockey the scorer ? NO.
That's what infuriates me about Berge - he just thinks it's not his job so he won't bother.
He provides countless examples of this throughout most matches.
He just won't look to take responsibility when we're out of possession.
It's not difficult mate , just join in !

 

[pommpey]

Thanks Pomps ,
Unable to see / hear the game
In hospital for 2 days
But great to read you view
Be able to see rest of season from home at least
So won’t be home for rest of season and our promotion to the premier league
UTB

Speedy recovery Dubs

pommpey