Phil Smith answers fans questions after Sunderland's win over West Brom

Sunderland Echo

Transcript

00:00 Hello and welcome to another edition of On The Whistle. The lawnmowers thankfully are

00:15 a little bit quieter here at West Bromden than they were at Leeds. I'm hoping you're

00:17 not going to have any audio issues. We are working on some fixes for that in the future

00:22 so hopefully it won't be too big a problem but persist with me. Really good win for Sunderland.

00:27 I think you would have to say a better result than performance. If we're honest the game

00:30 totally changed on 44 minutes when Brandon Thomas-Sassanti made two pretty reckless fouls.

00:37 West Brom had dominated the first half, controlled possession and Sunderland I thought had been

00:40 very similar to what they were at Leeds in terms of you had to admire how disciplined

00:44 they were, the defensive shape was very good. They limited a good side, very few opportunities

00:48 on home turf but it had been really poor on the ball. It had been quite a tough watch

00:52 at times. Didn't seem to be a great amount of ambition, lots of over-hit passes, not

00:56 really getting plays in the final third. And then obviously the red card changes everything,

01:01 a really nasty challenge, the second one in particular. Ekwood takes a lovely finish from

01:05 a corner, really good hit. Sometimes you forget how much technical quality Ekwood's got but

01:09 that showed. And the second half I thought by and large was really good from Sunderland,

01:13 they controlled the game, dominated the ball. West Brom had 10-15 minutes where they brought

01:20 some substitutes on and looked dangerous. John Swift, Jed Wallace, Matt Phillips, good experienced

01:24 players. Went a bit more direct but then fair play to Sunderland, Anthony Batson got a little

01:28 knock. Dodds used that chance, that little break to change things and switched to a back

01:32 four, brought Stiles into midfield. Sunderland got back on the ball and managed it really

01:35 well. So you have to give Sunderland credit, that's five clean sheets in six, that's four

01:40 points from Leeds and West Brom away. If we're honest at the start of the week I think we

01:44 would have all said that was a very, very, very good return. And I think the dressing

01:48 room have definitely responded to that Blackburn game and they've given Dodds a response and

01:53 credit to him. My one sort of mixed feeling was that the first half was such a tough watch

01:57 at times and I really do feel the style has gone backwards so dramatically from last season

02:02 if you think back to the goals that Dennis Irvine scored here in our Welsh Sunderland

02:05 blade. I was reassured though at the end because Mike Dodson's press conference was really

02:09 up front with that. He said look I want us to be more free-flowing. You know the shape

02:13 change is obviously taken away from the style. And it was quite nice to hear that and hopefully

02:17 something that will be addressed in the final three games of the season will see Sunderland

02:21 be a bit more like the team we like watching. What he did also say is we've got a lot of

02:25 young players on the team. Sometimes you have got to tighten up and what we have got now

02:29 is a platform to build on and I think that's fair enough and you have to give them credit

02:32 for four points in two games. That leads me straight into your questions really because

02:38 two of you, John and Mike especially, have asked about the back three and whether it's

02:42 something I think Sunderland will persist with. I don't think it's a long-term solution

02:47 because I think ultimately it does take so much away from what Sunderland do going forward.

02:52 And I think that I know for a fact that pretty much since the new high right came in there

02:55 has always been a desire to recruit to a variation 4-3-3 whether it's 4-2-3-1 or however you

03:01 want to describe it because that is definitely the way in which they feel you are going to

03:04 dominate the ball in the final third and get bodies into the box. So I don't see it as

03:08 a long-term solution because I think ultimately you are not going to get promoted playing

03:11 the way Sunderland have in the last two games all the time. And I think you can see times

03:15 when Sunderland are completely in possession but don't get enough bodies forward and if

03:18 you are at home playing against teams with a low block you are going to really struggle

03:21 to win enough I think. Having said that, we said it the other night, there are going to

03:25 be games like this. Sunderland aren't the biggest spenders in this division and sometimes

03:28 they are going to have to show a bit of humility when they come away. And what's pleasing is

03:31 to know that Sunderland have got the option to do this. They can show different sides

03:35 of their game and hopefully whoever the new head coach is can see now that there is that

03:39 option there.

03:40 Off the back of that some of you are asking about Stiles and Pambelle as well praising

03:43 their performances. I totally agree, they have had good weeks and I suppose it just

03:47 goes to show what happens when you get them in the right positions. I think that both

03:51 can be a little bit more aggressive on the ball. I think they have both got the quality

03:54 to offer more going forward but I think you also have to say that this week has been about

03:58 the defensive effort first and particularly Pambelle, we will see more of that as it settles.

04:04 I think you can forgive him being a little bit tentative at the moment because he is

04:07 still finding his way in the championship and in the team. Stiles interestingly, I mentioned

04:10 that shape change at the end which really helps them. Stiles went into the centre midfield

04:13 and looked really tidy. It is something that I would like to see between now and the end

04:16 of the season because that is the position he plays at a good international level and

04:21 it would be interesting to see how he did that in the championship. It is just one kind

04:24 of thing I am thinking about and I would like to see.

04:27 Rob Hutchinson says West Brom beat themselves today. I have to say that I agree with this.

04:31 I thought there was clearly a lot of ill will towards Dan Ballard after his challenge on

04:34 Geoff Maggia earlier in the return fixture. He really became this pantomime villain and

04:39 he was the subject of some pretty tasty challenges from West Brom. They made their point but

04:44 ultimately it was one of the key reasons why they lost the game. Ballard I thought did

04:48 really well, showed his composure, showed his quality and ultimately Thomas De Santis

04:52 challenge on him was the turning point in the game. So as much as I want to praise Sunderland's

04:56 organisation and their discipline, Rob you are absolutely right. West Brom were a key

04:59 architect of their own downfall today and the focus on Ballard definitely took away

05:04 from their general performance and in the end it really cost them.

05:08 Let's see what other questions we have got. Alex Elliott says for the remaining games

05:12 would you prefer clean sheets or a few more goals?

05:14 Well ideally I would like both obviously but I would like to see a bit more front footed

05:18 performances. Totally understand the context of these two games, why Dodds has done what

05:22 he has done, particularly off the back of the Blackburn game. There was a real need

05:25 to get back to basics, stop those counter attacks where Sunderland have just been cut

05:29 open and put some pride back in the shirt. To be fair they have done that and they have

05:33 given themselves a really good platform. I would like to see them be a bit more free

05:36 flowing and a bit more aggressive going forward in the last few games. I think they will do

05:40 that, I think the opposition is changing and obviously you have got to find a balance.

05:43 I do think we will probably see Sunderland go back to four, will Roberts come back in,

05:46 will Aushish come back in. I think those players will come back in and you will hopefully naturally

05:50 see that sort of evolution. I do think it is important that that happens because ultimately

05:54 this isn't the team we want Sunderland to be in the long run, it is the team they needed

05:58 to be in the last two games and they did it really well. But obviously we want to see

06:01 that evolution and to be fair I think we will.

06:04 Owen says just how good is Chris Rigg? I thought that was Chris Rigg's best all-round performance

06:11 for Sunderland today. Even in the first half when Sunderland weren't actually playing very

06:14 well as a team I thought he looked really comfortable on the ball, played some lovely

06:17 little passes into Pembele which the wing-back probably could have done a little bit more

06:20 with. He was in really good openings, looked after the ball really well, teed up Dan Neal

06:25 for Sunderland's best chance in the early stages of the second half. I think we have

06:30 got to give credit to Dodds because playing him in that slightly wider role is a really

06:34 nice one for him because there isn't that huge pressure to be in the heat of the battle

06:39 and there is enough space and time for him to get on the ball and settle into the contest.

06:43 But he looked so at ease today against a good team. His talent is unbelievable and I am

06:48 really hoping that this run of games convinces him and the reception he is getting from the

06:51 fans convinces him to stick around for next year because at the moment he is going to

06:55 be a member of the first team squad at Merritt and he is going to put some pressure on people

06:58 like Robertson but even from the start of the season. For me, I think he has got a massive

07:05 lead and I thought today was his best performance yet. If it wasn't for how Ballard managed

07:09 the situation I think I would have made Rik Meijer something I would have matched. I did

07:12 give it to Ballard just because I thought it was a really professional performance.

07:15 Last comment comes from Tony who says 'a sign of the quality of our play when a new kit

07:19 deal creates more excitement in our football performances. Still nice to see a win.' Yes,

07:23 still nice to see a win. I agree with you. Not that it is something we want to see in

07:25 the long run but hopefully they will improve and let's be fair, Tony, it is some nice kit

07:30 isn't it? Very nice to see Hummel back. I think that is a really good move. I think

07:34 we should cling on to any positivity Tony as much as we can. So, listen, that is it

07:39 for today. Thanks very, very much for watching. I always appreciate your questions and comments.

07:42 It is always really nice to talk about the Sunderland win. I will be back next week after

07:46 the Millwall game. Hopefully I will have James alongside me for the latest edition and hopefully

07:50 we will have another Sunderland win to talk about. So, thanks again for watching.

07:52 Bye.

07:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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