- 10 months ago
- #safc
- #sunderlandafc
- #premierleague
- #footballanalysis
Was Sunderland's loss to Manchester United just a bump in the road, or a sign of deeper issues? The Raw Podcast team dives deep into the game, dissecting team selections and tactical decisions.
#SAFC #SunderlandAFC #PremierLeague #FootballAnalysis
#SAFC #SunderlandAFC #PremierLeague #FootballAnalysis
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00hello welcome to the raw podcast brought to you by the sunland echo my name is jason jones
00:22joined by james copley and phil smith as always plenty to be discussing on this monday morning
00:28we're going to be taking a broader look at sunderland's impressive start to the premier
00:31league season as a whole but first phil there is the small matter of saturday's defeat against
00:37manchester united to to quickly take a look uh obviously a pretty disappointing result given
00:42sunderland's recent form and manchester united's recent form as well it has to be said but just
00:46interested to hear what you made of the performance uh at old trafford over the weekend yeah it was a
00:53it was a disappointing day it's probably one of the few days where you've come away from the game
00:59feeling a little bit flat so far this season um nice to be back doing the raw we should first um
01:04congratulate mr copley on on the arrival of a new sunderland fan um yeah so congratulations james
01:11we've had a few people asking about the raw um we've had a lot going on at the echo but we're back
01:16normal service is very much resumed from today so it feels fitting that we've come back after a
01:2110-0 defeat it's kind of normal um comfortable areas for us all to be operating them isn't it um
01:27yeah it was it was a strange kind of game because i couldn't quite work out whether it was by accident
01:33or by design but it felt like something a little bit more attacking a little more aggressive than
01:38they had been in their previous away games and couldn't quite work out if that was man united had
01:43kind of invited them on to them a little bit whether someone had maybe got a little bit carried away
01:47because of the form but either way i guess it was a little bit of a bump down worth because you know
01:52people can talk about man united's form and struggles they're having but with ahmad and casemiro back in
01:57the side they had a very strong team and they were just a little bit too quick a little too bit too
02:02sharp for sunderland particularly that combination of ahmad and umbwemo you know that was comfortably the
02:09best sort of individual display i know i'm talking about two players that i've seen this season and
02:15it took someone just a long time to get to grips with that really and whether that's something just
02:20dipping a little bit below the levels that we've seen from the season i'm not sure so
02:24maybe just a little bit of a reality check and a reminder that you know someone's have to get back
02:29to the basics of what they've done really well this season and that regardless of how well they've done
02:33you know they they aren't a team that can afford to not be at their best if they're not at their best
02:38they're going to lose games i think that was probably the key take away from it
02:41yeah it was interesting wasn't it james obviously regis took the decision to make a couple of
02:48changes heading into the game uh in in wide areas you know we saw anzola fair move into the center of
02:54the park as well i mean just sort of interested to get your your thoughts on that because certainly
03:00looking on from a from a distance it wasn't something that i was necessarily expecting it felt
03:04like quite a big call and it felt like it might have had a a bit of a bearing on how some of them
03:08were able to go about the business i think i can see what labrice was trying to do i think
03:14transitions have been particularly big in the premier league and in all of sumberland's game
03:19games this season and i feel like labrice was sort of setting up to hit manchester united on the
03:24counter attack using transitions i think that's probably why i went with adinga and triore
03:28in the wide areas did it work no i think he probably got his team selection and his tactics wrong
03:33easy for me to say in hindsight though isn't it i don't think many people were sort of saying
03:37this is a clangor of a team before the game ironically it suited manchester united's system
03:43which has come in for so much stick this season they were able to double up on sumberland's left
03:47hand side as phil mentions with amad diallo and brian and buemo and i think it gets a little bit
03:53lost about manchester united doesn't it given the real poor form and the sort of slow decay of the club
03:59but they have actually got some really really good players yes it's not working at the moment but
04:02mason mount is a top level premier league operator wine and buemo went for a lot of money we know how
04:09good amad diallo is so i think it was frustrating in a sense that had labrice gone with a five at the
04:16back from the start i could see a scenario in which suddenly maybe he's got a point or grown into the
04:20game a bit quickly quicker but yeah disappointing but i don't think there's any need to throw the baby
04:27out with the bathwater the quality in the premier league is is incredible we've still had an excellent
04:31start of the season um and in terms of liberty sort of getting it wrong quote unquote he's got
04:37a lot of credit in the bank i think he sort of recognized his his mistake didn't he and that
04:42was that was pleasing although suddenly we're 2-0 down at the time so i think there's lots to ponder
04:46and going forward perhaps shows a little bit of a blueprint really if you are playing quality
04:51opposition away from home you know quote unquote top six or the big six as as manchester united are known
04:57despite finishing low down the premier league table last season that maybe you do have to set up a
05:02little bit more defensively and try and hang in there for a little bit and i think that five at
05:06the back formation getting dan ballard in there i think that's a real good option we saw it against
05:11villa at home didn't we when sutherland went out to 10 men i think that can be a real string to the
05:16ball and i think labrice has shown tactical flexibility throughout his time at sutherland but i think we
05:21might have to see a little bit more of it going forward particularly against those big balls all big
05:27games away from home yeah i mean james has sort of alluded to it there isn't phil but are there
05:33positives to be taken from the fact that in terms of his in-game management you know regis was able
05:38to identify that things weren't working in the way that he wanted it to he made that alteration and
05:43from then on sundown perhaps looked a little bit steadier in how they went about things yeah i think
05:48there's a couple of factors in that i think one you're absolutely right and it would have been quite
05:52easy just to wait till half time by which you know by which point the damage could have been even worse
05:56that was definitely credit in the bank i think you also have to be we shouldn't get too carried
06:00away by sundown's improvement because i think man united managed the game thereafter and i think that
06:05was a big part of why you know things went the way they did so yeah i think there's definitely some
06:11some credit for the place for acting decisively i think the one thing that you couldn't really accuse
06:15him of in his time at sundown is leaving the team exposed defensively could could you like it's
06:21kind of been the opposite of that for the most part so that leads me to think that maybe just
06:25the game played out in a different way to how someone expected it to maybe man united were a
06:29little bit more a little bit more direct maybe they were a little bit more safety first in some
06:34aspects of the way they played and that caught someone off guard so i don't think there's any
06:38need for kind of a an overreaction or a panic i think it's just a maybe a little bit of a you know
06:44take take a deep breath and get back to basics a little bit and i think i just felt like the the
06:48chemistry of the team wasn't quite right i think masuaka and adinga really good players going forward
06:53maybe both of them against you know ahmad is a little bit much to ask you know i mean i just
06:58felt whether it's a back five or whether it would have been you know moving another player over the
07:02left back a more defensive minded player i think there were i think there were just a couple of
07:07errors made and you know as james said it's really easy to say in hindsight but i think it's one for
07:11someone to to take a few lessons from and kind of um quickly move on from i think and in terms of
07:19key moments james obviously there was the the penalty incident a bit of a bizarre one
07:23steward atwell didn't award a penalty then the linesman intervened and he did award a penalty then
07:27bar intervened and he didn't award a penalty i mean it certainly looked like a soft one do you think
07:33ultimately the the officiating team came to the right decision yeah i think it's frustrating that it
07:39took them so long and it was you know sort of miscommunicated i think nobody was really sure
07:45what had happened but to be brutally honest if that's given against sunderland as a penalty i'm
07:49i'm absolutely raging there's there's no contact yes his boots high but it's it's not dangerous you
07:55would call that sort of a footballing incident wouldn't you when when two players go for a ball
08:00both players have to go for it there's no contact you know there's no studs near the head or anything
08:05like that he's sort of side on sesco isn't he to hume um hume goes down actually because the ball
08:10hits him in the first not not the boot so for me if if if that's given um i'm sort of really struggling
08:18with the rules in the premier league generally i just i don't see a world in which that needs to be
08:22to be given as i say the frustrating thing was that maybe it took a little bit of time to get there but
08:27i'm aware that we can't keep criticizing referees and processors for getting the right decision even
08:34if it does take them a little bit of time because that's what we all want at the end of the day is
08:37consistency consistency in the right vision and i think they did come to the right decision in the
08:43end up the opposite end of course the the trioria one which i'm sure will come on to
08:47that was baffling to me um and and that that key thing of consistency is really important because
08:54i think we have seen penalties given for
08:58challenges like the one from sesco on hume sort of over the months in the premier league over the
09:05years in the premier league at times um so it probably does need sort of clarifying in a way
09:10um but yeah i had no complaints with that one actually my issue was up the other end
09:15yeah i mean phil burton triara has got to feel a bit hard done by doesn't he even if you don't
09:22necessarily believe it's a foul there's certainly contact from semi lamins isn't it it doesn't seem
09:27like he's simulating in any form is he yeah it's it's absolutely not a dive in any way shape or form
09:34it's a poor decision what what's the right level of punishment in terms of is it a foul does it go
09:38score an opportunity yeah i can't say confidently that i think it's either of those things but it's
09:43definitely not a dive and it feels a little bit like this is one where referees are in a little bit
09:47of a tangle at the moment because i think we can clearly see there's been a push to act more on
09:53simulation this season which in principle i think is great and i think that's a really good thing
09:57that they should keep trying to do because it has become a sort of blight on the game really
10:01but you are seeing some odd decisions that i think you wouldn't normally see so i think that's one of
10:06them if we're brutally honest the the dominguez one at nottingham forest i think is also a decision
10:11that we're not used to seeing you know and then that one ended up benefiting sunderland
10:14uh although i think there was more of a case there that dominguez was exaggerating contacting
10:20in this case but yeah i think that's one where at the moment it feels like the referees haven't
10:24quite landed on on what the right level of um what a dive is and when a simulation when it's not so
10:30that was a really poor decision but i have to say i thought that labrice you know he was asked about
10:35both those decisions in the post-match press conference and he said you know it's not a day for
10:39me to be talking about referees because i can't sit here and say that that one one decision could have
10:44changed the outcome of the game because you know we weren't we weren't where we needed to be and
10:48man united with a better team and i have to say i thought that was absolutely right i think
10:52if we're if sunderland i'd be concerned if someone were coming away talking about referees because
10:56really you know they didn't defend anywhere near as well as we've seen them do this season
11:01and they started slowly i'm reassured that i think both the staff and the players are coming away
11:07fully understanding that's the reason why they lost this game even if i think they'll probably be
11:12quite rightly saying that you know how on earth is he being booked for diving there
11:15and now james we head into the second international break of the season sunderland currently ninth in
11:23the table 11 points from their opening run of games i mean you'd have bitten someone's hand off if they
11:29offered that to you at the beginning of the campaign wouldn't you yeah i think it's been a really
11:33positive season for sunderland obviously they've kicked off a lot of boxes haven't they you know
11:37they've they're unbeaten at home they won that first game against west ham which was really
11:42cathartic really enjoyable they've come from behind against brentford you know they've won away against
11:47nottingham forest have kept clean sheets point away at palace is an excellent result really especially
11:52it was an excellent result at the time but even in hindsight now where they are in the table having
11:57just beaten liverpool last week um you know a good check against aston villa when they went down to 10 men
12:04conceded first and still managed to get a draw which i thought was was absolutely exceptional
12:09i don't really buy into this i don't really buy into this argument that sunderland haven't played
12:13anybody yet i think that's i think that's um sort of cheap analysis yes they haven't played
12:20sort of any of the traditional top six apart from manchester united but we know there's no easy
12:24games in the premier league i think there's an argument to say that the hardest part of sunderland
12:29season is still to come obviously with that sort of december january run of fixtures and afcon i think
12:33that is absolutely fair enough to say but to say that we haven't played anybody i think is
12:38it is poor i think la bruce has done really well to manage that squad and and to get everybody sort
12:44of off on the right foot with so many new additions i think the cohesion they've shown actually has been
12:50remarkable and hopefully that will continue to improve as the players get to know each other but
12:54it's been superbly enjoyable i mean if you'd have told southern fans they'd be ninth coming into the
13:01second international break of the season you know with 11 points having you know arrived at that
13:09point unbeaten at home they would have absolutely snapped your hand off as well and obviously new
13:15castle are still below sunderland as well at the second international break and not many people would
13:19have would have predicted that at the start of the season of course it can all change i'm very wary of
13:25these stats about clubs having never been relegated after a certain amount of points at this stage of
13:31the season because there's always a first isn't it doesn't mean anything yet until the fat lady sings
13:36there's still so much work to do but there are positives the january windows incoming obviously
13:41habib diara coming back from injury in december um you know this this group of players have shown to me
13:49that i think they've got something and they can score goals they can dig in defensively sound the
13:54willing um they've got character so i'm absolutely over the moon with with the start of the season to
14:00be honest i think it's been really good i mean particularly that west ham game as well like
14:05the sequence of that coming off the back of of the playoff games against coventry and then sheffield
14:10united a better sort of four game sequence i don't think you'll you'll really find in in
14:15sutherland's history back to back it was just magnificent uh so you know long may the positivity
14:21continue i think for me obviously none of us knew how the season was going to pan out going into it
14:28there were some obvious trepidations and i think justifiably so one of the most impressive things is
14:34that i don't think there's been a game yet where sutherland have truly looked out of the contest
14:38obviously the two defeats so far that the burnley game i think if it lies in my end of scores first
14:42could be a very different game i think there's an argument to be made for sutherland
14:45having more control in that game number and see manchester united disappointing result but like
14:50you sort of alluded to you know regis makes the operations and some of them do sort of steady
14:55themselves on their feet a little bit and you know i think for me that's a huge testament as
14:59to the recruitment how far the squad's come i think it's testament to to reduce his coaching
15:04writ large i mean phil is is there an argument to be made that it's not necessarily the results
15:10that are the most impressive thing but the the manner in which sutherland have picked up these results
15:15you know james has mentioned that the villa game coming from behind to to rescue a point of bread
15:19for game where they had to leave it late to win and and you know various other examples besides
15:23yeah i think that's probably one of the most um promising things has been that that spirit if you
15:31like that was there last season and that kind of got some of the results even when at times i think
15:36everyone was pretty open in that knowledge and they weren't playing sparking football that seems to
15:40have continued and that's no mean feat when you bring in so many players and there's so much
15:44turnover in the squad and obviously one of the things we discussed within the summer and the
15:47early weeks of the season was you know the players from last season he'll be pretty frustrated that
15:52they haven't had more minutes and have had players coming in and taking their place so i think that
15:56would be such an obvious strong team spirit still and such a resilience despite all that change
16:01i think it might be impressive and you know we you can't have it both ways in terms of we said
16:07before the season this is a kind start but some have to make the most of it and that you know
16:12ultimately we could be sitting here going into the national break saying well hang on we've only got a
16:16few points on the board we're in the relegation zone you know afcon's coming up two games against
16:22man city in december's coming up and you know we'd be panicking so i said earlier in the season it's
16:28it's all well and good saying it's a relatively easy fixture list and that is absolutely true but if you
16:32look at what the promoter teams did in the last two seasons they were losing these games against
16:37the so-called weaker teams the big change of the premier league this season is the teams who
16:42were never really too troubled by relegation the last couple of years wolves west ham
16:46big part of that reason is because they were confidently and comfortably beating the relegated
16:51teams whenever they played them so it's a massive step forward for sunland to to already be in that
16:56bracket where you know we're discussing whether it's you know a bit of an easy game to play against
17:01villa out of form they were games that villa were winning easily so i think it's it's a huge credit
17:06to sunland and i think as long as i think there should be a lot of excitement and a lot of pride
17:10on way aside as long as there is that realism that there are going to be days like saturday there
17:15might be a few in a row in december do you know what i mean i think you can i think it's perfectly
17:19um plausible to kind of see see both aspects of that yeah i think you're absolutely right and it's
17:27about getting those points on the board when you can't go any because you know it's a cliche but
17:31cliches are cliches for a reason there are not really any easy games in the premier league you
17:36know what i mean like you i think especially this season because it does feel as if the teams who
17:41have come up you know leeds and bernie as well they it looks as if they've got a little bit more bite
17:46and a little bit more battle about them it's not necessarily something that we've seen in recent
17:49years is it james no it's not what i really love about the breeze as well is that he's sort of a
17:55cold-hearted pragmatist isn't he in a sense that obviously russell martin's just been sacked for his job
18:00at ranges but going back to last season and in his campaign with with southampton he was very
18:05unwilling to compromise his ideals we saw it a little bit with vincent company with burnley a
18:09couple of seasons ago as well although he did try and change a little bit towards the back end of
18:13the season lebris just isn't like that he's not built like that he will do what he feel is the best
18:18without pretense he's not bothered about style it's all about the substance and about the results
18:22and it served sundland well last season and it certainly served us well at the beginning of this
18:27season because at the end of the day style is one thing but winning football games and getting
18:31results is another um and i i know which one i prefer i've had the choice to be honest
18:37obviously we've mentioned the recruitment already really interested to get both your feelings on this
18:44like have you got like a player of the season so far because there are so many candidates on
18:48i think you could maybe even divide it into defensive and attacking you know new signings
18:54and players who were on the books before but i mean phil i'll come to you first is there anybody
18:59in particular who's caught your eyes it's such a glittering array that you're struggling with
19:03i mean it it has to be zaka for me yeah you know obviously it's the fairly obvious one but i think it's
19:09impossible to look past you can talk about all the important stuff that he does off the pitch
19:15the the leadership that he's brought the composure he's brought in possession even on saturday when
19:19someone went great i thought jack had a really good game and then there's the fact that he's
19:22actually arguably being someone's most impactful player in the final third in terms of the assists
19:27and the chances that he's created and that combination is unbelievable really and i just
19:32think that's a sign and that we're going to potentially if and and i think there's a really
19:36good chance that could happen that someone stay up and this is kind of the platform for them to
19:40to stabilize in the premier league potentially i think we're going to be looking back at that as
19:44as one of the most significant signings in the club's history really because i think it was just
19:48a bit of a game changer showed sort of the way it built on that feel good factor that was already
19:55there with the fan base must have had an impact in some of the ambitious signings we made after that
20:00in terms of a little bit of a domino impact i just think yeah for me he's been the best player
20:05and the best signing but of course like you know ruffs is an obvious one alderete siddiqui there's
20:11loads but i think sometimes you can look past the obvious one i think if you know there's one
20:15signing that you really wouldn't want there's something to have missed out on in retrospect i
20:19think it's it's the zaka one i think it's been a game changer i mean week on week james the more
20:25you see him play the more it feels increasingly surreal that granite zaka is at the stadium of light
20:32because you know there's a version of this in which you know we've seen before i mean big name
20:35players past 30 maybe coming towards the perceived end of their careers they sort of come back to the
20:41premier league pick up one last paycheck and ride off in the sunset but it certainly doesn't look as
20:45if zaka's up for that in the slightest does it he's here to make a difference absolutely and there
20:50were questions over his his legs how much he had left in the tank but to me i don't really see any
20:56visible signs of decline and if there are physical signs of decline then his mind is doing an
21:01exceptional job of of getting him in the right position and hiding that for me i think he's been
21:05brilliant as phil said it was a little bit of a signal to the footballing world that we were taking
21:09this really seriously and the more i've thought about this as well the more i just love granite
21:14shaka's mentality around it you know he's been at arsenal for all of those years captain of the club
21:18in the premier league he's been at by a leverkusen won a title there had a fantastic couple of seasons
21:24all of those international appearances for switzerland and his next move as you say isn't
21:31about a paycheck necessarily although obviously we know the money has to be right to get him to
21:35sunland it's about wanting to to leave a bit of a legacy somewhere understanding that he could be
21:41the figurehead that sort of drags this club you know to premier league safety or up the premier league
21:46and i feel it's really powerful that a player of his stature and caliber understands what sunland could be
21:53it's sort of it's nice that that message is is getting through and he's delivering the goods on
21:58the pitch and i think it's brilliant for the younger players as well he's captain of the club
22:02exceptionally well just thinking back to that west ham game again when he was telling everybody to
22:08calm down because he knows that that things can happen in the premier league and despite being tuned
22:14up sunland had to be careful and they were thankfully they got the third um but just his his actions as
22:20well in the final third he's got three assists this season which has sort of gone under the radar a
22:24little bit but um you know that the cross for the assist uh in the game earlier on in the season
22:30who scored it was it um it was it i'm trying to think he crossed the ball in earlier on in the
22:36season at home my mind's gone blank he said oh yeah sorry yeah that was right that was right
22:42the the cross for that was just exceptional in a sense that a younger player would have maybe
22:47rush that and try to get the ball in the box quickly but he just slowed everything down
22:51concentrated on the delivery and of of of the cross and again against aston villa when he he slows
22:58everything down he doesn't rush when he when he meets that headed ball granted there weren't too many
23:04well there were loads of aston villa players around him but they didn't really do anything but he just
23:08was calmness personified and i think that's really valuable um in a football team and he brings a
23:14calmness and the presence if we're talking about signs of the season though i've been so impressed
23:18with robin roofs i've been just blown away by by how good he is his his shot stop and his
23:25anticipation just how good he is under a high ball i can't believe he's only played one season
23:29of senior football what is he 22 23 i think he's only going to get better and better we've seen
23:34at other clubs particularly manchester united how hard it can be to get a good goalkeeper
23:38but the early signs from him are really really really really promising i was a massive fan of anthony
23:43patterson but i think he's unfortunately for pato just a level above and everything that he's done
23:49um and i think the other sign for me would would be mcquillie i think it's just been fantastic
23:55alongside aldiretti as well you could throw him in there but that sort of defensive sort of trio
24:02of rupes mcquillie and aldiretti i think it's going to be really really important and i like
24:07ranildo as well i know he's given away a party and got a red card so he's sadly not in contention
24:11now but i think when he comes back that's going to be really really important
24:15yeah it's interesting with ryanildo isn't it i saw one of those you know sort of like a on twitter
24:21like an influencer doing their flop signings of the season and they snuck ryanildo in there and i was
24:26like you know tell me you haven't actually watched suddenly this season without telling me you haven't
24:30actually watched suddenly this season so obviously like you say the penalty conceded the red card are
24:34going to go against him but he runs his own personal marathon every game doesn't he's up and down
24:38that left flank absolutely relentlessly um i think speaking of relentless for me another one who i
24:43know you've mentioned in phil but might fly under the radar a little bit noah sadiki i think his
24:48ceiling of potential is just absolutely staggering you know i think him coming into the team what
24:55he's already offered and what he could go on to offer if he continues on this trajectory is just
24:59absolutely remarkable i love the balance of that midfield three and obviously we're going to be
25:04without habib diara for for a while to come with injuries and then potentially afcon um and that's
25:10obviously going to be a something that regis has to contend with in terms of his selection
25:13what he does whether he leaves enzo in there whether he brings chris rig back into the side or whatever it
25:17may be but i think that when you've got jacker in there pulling the strings in the manner that he
25:22does when you've got sadiki offering the legs that he does and then obviously diara and his willingness
25:26to sort of break through the lines and drive with the ball you know i think someone'd have to be
25:30hugely lauded for bringing in that three and i do think that they could really make a difference in
25:35in the bid for survival um obviously you know we mentioned players of the season also interested to
25:41get your thoughts on moments of the season because even though we're only a handful of games in there's
25:44been quite a few memorable ones i mean i'll come to you first james anything in particular that
25:50jumps out at you as being something you're going to remember for a long long time
25:53i think just the west ham game generally was was again so cathartic for for reasons i've i've already
26:01described i mean wilson isador and his exploits after after just having a kid i should mention
26:07actually that he's such a nice guy that he unprompted messaged me to to congratulate me which was
26:12very much appreciated actually um i didn't like put it out there because i didn't think it was
26:16the right thing to do at the time but just what a nice guy and sort of embraced the club so well and
26:22i think adapted to life in the premier league better than i thought he would you know those
26:27those three goals have been really important he's hit the ground running which is which is really
26:31nice to see but you know the the equaliser against aston villa as well was a was a moment where i
26:38started to think like god this team have actually really really got something they've got some stones
26:44you know they're you know they've um they've fall back from from adversity in this game and that could
26:49be really powerful really important i mean you could you could talk about a lot of the season
26:53winning away at nottingham forest is a huge milestone in the season potentially um the grit and desire
27:00showed away crystal palace to to get a point there having been under the cosh for a lot of it
27:04you can point towards a lot of things this season i think it's it's been as i say hugely enjoyable but
27:10for me that that west ham game because you you never know how an opening game of the season is going
27:15to go there there's there's hope there's expectation um you know you're cautious as well
27:21can sunderland return to the premier league with a bang or will we just get home to them that's a
27:26really hard season after that but just to after a goal this first half to get those goals in the
27:32second half and go two and then three and a look at the end it was just such a release having not
27:37had premier league football at the stadium of life for going on a decade i felt like it was really
27:43significant the the sun was shining it was just a day of celebration phil wrote a really nice piece
27:48on it actually and what it meant to this city and it it does it does and did feel at the time like
27:53we're really on the up nice as well that the three goal scorers will add to were there during the
27:59promotion campaign as well that was a lovely little detail really cathartic um phil i mean i'll come to
28:04you same question i think james has only left me with a carabao cup defeat at huddersfield but i feel like
28:11when that bridge opens that's going to be the highlight of my season so far come on surely
28:18for the wolves game um i think it has to be the opening day the the mood around the city really i
28:25think it was almost it just felt like an extension to that and we said it a few times like over the
28:31course of the last few months but you might that was a generational run of games from the start of
28:37the coventry semi-final through to to west ham and then next weekend at burnley it was like oh yeah
28:42this this is what it's normally like um so yeah i think it's absolutely definitely the the astonville
28:49one i think is a big point to to kind of throw in in terms of going from a situation where as you
28:55rightly say please actually doing really well and they'll do it a daft red card and you think well
28:59that's that that's this game over to actually get something out of that was probably the result that
29:04most made me think i actually think this team's got a really really strong chance of survival but
29:08everything about about that opening day was just incredibly special yeah i think i'd sort of shout
29:16out the brentford winner in a similar sort of you know to that in the sense that i think coming off
29:22the back of the brentford defeat at brentford sorry burnley defeat and then going out the cup
29:27against huddersfield which i know obviously isn't particularly significant but i think if suddenly then go
29:31and lose to brentford you start to go oh hang on this is this could end up being a bit of a slog this
29:38season but it might still end up being a bit of a slog we never know but i think the manner in which
29:42they were able to come back and then obviously another stoppage time winner this whole till the
29:47end thing that refuses to die that lingers around the place and i think that was a moment for me where
29:52similarly like you're saying about the bill game i thought okay this team has got something here and
29:57and they've got the resolve and the quality to to really make a go of this division um obviously
30:03looking ahead to to pause in a national break just quickly before we dash off i mean next game is is
30:09wolves obviously they've had a a very tricky start in their own right that's got to be a game that
30:14something they're really looking at because from there it's everton chelsea arsenal and those games
30:19that someone have been accused of not having to play yet the difficult teams they're going to start
30:23coming thick and fast are they it feels like an important game i think probably the one thing i
30:29would say is that wolves one of those teams at the start of the season you were thinking well
30:33they've got good players but if we are realistically going to stay up they are a team that we're probably
30:37going to have to chase and if you'd said coming into this game that would be what is it nine points
30:42clear of them um is that right yeah i think that's the kind that would have all been absolutely
30:47ecstatic with that so i think it's important to have that perspective going into the game but you are
30:51right and that someone can turn an excellent start the season into an outstanding one um with a win
30:57in that game and we've been so good at home so far this season it does feel like a massive opportunity
31:02so yeah it's going to be really interesting because i've obviously talked at the start of the podcast
31:08about the fact that we were a little bit overly ambitious against man united and we need to get back
31:12to basics but you know there will be an expectation for someone to go and push on and win that game so
31:17really interested to see what labrice does with the team for that one and and how someone kind of go
31:22after it yeah but it's important to keep perspective you know it's it's a massive game but we're well
31:27ahead of of where where we hope we would be at this point and that'll be the case regardless of what
31:32happens in the world's game absolutely lovely stuff right shall we wrap it up there then um that's
31:38all we've got time for this big show join us again next week when we'll be discussing all of the
31:42latest southern news and developments in the meantime for all the latest black cats news on the
31:46southern depo or you can give us a follow on social media as well thanks to james thanks to phil
31:51thanks to you for listening and we'll see you next time
Comments