Voting was locked for this match at midnight on Thursday 7th September but you may still add your mini match reports. Note that members and non-members alike were able to vote.

Your Sunderland v Southampton Match Reports

SFC_Referee added 15:49 - Sep 2 Pretty much everyone was poor today for us, as I think the best players we had were the likes of A.Armstrong, Stu and Che, as they created absolutely nothing, but at the same time didn’t make any major howlers and just didn’t do much, whilst everyone else did make howlers and did much worse than nothing!
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I_would added 15:50 - Sep 2 Bazunu, Manning, Holgate, Mara should never have started. We all know that, except of course RM who is a blinkered arrogant coont. RM is at fault for todays debacle and let's hope he goes sooner rather than disaster time later like two of the previous manager gems.
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dirk_doone added 15:51 - Sep 2 Holgate and Manning have weakened an already weak defence.
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I_would added 15:53 - Sep 2 Bazunu, Manning, Holgate, Mara should never have started. We all know that, except of course RM who is a blinkered arrogant coont. RM is at fault for todays debacle and let's hope he goes sooner rather than disaster time later like two of the previous manager gems.
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Alehouse added 16:07 - Sep 2 Pub league team playing in the Barcelona style…
3

Bawdrip added 16:16 - Sep 2 Dreadful performance. Slow and error ridden. Holgate was a nightmare. To have 68% possession and lose 5-0 takes some doing but we rose to the challenge. I think that's what they call 'a reality check'.
14

allsaint54 added 16:18 - Sep 2 Worse defence in Premiership last year, worse defence in Championship - nothing's changed. How much longer is RM going to persevere with Manning. Play KWP as an attacker as he's nowhere to be seen defensively.
8

codge added 16:54 - Sep 2 Absolutely awful from start to finish, no good having all the possession if we don’t move the ball forward, Manning was so bad again he offered nothing especially in defense. Holgate enough said I’ll leave it there and Sekou Mara totally wasted space,wasn’t really happy with most only AA made any effort along with Edozie and Stuart Armstrong Midfield offered very little in fact front to back except for a very few are taking money under false pretenses.

4

darthvader added 16:58 - Sep 2 Hmm where to start...ok Goalie ... Shocking performance . Not good enough in league 2 let alone the championship. .the defence gave so much room its a wonder we didn't lose by more. . Midfield. Nothing, no fight just pass pass pass ...oh sh.it i lost it ok pretend to chase back or hope the "defence" will clear up ...then its either pass pass pass or goal conceded.. too many silly slow pondering on the ball ..we are better counter attacking than trying to penetrate through pass pass pass back to the defenders or goalie. . Up top ...well mara had a mare tried too hard and looked desperate and ended up booked ,after being caught on the ball.no penetration from anyone and too slow or bullied out of it . I think they thought ahhh we will win this easily, they need to get out of that mindset and work harder , toughen up . . The referee isnt going to give every foul to us.. so stay on your feet and play the game ... ( though a definite penalty we should have had at 2-0 ) RM needs to take responsibility for team selection on this one and play the best players . Having a strong bench means nothing at 4-0 down

7

harrapuk added 17:05 - Sep 2 There is a fatal flaw with playing possession football. In order to retain possession the build up has to be slow which enables the opposition to get behind the ball and we are forced to try and breakdown a solid defence. Our team are all drawn into the opposition half so one misplaced pass or interception means their attack has wide open spaces to play into. This is why virtually everytime the opposition attacks they look like scoring, and often do, whereas for all our possession we rarely create any clear cut chances. The better teams have already worked this out and sadly I can't see us mounting a serious promotion challenge playing this way.

12

DPeps added 17:08 - Sep 2 Part system error, part individual errors. The problem with relentlessly playing the possession game is that, unless you're man city, your players will mess up at some point and give the ball away. I feel like we need some versatility in our play: any team, like Sunderland, who are half-decent on the break will tear us apart because we're so predictable. Individual errors: Holgate was poor, but it's his first game so I can let him off. Bazunu continues to make errors... I don't see what RM sees in Manning. Defensively we still look poor. Really hope the guy from man city is quality

3

AmericanSaint added 17:27 - Sep 2 We gave the ball away so many times trying to force it and that caught so many players especially KQP and Manning out of position. I dont know why we let Parraud go just to play manning? RM's style seems to be like Ralph's and that the wingback play way TOOOOO forward and expose the space behind. Well they have 2 week to pull their heads out of their asses and get ready for LEI . I think this will give us a real indication if we have any chance for promotion.

6

PezzaSaint added 17:39 - Sep 2 Most disappointing aspect for me was the mediocre fight in the second half. Felt like a few Premier League egos still around. We had 25 minutes in the first half where we completed dominated, but shooting was awful. We score during that period and its then a different game. But after their third we completely lost all fight. Holgate was awful, KWP for all his dribbling ability isn’t a good defender. Where was he got their 1st goal? Consider Dozy and Mare luxuries, play only one of them at a time. Agreed with Harrapuk on the possession football, they cut out our killer pass and off they go. Sunderland found it so easy to get at our back line!!!

3

WestSussexSaint added 17:41 - Sep 2 You can have all the skill in the world but if you don’t turn up with the right attitude to work you will get beat. Everyone needs to take a long hard look at themselves after that performance. The transfer window is shut now so they are here until January at least. Big two weeks for RM to work out which players can do a job for him and which are the ones to be consigned to reserve status.

2

WestSussexSaint added 17:43 - Sep 2 One positive from today. The fans going all that way to watch that performance and yet they could still be heard singing at the end. They deserve a refund from the players.
6

Alehouse added 17:45 - Sep 2 Pub league team playing in the Barcelona style…
0

Bowlercow added 17:49 - Sep 2 I put this hammering down to Russell Martin's team selection Mara ahead ofAlcaraz or Fraser should never have happened Holgate as a right sided CB ahead of Charles who has done so well there Baz again failed to cut out crosses Manning out jumped by Bellingham who was then given time to put in his cross for the second goal Coming on as a sub when you are already three down can't be easy but the subs didn't work hard enough to suggest they should be starters A lot of players away next week but the coaches have 2 weeks to work on a game plan because if they don't it could be another thumping by an inform team

3

Bowlercow added 17:50 - Sep 2 I put this hammering down to Russell Martin's team selection Mara ahead ofAlcaraz or Fraser should never have happened Holgate as a right sided CB ahead of Charles who has done so well there Baz again failed to cut out crosses Manning out jumped by Bellingham who was then given time to put in his cross for the second goal Coming on as a sub when you are already three down can't be easy but the subs didn't work hard enough to suggest they should be starters A lot of players away next week but the coaches have 2 weeks to work on a game plan because if they don't it could be another thumping by an inform team

1

1885_SFC added 18:05 - Sep 2 We played as though every player was pissed that they didn't get a move away on transfer deadline day - and the new ones that had arrived played as if they didn't want to be here after all! Have a good look in the mirror when you get home tonight Russell Martin. Perhaps, like the fans, you'll see exactly where & why it all went wrong.
3

DPeps added 19:54 - Sep 2 Part system error, part individual errors. The problem with relentlessly playing the possession game is that, unless you're man city, your players will mess up at some point and give the ball away. I feel like we need some versatility in our play: any team, like Sunderland, who are half-decent on the break will tear us apart because we're so predictable. Individual errors: Holgate was poor, but it's his first game so I can let him off. Bazunu continues to make errors... I don't see what RM sees in Manning. Defensively we still look poor. Really hope the guy from man city is quality

1

Monksway added 22:23 - Sep 2 Went into this one really hopeful after a great transfer deadline day. But this was awful from Saints. Like every body else I really want RM to succeed but today we were beaten by a committed young team playing sensible football. Mowbray took RM to the cleaners, kept it simple with players understanding their roles and executing the straightforward plan very effectively. Saints over complicated everything. Slow build up didn't move Sunderland around and every misplaced pass or interception created chaos with nobody in the right position especially the full backs. As a result Bednarek and Holgate completely exposed. Lots and lots of work to do to play this style when something more straightforward might be more effective.

2

Monksway added 22:23 - Sep 2 Went into this one really hopeful after a great transfer deadline day. But this was awful from Saints. Like every body else I really want RM to succeed but today we were beaten by a committed young team playing sensible football. Mowbray took RM to the cleaners, kept it simple with players understanding their roles and executing the straightforward plan very effectively. Saints over complicated everything. Slow build up didn't move Sunderland around and every misplaced pass or interception created chaos with nobody in the right position especially the full backs. As a result Bednarek and Holgate completely exposed. Lots and lots of work to do to play this style when something more straightforward might be more effective.

3

Boris1977 added 13:08 - Sep 3 I didn't go to the match but the same old issues from the past few seasons still haven't been addressed. The concern from reading comments on various websites about a non competitive midfield is a worry considering the issues in defence and up front. As others have said we need to mix up the way we set up and play as teams know what we're going to do in every match and our happy to let us keep the ball for 70%+ knowing that we need 5 chances to score 1 goal but they only need one shot on target to score. As nick mentioned on the Perraud article RM is his own man so he's unlikely to change. Not great news for Saints fans as we do not have the players who can succeed in our playing and beating even average teams who are well drilled never mind decent teams. We've got so much potential in this club but the owners sole interest is making money from developing young players for other clubs. The antithesis of a recipe for success. COYRs

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onetowatch added 21:35 - Sep 3 Comments such a those for DPeps are just anal...'Holgates first game so I forgive him'!!!! Seriously???? He's a highly paid professional footballer,so no excuse for that performance...which obviously includes RM...how can any manager pick him above Charles, who was, imo, very unlucky to lose his midfield role let alone not at least CB before MH!! Last week Nick defended RM as his ówn man in preferring manning to Perraud....decisions like that only work if they're the right ones!! I was at the game yesterday, and came away totally embarrassed. Sunderland will not get close to getting out of this league, and they hammered us 5 - 0 ....Nick, I'm hoping for an honest verdict from you...RH has to wake up. Charles and our best players do not need to be wrapped up in cotton wool at this stage...maybe in December with 4 games in 12 days understood....use the squad, but nobody should try and defend his selection yesterday....plus RH has to recognise his mistakes, of which Manning is one....

3

Big_T added 14:02 - Sep 4 Does anyone not see kwp at the start of games ? He doesn't play for 20min ! He reminds me of Bertie . The number of games we concede early when kwp isn't running drives me nuts. Take this game , he goes forward for the early corner ( some idiot thinks it's a good idea to leave Edozie back, someone who isn't quick isn't strong and has never won a tackle) Edozie gets to his man and acts like jelly but the RB is WALKING back ! When they get to our area he is stil walking ! When the goal goes in he just turns away . Every game 20min he doesn't run back ! Doesn't he warm up ? He sure as heck is t ready to start at full speed , god this drives me mad ! The second goal goes in he still hasn't got in position, made a tackle or ran back , oh he loves goin forward. I wonder why no offers came in for him this summer ( clue , he can't defend ) as a defender he is clueless, going forward he's better , but he can't cross a ball to save himself. Just move him to the wing and play a RB behind him , that might help ! Sorry rant over :'-(

1

LoisDeem added 09:44 - Sep 5 Frazer, Charles and Adams should have started. Obviously Holgate and Smallbone too early. Manning and Mara might make the next bench -but need to work very hard in training.* (*Ask Mr Mowbray to attend one of our training sessions in the next two weeks to see who meets his criteria for hard work.)
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aceofthebase added 10:58 - Sep 5 KWP should be sat down by the staff and shown his dreadful commitment to defending.
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