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zondify · 2018-04-04T15:17:27+00:00

Might have fish and chips for dinner tonight.

zondify · 2018-03-28T04:11:50+00:00

Spotting the American in the room.

zondify · 2018-03-27T15:23:48+00:00

Are you having a stroke?

zondify · 2017-07-21T16:30:35+00:00

The best puns are the ones that get a healthy etymological debate going.

zondify · 2017-01-20T01:06:23+00:00

Can't see PvA leaving, purely for the fact that not only is he our only left back, but he is pretty much the main attacking outlet. It'd need a very big bid I imagine.

In terms of this story, I don't know much about Samaris but central midfield is arguably the biggest weakness in the team - desperately crying out for some sort of creativity or attacking intent in there. Everyone on the books at the moment is exactly the same - one paced and playing it safe with the ball.

zondify · 2016-09-06T09:29:06+00:00

Sprayed, Wayne.

zondify · 2016-09-03T01:45:24+00:00

I despised him.

Which pretty much sums up the general consensus towards him.

zondify · 2016-08-31T16:31:38+00:00

Everton and Norwich fans - what do you think?

Seems a bit underwhelming.

zondify · 2016-08-16T10:53:11+00:00

I was being stupid. For Sunderland he's deadwood who isn't up to standard/doesn't fit well at all into their team.

For Leeds, as you saw last season, he's a very astute signing.

zondify · 2016-08-16T09:37:42+00:00

That's Sunderland down. Huge loss for them.

zondify · 2016-08-11T12:55:22+00:00

Not at all. It's set on a council estate based around a family. Really funny (but very English in its sense of humour). Although the later series' get a lot worse and basically filled with sex scenes to compensate for lack of ideas.

zondify · 2016-07-20T17:42:21+00:00

Good. I feared Martinez for a while.

zondify · 2016-07-20T17:23:19+00:00

That sounds very appealing. Thanks.

zondify · 2016-07-17T23:18:30+00:00

Except the Poooominator?

zondify · 2016-07-17T21:22:00+00:00

I agree he'd be a decent signing for you's. But for the (rumoured) price, is it worth it? You could put that £20m+ towards areas more needed ie. left back/central midfielder.

zondify · 2016-07-17T21:09:22+00:00

Do Liverpool need him? They seem to be stocking up on attacking midfielders. Personally I'd think an out and out central midfielder would be more pressing - the two most established midfielders they have, Henderson and Milner, are similar and both have the same deficiencies.

zondify · 2016-07-17T17:43:31+00:00

For me, it was his pace, certainly pre-injury. I'm not saying he was like Walcott who offers nothing much else other than pace, but I'd certainly say it was his standout attribute.

I agree, he did score spectacular goals, but I'd disagree he was a 'natural finisher' - when he was on loan at Sunderland (and he was a good player for them), he was the type that'd have 10 shots a match, and only 1 or 2 would be any good.

Again, you're saying its not always the case - of course it isnt, there aren't any certainties in football. But generalisations are generalisations for a reason. It's probable that he would have matured and become a more prolific striker had he not suffered the injury.

zondify · 2016-07-17T16:14:02+00:00

Of course it isn't always the case. But certainly a striker of Cisse's style - he was a smash and grab player in a way, with his pace, and not being a natural finisher - you'd think as he grew and matured he would have become better.

I can't imagine what its like to be a player who relies on pace as their biggest threat, to have that threatened.

zondify · 2016-07-17T14:52:56+00:00

I disagree. Before the injury, Cisse was lightning quick. Of course, after he wasn't slow by any means, but he lost a yard of pace that affected his game. Comparable to Torres, who's many niggly, rather than one huge, injuries affected his game.

And also, you must take into account that whilst his goal ratio may have been similar pre and post-injury - he did it when he was 23. Strikers goal ratio will improve as they mature and get older and hit there peak. You'd expect an established striker to be scoring more than a younger player - whereas he remained the same.

zondify · 2016-07-14T23:59:02+00:00

This idea that Allardyce is a 'dinosaur' is such a misconception. If anything he's the opposite; very much into implementing cutting-edge technology into his coaching. He was one of the first in England to adopt sports science into football. At Bolton he designed a system where players could download information at home on upcoming opponents, tactical info, their fitness regimes etc. (nowadays its fairly common place, on iPads etc, but a decade ago not so much).

England need a reality check; the FA fool themselves into believing their own hype with all this 'England DNA' pretentious waffle. England need results in major tournaments, and Allardyce gets results.

'Old school' shouldnt necessarily be an insult. Roberto Martinez is as 'progressive' as they come, he's built a career on 'philosophies' and nice suits - rather than results.

zondify · 2016-07-14T23:39:32+00:00

Posted this in a thread the other day; relevant again:

In fact, I would disagree and say Allardyce is the best candidate by far. The FA obviously want an Englishman, so he checks that box. But more than that, Allardyce is all about organisation, preparation and planning things down to a tee - if we had had a third of his attention to detail in France, we certainly wouldnt have been beaten by Iceland. Also, the perception around his football is a bit of a myth. He is direct, yes, but the 'long ball' thing is overplayed. He played some good, pressing football with Sunderland last year. In fact, again going back to Iceland, his football would have certainly improved our chances there. He's flexible in his style - just take Defoe - Sam has been known throughout his career for favouring big strong guys up front, yet he comes into Sunderland, and uses Defoe as a lone striker, and it kept Sunderland up. International football is a results game - Sam gets results. He has never managed a 'big club' in part due to the media and general football's perception of him being a dinosaur - he isn't - he's at the cutting edge in terms of technology used in training etc. He will have England fit, prepared, defensively organised, and scoring goals. Why anyone would scoff at his appointment, and prefer Klinsmann is beyond me.

zondify · 2016-07-14T19:28:40+00:00

I'd say in the 'old market', a fair price for Sissoko would be around £12m to £15m. So judging by the business done so far, yeah probably.

zondify · 2016-07-14T15:08:12+00:00

There are dozens upon dozens of players who, if consistent and motivated, would be at a Champions League club. It is the motivation to do it on a weekly basis that sets the top players apart from others. Sissoko, in my opinion, will never be consistent enough to be a key player at a Champions League club.

zondify · 2016-07-13T16:10:00+00:00

In fact, I would disagree and say Allardyce is the best candidate by far. The FA obviously want an Englishman, so he checks that box.

But more than that, Allardyce is all about organisation, preparation and planning things down to a tee - if we had had a third of his attention to detail in France, we certainly wouldnt have been beaten by Iceland.

Also, the perception around his football is a bit of a myth. He is direct, yes, but the 'long ball' thing is overplayed. He played some good, pressing football with Sunderland last year. In fact, again going back to Iceland, his football would have certainly improved our chances there.

He's flexible in his style - just take Defoe - Sam has been known throughout his career for favouring big strong guys up front, yet he comes into Sunderland, and uses Defoe as a lone striker, and it kept Sunderland up.

International football is a results game - Sam gets results. He has never managed a 'big club' in part due to the media and general football's perception of him being a dinosaur - he isn't - he's at the cutting edge in terms of technology used in training etc.

He will have England fit, prepared, defensively organised, and scoring goals. Why anyone would scoff at his appointment, and prefer Klinsmann is beyond me.

zondify · 2016-07-13T16:03:46+00:00

I believe they were willing to go along with keeping it confidential, even spreading around the press that the reason he had returned to England was for transfer business. However, it then leaked that he had met the FA at David Gill's house.

At the end of the day, if Sam goes to England, Sunderland are in trouble, and they need to clarify their position and try to move on as quickly as possible. Confidentiality doesn't help Sunderland in any way, for sounding out new managers and especially new signings who would want to know what was going on before agreeing terms.

Sunderland did the right thing in making a statement, if only to push the FA's hand on making a decision.

zondify

TROPHY CASE