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Criticising Luton long ball


chriswallace85 said:
I hate footballing snobs.

It's like when Wenger used to complain about teams that wouldn't let his flowery little Arsenal side run rings about them.

Fuck 'em. You do what you need to do to win. That's all it comes down to.

This isn't theatre. It's not even entertainment really. It's football. It's competition.
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It should be entertainment the amount they charge to watch it!!!
 
chriswallace85 said:
Nobody's asking ya to.

Football isn't meant to be entertaining any more than any other sport is. It's meant to be a competition.
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Didn't say they were asking me to !!, I'm just giving my opinion. It's a competition and entertainment, fans pay money to watch it is a form of entertainment.
 
Sallycinamon said:
They’re a physical side who get stuck in, haven’t got a problem with that at all. Fouls come with the territory, I’ve not once said Luton aren’t dirty. Would much rather watch a hard game than a bunch of fannies falling over when someone breaths on them, which is what you see in the PL these days. Like I’ve said earlier some of Sunderland’s biggest cult heroes of recent years were dirty bastards, nobody had a problem with fouling then!

Anyway, my point remains, Luton may well be physical and dirty yet it was still Sunderland who committed the three worst fouls in the first leg proving we’re no angels ourselves. Stats don’t always give you a true picture either, O9 (love him to bits btw) has got away with a hell of a lot this season, some terrible challenges which haven’t been picked up or punished properly. Interesting to also note that Sunderland are below Luton in the fair play table this season.
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The worst fouls in the first leg weren’t by Sunderland players at all. The foul that gave us the free kick for Amad’s goal was outrageous and another of their players should have had a straight red in the second half. Can’t remember any fouls by Sunderland players which should have been a straight red (well, I can remember one but I’m going to pretend I can’t).
 
Gene Hunt said:
If all teams played like that then I doubt many people would go to watch it and the TV deals would soon dry up. Just look at football and attendances in the 1980s as an example. We watch football for entertainment after all, don’t we?
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Come off it, that was a really entertaining game for the neutral. Take off your rose-tinted specs for a change.
 
palm 1 said:
You utilized your advantages to the absolute max and were the best team on the night and statistically over the season . Well done and enjoy your day however I’d far rather watch us every day of the week and those tactics will ultimately fail in the Premiership.
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Yes, that's way player's like Peter Crouch never played Premier league or for England because........ oh hang on .... errrr
 
spotty said:
Is absolutely pathetic. It's accepted by all, yes even Sunderland fans, that your players in comparison to Luton's, are small. Luton had tall forwards and midfielders. Do you REALLY think that should the roles be reversed, you wouldn't utilize the height differential to your benefit?

Luton were only using a very obvious advantage. You hardly created a chance all game and you didn't deserve to go through to the final.You were desperate and got what you deserved. The long ball argument some are trying to criticize is pathetic.
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I think you’ll find that the vast majority of Sunderland fans will accept this point of view. It just seems to me that you have a chip on your shoulder about something.
 
tomahawk said:
I'd be astounded if they beat Boro or Coventry at Wembley with that style of football. Completely agree that teams should play to their strengths & take advantage of the size of pitch etc. but I couldn't bear to watch them week in, week out, horrible football.
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The sad thing is they probably won't beat Coventry so we will be watching that crap at least twice more.

The silver lining is our non-dwarves will hopefully be fit for those games.
 
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fatso said:
Yes, that's way player's like Peter Crouch never played Premier league or for England because........ oh hang on .... errrr
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What a shit argument . Peter Crouch was a decent footballer with an excellent touch , he didn’t rely on 80 yard balls into the box and picking up the pieces offthe knockdowns .
 
palm 1 said:
What a shit argument . Peter Crouch was a decent footballer with an excellent touch , he didn’t rely on 80 yard balls into the box and picking up the pieces offthe knockdowns .
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A bit like Niall Quinn really. Before he played for us I though he was just a big target man, turned out he was an exceptional footballer. Good feet for a big man as the saying goes.
 
Im obviously in the minority, but I quite enjoy the up-and-at-them high press, full of aggression style. Our first 45 against Lincoln for example was some of the most exciting football Iv'e witnessed as a Sunderland fan.

I quite like Luton, massive fan of the job they have done Pelly Ruddock, James Collins, Bradley and all that on a shoe string, clever stuff.
 
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Far Tibetan Mountain said:
Their high press was beautifully done and really put out back line under pressure.
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Yep, we couldn't establish our style at all 2nd leg, not one of our players could put their stamp on the game IIRC and then individual battles especially Clarke were lost. When you're possession side and you cant establish control, what are you to do?
 
Coeus said:
Im obviously in the minority, but I quite enjoy the up-and-at-them high press, full of aggression style. Our first 45 against Lincoln for example was some of the most exciting football Iv'e witnessed as a Sunderland fan.

I quite like Luton, massive fan of the job they have done Pelly Ruddock, James Collins, Bradley and all that on a shoe string, clever stuff.
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It’s not for me like, give me a team that plays like we have this season any day. I’ve been waiting years for us to have a team like this full of players able to go past defenders with ease and scoring worldies every other week. But for injuries I am convinced we would have achieved promotion this year.

I wouldn’t say that Luton’s tactics are clever stuff. It’s just getting the biggest, most athletic players you can find and drilling them to death on the training ground. Get a couple of players who can whip a good delivery into the box and there you have your game plan. If they do go up and play like that they will be universally hated, like Dirty Leeds in the 70s and Wimbledon in the 80s.
 
Gene Hunt said:
It’s not for me like, give me a team that plays like we have this season any day. I’ve been waiting years for us to have a team like this full of players able to go past defenders with ease and scoring worldies every other week. But for injuries I am convinced we would have achieved promotion this year.

I wouldn’t say that Luton’s tactics are clever stuff. It’s just getting the biggest, most athletic players you can find and drilling them to death on the training ground. Get a couple of players who can whip a good delivery into the box and there you have your game plan. If they do go up and play like that they will be universally hated, like Dirty Leeds in the 70s and Wimbledon in the 80s.
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No, I agree, I prefer our stuff, it's very pretty, I was suggesting the way they built their club was very clever as opposed to the tactics.

I just don't dislike the way they play either, it's not defensive or boring and I wouldn't be averse to seeing us play in that manner had it meant we were successful but each to their own ofc.
 
Coeus said:
No, I agree, I prefer our stuff, it's very pretty, I was suggesting the way they built their club was very clever as opposed to the tactics.

I just don't dislike the way they play either, it's not defensive or boring and I wouldn't be averse to seeing us play in that manner had it meant we were successful but each to their own ofc.
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You’re right - it’s not defensive or boring, it’s more designed to stop the opposition playing and picking up the scraps. It’s like a modern version of Wimbledon in a way, their primary objective was to disrupt the flow of the game. Wonder how much Harford had to do with the style, bearing in mind he was a big bully of a centre forward and part of the Crazy Gang?
 
Gene Hunt said:
You’re right - it’s not defensive or boring, it’s more designed to stop the opposition playing and picking up the scraps. It’s like a modern version of Wimbledon in a way, their primary objective was to disrupt the flow of the game. Wonder how much Harford had to do with the style, bearing in mind he was a big bully of a centre forward and part of the Crazy Gang?
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I love that though, it's a poor-ability version of something that was lauded by Klopp. A high press done by highly skilled players is edge-of-your-seat stuff, the low-ability version has its merits to me but I love a tackle as much as I love a Roberts dribble. It's what I would have suggested we went for when the new lads came as I felt league one wasn't meant for tippy-tappy technique players, turns out I was wrong and their decisions meant we've taken to this division really well.
 
Thought some of your playing it out from the back was incredibly naive on Tuesday. Nearly caught you out on a few occasions as it just invited our high press in dangerous areas. We’ve played some great football this season and scored some great goals but we can do the ‘ugly’ side of the game if needed. Both yourselves and Boro far too one dimensional to be able to mix it up. No one complains when City pump it long to Haaland, it’s just being effective. Trying to pass the ball around us at home was never going to work.

Whilst the atmosphere was good at your place in the first leg, it’s impossible to replicate the hostility you can make at the old grounds. It did look like your younger players wilted under the pressure but probably a learning curve for them. It was always going to be tough with a few injuries to some of your defenders.

Whilst big family ‘stadiums’ might look nice but they are not in the least bit intimidating compared to football grounds. 45k in SoL can’t come close to the atmosphere of Roker Park. Once football grounds become a home for family days out they lose their edge.I’m sure it will be exactly the same when/if we ever move from KR

Sure you’ll be up there next season.
 
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