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Xhaka not happy with the early leavers


I think you are bang on to be honest. You can actually feel the apathy in the crowd because after a good start people were expecting us to be steam rolling sides like Fulham at home. Now we aren’t, they are getting on the players backs.

It’s unbelievable really when every Sunderland supporter would have snapped your hand off to be where we are before a ball has been kicked.

I can honestly see players like xhaka asking to leave at the end of the season.
Absolutely bang on.

Well done @Cack Stottie amd RR for calling it all out aswell.

Fans are going on embarrassing.
 
There’s not many clubs that come into the Premier League and spend £160m.

We started off so well and were excellent when we were missing players due to AFCON.

Tactically I find his ultra-defensive style inhibits the team. When we press high and attack we look good.
Much easier said than done in regards to the press high and attacking style. We are competing against teams like Brighton who have been competitive in this league for nearly a decade - these teams are streetwise and will cut you apart as soon as you open up too much.

The defensive style has got us to 40 points with 9 to play, this is unheard of for a team finishing a distant 4th in the Championship. We also have 7 or 8 out injured which for a promoted team is a huge problem. No fit full backs, no fit wide players, our hand are tied.

The attitude of our support has been shocking lately, completely incapable of seeing the big picture and a total lack of understanding of what drives success in the modern game.
 
This. Put Alderete up front and then O'nien, Hume and Xhaka passing the ball around at the back. You absolutely knew we weren't going to do anything worthwhile.


I don't disagree with some of that, though we wont be relegated because of the fans. We could be relegated as we can't score goals and are appalling going forward.

Whilst some got carried away and are more expectant (as did the owner with comments of top ten and not doing what the said in January) the football and more so the attitude and physicality of the team has been a bit of a wet blanket second half of the season. We've had Regis and players talk about connections and how players like Hume can engage the crowd-- there's not a lot of engagement going on right now and fans will buy into the team grafting their arses off.
We will absolutely stay up because of how we have set ourselves up this season. I think Regis, the players and those behind the scenes who have bought players and decided on a strategy to stay up have been superb. Standards have dropped when our best players haven’t played and many fans have been absolutely shocking on how quickly they have become disillusioned.
I’ll never understand it.
The poster Chewit had it bang on - every word.
 
Thing is there’s definitely a ‘here we go again’ mentality in our fan base and history has proved it to be correct. We are quite self deprecating but it’s typical Sunderland to lose to bottom of League 1 and then have the wheel come off what’s been a brilliant season.

Every time we’ve been anywhere near getting our act together since moving to the SoL, it ultimately turns out to built on sand and very quickly unravels.

I’m already concerned about next season, because we’re not playing well and the points form at the minute is relegation scrap levels. I think it’s fair to assume recent form is more relevant than what we achieved in the first half of the season.
Spot on, I’ve been happy to be proven wrong and was proud of the way we have competed but that nagging little doubt was always there, that we would do what we’ve always done and find a way for it to go wrong,
Which was emphatically hammered home with that pathetic defeat last week, and has in affect ended our season in early march
 
We will absolutely stay up because of how we have set ourselves up this season. I think Regis, the players and those behind the scenes who have bought players and decided on a strategy to stay up have been superb. Standards have dropped when our best players haven’t played and many fans have been absolutely shocking on how quickly they have become disillusioned.
I’ll never understand it.
The poster Chewit had it bang on - every word.

You still need to score goals and we need to add attacking quality to do that. I quite like the approach, but if you're going to be extremely organised and lack attacking freedom you absolutely have to get results or be physical and positive to get the fans at SAFC to buy into it. And for probably a couple of months we have only done that occasionally.

If you start sleepwalking/run out of steam like this and last season you can't blame the fans for noticing and not being engaged. It's then a cheap shot to start blaming the fans.


If we take more gambles in wide areas/up front then it'll likely be a struggle and it can go either way.

The poster you mentioned just went OTT with the fans, he didn't have it bang on at all with every word. If we get relegated it would be because of poor recruitment, injuries, poor management etc. Not because of the fans.
 
Much easier said than done in regards to the press high and attacking style. We are competing against teams like Brighton who have been competitive in this league for nearly a decade - these teams are streetwise and will cut you apart as soon as you open up too much.

The defensive style has got us to 40 points with 9 to play, this is unheard of for a team finishing a distant 4th in the Championship. We also have 7 or 8 out injured which for a promoted team is a huge problem. No fit full backs, no fit wide players, our hand are tied.

The attitude of our support has been shocking lately, completely incapable of seeing the big picture and a total lack of understanding of what drives success in the modern game.

100% this. I’m absolutely gutted by the attitude of lots of our fans.
You still need to score goals and we need to add attacking quality to do that. I quite like the approach, but if you're going to be extremely organised and lack attacking freedom you absolutely have to get results or be physical and positive to get the fans at SAFC to buy into it. And for probably a couple of months we have only done that occasionally.

If you start sleepwalking/run out of steam like this and last season you can't blame the fans for noticing and not being engaged. It's then a cheap shot to start blaming the fans.


If we take more gambles in wide areas/up front then it'll likely be a struggle and it can go either way.

The poster you mentioned just went OTT with the fans, he didn't have it bang on at all with every word. If we get relegated it would be because of poor recruitment, injuries, poor management etc. Not because of the fans.

I do blame the fans absolutely I’m with him. The ones who are twisting on about the manager, style of play. Twats and entitled. We need to develop and become more progressive but that’s for the summer, that’s for another day. The drop off is absolutely down to losing all of our best players at the same time. We should be celebrating an amazing job well done and giving the manager and players the credit and backing they deserve.
 
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I am far from negative but with a glass half full it could be said there are similarities with Sheffield united a few years back. Flying in the first season then tailed off a bit to finish mid table. Once that organisation, high energy runs out you need more to yr game to get results. We had that before Christmas, we haven't shown that we have it since then imo.

Haven't a clue about stats etc. That's just based on what I have watched
 
People thinking that Xhaka will leave the club lol

Luckily he isn’t as much of a fanny as yous

Well said sir
Absolutely bang on.

Well done @Cack Stottie amd RR for calling it all out aswell.

Fans are going on embarrassing.

"Embarrassing"...... Really, i'd say what is embarrassing is the vast majority of armchair fans on here crying on, about match going fans.

I left with a few mins to go yesterday - The reasons behind that are of absolutely no concern to anyone on here. Who are mostly complete strangers.

So you say I am embarrassing then...... Ha Ha. Let me assure you, whoever you are, as and when I need to leave the next game early, I will be without a 2nd thought to you, unless you tell me roughly where you sit and I can flick a salute towards you......
 
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Well said sir


"Embarrassing"...... Really, i'd say what is embarrassing is the vast majority of armchair fans on here crying on, about match going fans.

I left with a few mins to go yesterday - The reasons behind that are of absolutely no concern to anyone on here. Who are mostly complete strangers.

So you say I am embarrassing then...... Ha Ha. Let me assure you, whoever you are, as and when I need to leave the next game early, I will be without a 2nd thought to you, unless you tell me roughly where you sit and I can flick a salute towards you......
I wasn't talking about leaving early there. I'm on about wanting the manager out and meltdowns online.

You keep shouting into the abyss every week about why you leave early though.
 
This. Put Alderete up front and then O'nien, Hume and Xhaka passing the ball around at the back. You absolutely knew we weren't going to do anything worthwhile.


I don't disagree with some of that, though we wont be relegated because of the fans. We could be relegated as we can't score goals and are appalling going forward.

Whilst some got carried away and are more expectant (as did the owner with comments of top ten and not doing what the said in January) the football and more so the attitude and physicality of the team has been a bit of a wet blanket second half of the season. We've had Regis and players talk about connections and how players like Hume can engage the crowd-- there's not a lot of engagement going on right now and fans will buy into the team grafting their arses off.

We are in it together that’s the truth. One feeds off the other. Perhaps if we can at least avoid the moans and groans and abusing struggling players we can at least be primed to respond to when they do turn it on.
The last thing we want to create is an environment where the oppo managers are saying stop Sunderland playing, quieten the crowd and get them on their backs. Playing straight into their hands as the players heads drop.
We have a role and it’s at least to stay with them even if it’s painful to watch.
If fans can’t do that I would rather they stayed at home.
 
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People thinking that Xhaka will leave the club lol

Luckily he isn’t as much of a fanny as yous

If he wants away in the summer, I wouldn't get too carried away about it. He's done his job by helping us survive the first season.

A bit overrated by the fans in my opinion. Aye, steadying influence and we needed that, covers a lot of ground give him his dues, but not sensational.

Personally, reckon the players we really need to keep hold of are the likes of Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Reinaldo, Sadiki, Diarra, Brobbey. That's more or less the spine of the team.

Obviously, you don't want to let Xhaka go and not really replace him, but the fans have gone overboard with this one. A good signing definitely, but for the future we have other players who are going to be more important if we can keep hold of them.
 
I am far from negative but with a glass half full it could be said there are similarities with Sheffield united a few years back. Flying in the first season then tailed off a bit to finish mid table. Once that organisation, high energy runs out you need more to yr game to get results. We had that before Christmas, we haven't shown that we have it since then imo.

Haven't a clue about stats etc. That's just based on what I have watched

Even accepting that to be true (I don’t entirely) - but what’s the problem? 4th best team in the championship finding a way to survive. Perhaps if we had survived the same way Leeds might people would be happier?
 
I wasn't talking about leaving early there. I'm on about wanting the manager out and meltdowns online.

You keep shouting into the abyss every week about why you leave early though.

Fair play to the first bit then.

I have left early twice all season, and through personal reasons. I just dont get why people are so concerened about complete strangers match-day routines. I sit on the end of an asile and yesterday was horrific for being up and down / more so near the end and people leaving earlier then me.

However so be it, its their choice
 
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