#onthewhistle from Bradford
Phil and James answer questions from Sunderland fans after the defeat to Bradford City
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00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of On The Whistle here at Bradford City. James
00:15may join me in a little bit, he's just down speaking to Romain Mundell but I'm just going
00:18to talk through the game a little bit and answer some of your questions. Undoubtedly
00:22a poor night for Sunderland, I mean we've all seen these kind of games before, you know
00:27where you have a lot of new players, you ring the changes and you come up against a
00:31really committed side and sometimes you can get caught out and pretty much from the first
00:35minute really Bradford were on top here, they looked really up for it, the intensity was
00:38there and Sunderland were poor, you know they were a bit lucky not to go behind in the first
00:4310-15 minutes. Then sort of steadied but didn't really threaten too much, I mean to be honest
00:49they didn't threaten the goal too much throughout the entire game and then just a real sort
00:53of poor five minutes before half-time, conceded two really sloppy goals albeit won a brilliant
00:58strike from Andy Cook. Second half was much better to begin with, forced a few saves,
01:03scored a really good goal and then really fizzled out towards the end so I think you
01:07have to be honest and say obviously this was a big opportunity for a lot of players to
01:11try and put their hand up and try and sort of show Regis Lebris that they want to start
01:15against Cardiff, that they're ready to play a big part of the season. You know I have
01:19some sympathy and it's never easy when you're playing a lot of these partnerships, again
01:22never really played together before, a few players out of position so I wouldn't go too
01:26strong but it's also fair to say that the performance level across the board wasn't
01:30great. One player who stood out by a mile, Romain Mundeau was excellent, Bradford couldn't
01:34really get near him, first half he was Sunderland's pretty much only attacking threat, carried
01:38the ball superbly. There was one instance where he picked the ball up deep in his own
01:42half and carried it all the way to the edge of the opposition box and it took a real cynical
01:45hack to actually get him down on the floor. Scored a really good goal in the second half
01:49as well, took it really well, a real breakout performance from him. I think he's been solid
01:53in pre-season, he's looked sharp and at it and tonight he just took that to another level
01:57so fair play to him, that was the one positive to take from an otherwise really disappointing
02:01night and there's no point in pretending otherwise.
02:04I'm going to go straight into your questions, Ethan Todd says whether we sign a recognised
02:08striker or not, how much impact do you think Rooson will have this season? I think that
02:12I saw some good signs from Rooson in Spain, especially when he came off the bench in the
02:16Forrest game, I thought he looked lively. I have to say that tonight, the game passed
02:20him by, he didn't look comfortable in that central forward role. He put himself about
02:25in the second half in particular but never really had the beating of his opposite number.
02:32I thought the defenders did a good job on him, the link-up play with the players around
02:36him wasn't really there. The best performance I've seen from Rooson in pre-season was when
02:40he shifted on the left against Al Dents and I think that question mark about whether he's
02:43an out-and-out centre forward or whether he's actually better operating from the wide
02:46areas where he can dive in, field and get a goal that way, I think that question is
02:51still very much alive. I think obviously you don't want to draw too many conclusions from
02:55pre-season games because there's all the factors around it but I think at the moment, let's
03:00be honest, he hasn't really put his hand up to be that striker against Cardiff. Mienda
03:03is ahead at the moment and I like what I've seen from Mienda but we all know it's something
03:07they need to sign a striker this summer, they need an experienced striker in because at
03:11the moment, I think it's hard to see Rooson doing that role. At the moment, from what
03:15we've seen of him and what we've seen in his Sunderland career, there's some good things
03:18there but a lot of his best football has been as a wide forward so I think there's a big
03:22question mark on that going forward.
03:25Mike Smith says, do you think Rigg has to play tonight? Looks like bench for him v Cardiff.
03:29Him and Mundell probably the only contenders but if we've still got Clarke, Mundell won't
03:32start. Yeah, I think actually if you look at Rigg's match minutes have been managed
03:37really, really carefully this season so I do think he's in contention to start against
03:41Cardiff but if you actually look across the last few fixtures, he's played fewer fixtures
03:46than everybody else in that category which makes sense because he's so young so actually
03:49I think he was always in line to play in this game. I still think it's a bit too close to
03:53call with him and Alan Brown because there's a big question mark over Alan Brown's match
03:57fitness which he's still building up so I wouldn't read too much into Rigg playing tonight
04:01and although it wasn't his best performance across the pre-season programme, I wouldn't
04:06read too much into it so I think maybe Brown's slightly ahead because of his experience but
04:10I still think Rigg's going to have a big part to play in that game.
04:13Agree with you that Mundell was the only other player really who at the moment you could
04:16see pushing his way in for that Cardiff game. Clearly he's not going to start. If Jack
04:21Clark is still here, Clarke's going to start but I think Mundell's shown that he's kind
04:25of first in line and he'll definitely have a part to play off the bench. James, are you
04:28going to come in and join me? What have I missed? I've just been chatting through the
04:31game and we've answered a question about Roosen who I think it's fair to say at the
04:36moment he's playing better when he plays out wide. I think not really much of a chance
04:41of him pushing Miander at this stage and obviously I've just stressed again that he doesn't need
04:45an experienced striker which I think is fairly obvious. Let's have a look at some of the
04:49questions just off the back of Mundell. Someone else said, do you potentially think Mundell
04:52can start on the right-hand side ahead of Roberts? Listen, I think Roberts has had a
04:55decent pre-season so far. He's looked really sharp. Labreeze has mentioned that he's really
04:59happy with his physical condition. He got a good assist against Blackpool. I think Roberts
05:02is first in line and I've got no problem with that. Listen, you're going to need substitutes.
05:06It's not all about starting XI and just because Mundell isn't going to be in the starting
05:10XI against Cardiff, probably, I don't think we should see that as any kind of major slight.
05:13I think he's there to make an impact and he's banging the door down.
05:16Yeah, Roberts for me at the moment, I thought Mundell was good today but just not quite
05:22ready to sort of unseat him. I would love to see him coming off the bench in the Championship
05:26game but in regards to Mundell, really, really positive signs. I think the one bright spark
05:30today in a pretty dire performance really. A lot of people are asking about how much
05:35of it is a concern in terms of the performance level. People maybe not really pushing their
05:39claims. We'll kind of deal with that all at once. The one thing I would say is like, this
05:43does happen. We've seen Sunderland lose to Hartlepool just before the season starts because
05:47these teams tend to put out their strongest XI. You know, Sunderland, obviously a lot
05:52of new partnerships. I don't want to make excuses but we have seen it happen and it
05:55hasn't had much of an impact on the season.
05:56The last time we lost to Bradford we ended up finishing 6th.
05:59Exactly, so we lost 2-0 here a few years ago under Alex Neil with, again, a very much a
06:03changed team. And then after that Sunderland went and signed Ellis Sims, they made some
06:07good inroads in the market and the team had a brilliant season. So I wouldn't get too
06:11concerned with that. What I would say is, you know, tonight didn't absolutely show that
06:15there isn't probably a huge amount of depth in this squad in some key positions.
06:19There's a lot of players but...
06:21Yeah, yeah, but ultimately, you know, Sunderland finished 6th that season because at this point,
06:25when they played Bradford and lost, they didn't have Ahmad, they didn't have Ellis Sims and
06:28you know, I remember Alex Neil saying we've got a lot of work to do on the training pitch
06:30but also in the transfer market and that still stands now. So while I'm not sort of in despair
06:35and I don't think we should read too much into this performance or get too carried away,
06:38we also shouldn't ignore the fact that there is some really important transfer business
06:42still to be done.
06:43I think, personally for me, I take the point that it's pre-season, that Sunderland's work
06:49in the transfer market is not done, it was a second-string team but for me, I think against
06:52League Two opposition, yes it was their settled side but particularly that midfield, Chris
06:57Riegele and Adil Ashish, they had enough quality that they, for me, really should have gone
07:02and tried to imprint themselves and really dominate that midfield. It didn't happen.
07:06You had Richie Smallwood who's a fantastic AFL operator. He didn't really have too much
07:10pressure on him playing as a number six. I thought that was one disappointing aspect.
07:13Yes, I take your point that it's pre-season but I just would have expected a little bit
07:17more there.
07:18What I would say is that was Ed Mutton's first 90 minutes for two years maybe.
07:21You do have to caveat that.
07:22So that's the one thing I would say. A bit of chat about Ed Mutton's interest in Blackpool.
07:26Clearly, it's not imminent because he was here tonight and played but he's in the last
07:29year of his contract. There's obviously something going on there. Thoughts on that? Personally,
07:35it's hard to see him being a regular this season but I also think Sunderland shouldn't
07:38rush into anything too hasty. I think ultimately, yes I'm a bit biased because he's a home-grown
07:42player, he scored that goal at Wembley, I'm always going to root for him. What I would
07:45also say is over a period of time, his goals, contributions, when he's fit, at a number
07:49of clubs, at every level he's played at, is decent and there's not too many players in
07:53this sport who you can say the same for. I'm not saying Sunderland have to keep him, I'm
07:56just saying I think that's a really interesting debate.
07:59I do think he's going to find it hard even if he remains fit to break in. I would back
08:03him. I think I made the prediction that wherever he goes, I think he's going to have an impact
08:08if he does stay fit and I would stand by that. I think the best thing for Elliot Ambledon
08:11is to play football and to play regularly. Blackpool he's familiar with, it is a move
08:16that makes sense. I would be really sad to see him go on a personal level because of
08:20what he's done for the club. He was vital in the running league, he's had horrible luck,
08:25he's a home-grown player, big fan of his. I think he's had some really, really rotten
08:30luck in terms of injuries, even going back to the Jack Ross days. Jack Ross wanted to
08:33hang his hat on Elliot Ambledon, it didn't happen because of those injuries. I think
08:39it makes sense for him probably to go. I will be disappointed, yes, but if he stayed, I'd
08:43be delighted as well. I'm just not sure where he fits.
08:45Yeah, I think it's an interesting question but I don't think Sonny's rushing for that
08:48reason. There aren't too many players in the squad who produce.
08:51He has got quality, he has got bags of quality in my opinion.
08:55But I can see why maybe it will happen so we'll wait and see on that one. Another question
08:58saying should Sonny look to bring in another outback? Listen, we're not going to pile in
09:02on any individuals. It's pre-season, it was a poor performance across the board but I
09:05think there's a big gap between Hulme and Pembele at the moment and I think Pembele
09:10did well in a couple of games last season. He looks like he can be trusted to play right
09:14wing-back but there is a big gap at the moment between Hulme, isn't there, and I think Sunderland
09:20should be open to maybe doing something in that position.
09:23I think so, yeah. I think you could look at that position and certainly look to strengthen.
09:27I think if Hulme was to go down injured, God forbid, before the start of the season, would
09:33you want Pembele in at right back or would you start looking at somebody else? At the
09:37moment I'd start looking at somebody else, whether that was in the transfer market or
09:40putting on either right back or whatever that was I think. Pembele has just been off it
09:45for me in pre-season which is bizarre to me because, you know, back to under Mike Dodds
09:53or Leeds away and stuff like that. I know it was right wing-back in a different system,
09:56very different demands but I thought he looked decent and I did think he was starting to
10:00get somewhere but perhaps he is just a better at right wing-back, I don't know. It's a little
10:05bit of a puzzling one, I'm not really sure what's happened there because from memory
10:08he's been fit all the way through since coming back, hasn't he? I know he was out for a long
10:14time and he struggled to get momentum. Look, I think we should always caveat with these
10:17players as well, he's coming over from PSG, there's a period of betting in. I know he's
10:22been here for a little while now but different country, different culture, it does take some
10:26time for these players. We should always acknowledge that, although he was poor tonight.
10:31I think that's about it really, loads of you asking about the backroom team, concerned
10:34about the support for the bridge, loads of people asking about the striker, situation
10:38is the same as it is, Sunderland have to do it, no sign at the moment, which is pretty
10:43concerning at this stage. I think the Mendy one is in trust as well with the Mbappe takeover,
10:47that is so Sunderland that that might be the thing that spawns. We don't know that for
10:51sure yet but hey-ho. Listen, some concerning signs tonight, no doubt about it, hopefully
10:56it's one of those that we look back in a few months and just say it was a classic pre-season
10:59night but Sunderland definitely have some work to do. We'll be back on Saturday after
11:02the Marseille game, hopefully a little bit more positivity, hopefully Sunderland can
11:07produce a performance but thanks for watching as ever and we'll see you Saturday.