Phil Smith is back to answer reader questions after Sunderland fall to their first Championship defeat of the campaign
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00:00Hi everyone, Phil here from Home Park where unfortunately Sunderland have just fallen
00:14to their first defeat of the Championship season against Plymouth Argyle. Classic Championship
00:18football I guess, Plymouth hadn't won all season, Sunderland obviously won four games
00:22on the bounce, what happens? Plymouth go and get their first win under Wayne Rooney. Disappointing
00:27from Sunderland, it was an interesting game in that the first half was pretty much what
00:31we've seen all season, albeit Sunderland weren't as sharp as they'd been against other teams
00:34but Plymouth had plenty of the ball without creating much, Sunderland created some really
00:38good moments with that counter pressing when they won the ball back in the middle of the
00:41pitch and that mid-block was the modern term I think goes, and that really pounced in numbers,
00:47clear penalty which they took the lead through, had a couple of chances after that to take
00:50the lead, but then what was very different to anything we've seen this season was a very
00:53subtle change in momentum towards the end of the half, Plymouth just started to push
00:57Sunderland back, find some space on the counter, and unfortunately Sunderland weren't able
01:01to correct that or sense that at half-time, whatever the right phrase is, and the second
01:05half for the most part Plymouth were absolutely dominant, something we've not seen at all
01:08from Sunderland this season where they were pushed back, really couldn't get out, a little
01:12bit of panic in defending their box, too many rush clearances, too many times when they
01:16gave the ball away, Plymouth in a few minutes turned that 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead, and
01:21what was most frustrating is that what we actually saw, something we said for the last
01:24few weeks, how is the Sunderland team going to respond when they actually go behind in
01:26a game, well the answer was really well, Alan Brown came on, Sunderland responded really
01:32strongly, completely deserved their equaliser, Romain Mundell who I thought was the biggest
01:35positive to date, I thought he was electric throughout the game, the thing I love about
01:38Mundell is it's not just going forward, he races back, he gets stuck in, he wins challenges,
01:43he didn't deserve to be on the losing team today, and I'd have said that even before
01:46his goal, I thought he was brilliant, a huge positive like Roberts on the other flank,
01:50and actually Sunderland looked like they might go and win it, Isidore had a little chance
01:53at the back post, Roberts whipped an amazing cross in there, Isidore just couldn't quite
01:56get to, and you felt like Sunderland might nick it, but they were a little bit too open
02:00on the break, and it's an error from Anthony Patterson, I think that's fair to say, he
02:04palms it into a dangerous area, and then the shot goes, admittedly very powerful shot goes
02:08through him, so really disappointing, just speaking to Lebris there, as you'd expect,
02:13he was really down-to-earth about it, he's never got carried away after a victory, so
02:16he's not going to get carried away after a defeat, just saying that it's something they're
02:19going to have to learn from, and making the point as well that teams are going to work
02:22Sunderland out a little bit, so it's up to Sunderland now to adapt, to add some layers
02:26to their game, speaking to Daniel as well, he was just saying that he felt Sunderland
02:29were a little bit slow to sense the momentum shipped in the second half to adapt their
02:32game, maybe to play it a bit simpler, to take fewer risks, but I think you have to give
02:37a lot of credit to Plymouth as well, I thought Sissoko down the left flank, and I'm just
02:41getting his full name up here, Ibrahim Sissoko, not a player I knew much about, he was tremendous,
02:46we have not seen many players over the last two years give Trehearne a lot of problems,
02:49but he was excellent, Morgan Whittaker we know about on the other flank has a lot of
02:53calibre, but Sissoko really stood out, and fair play to them, I thought they played really
02:57really well, a lot of energy, a lot of intensity, they got the crowd behind them, and they got
03:01in Sunderland's faces, and I think you have to give them a lot of credit for that, Sunderland
03:05made uncharacteristic errors I think, in terms of the second goal is a classic example of
03:09that, where Ballard misses the clearance, but yeah I'm going to go into your questions
03:13because as ever you've sent loads in which I'm really grateful for, I'm going to start
03:16with David because I think this is a great place to start, he says just sloppy and off
03:20the pace today were Plymouth better than expected, first and foremost I think it's the latter,
03:25I think you have to say that Plymouth were good, you know this was not a smash and grab,
03:30they were poor for the first half an hour, Sunderland controlled it without being at
03:33their absolute best, but Plymouth's response was really really strong, I thought they had
03:37some good players and had real energy in the team, I think you've got to give them credit
03:39for that, you know Mumber started poorly, obviously gives a penalty away, came back
03:42on, Sissoko as I mentioned was excellent, and they had some good subs coming off the
03:46bench as well, you know Ryan Hardy's a good player to come off the bench, so I think it's
03:49probably one of those where maybe, and I say this externally, I think as Sunderland fans
03:53and people watching Sunderland we always knew there was going to be a bump, maybe Sunderland
03:56have been a little bit overhyped and maybe because Rooney hasn't won a game Plymouth
04:00have been a little bit underhyped, having said that David I do think Sunderland were
04:03sloppy today, especially in that second half, they didn't look after the ball anywhere near
04:06as well as we've seen them do this season, and they didn't defend their boxes as well,
04:10hopefully that's a one off rather than a trend, because they've done that so well this season
04:14but they really did look sloppy today, so I think it's definitely part of that.
04:20Mark Evans says subs, I'm sure I read somewhere that criticism of IRLB was his use of late
04:24subs but surely that was obvious to all by the hour it wasn't working, why didn't he
04:27change it while we were ahead but it clearly wasn't working?
04:30Yeah I agree to an extent, and I have to say Mark I agree with that because I tweeted,
04:34I think it was a 1-1, that I felt Sunderland needed to change it, you could see that they
04:38were getting overrun, they were losing the midfield battle which they were winning in
04:41the first half and have won in every game of the season. Slight sympathy with Lebris
04:44because I think that Rigg was doing some wonderful things in possession, even in the second half
04:49when he was a bit quieter, he spun away from a player and was able to feed Mundell in and
04:53create a bit of a chance, so I can understand why maybe he was reluctant to take Rigg off
04:57but at the same time, it's no shade on Rigg, he's been amazing this season, he won the
05:02penalty today, he did this amazing spin in the first half where he turned away from four
05:05players under pressure, a huge talent but I think maybe Brown could have come on a bit
05:10earlier to be honest and I also think Isidor could have come on a bit earlier because Mienda
05:13looked a bit, you know he wasn't as influential today as he has been in recent weeks which
05:18is going to happen with a player of his age. So I agree with you a little bit because I
05:21think Brown did make an impact and I don't think it's a coincidence that Sunderland wrestled
05:24back momentum in the game, obviously that's partially because Plymouth are dropping off
05:27to defend their lead as well but I think it's a fair point. The one thing I would say is
05:31that Sunderland's bench at the moment isn't quite where it needs to be for a few reasons
05:35so obviously Salih Abdul-Samad isn't quite ready yet, he might be ready after the international
05:41break, thank god we haven't got another one coming up, maybe for the Middlesbrough game
05:45or maybe the week after, he obviously would have been a great option in midfield or if
05:48he was starting then you could bring in Neil or a Joe but whoever hasn't played on, you
05:53know Aushish and Barr are not involved at the moment for whatever reason, I think it's
05:57pretty clear that Labreece doesn't really rate them at the moment, Aleksic has only just
06:01arrived in the country earlier this week. So yeah, I think that Peveda apparently has
06:07got a bit of a thigh problem from playing in the U21s which is not serious, that's why
06:10he wasn't involved, he would have been another option maybe for fresh legs. So I think to
06:13be fair when you actually look at the bench, there wasn't a huge amount there today to
06:17really change the game so while I agree with you that's one thing I'll say to sort of,
06:21in Labreece's sort of mitigation if you like, although having said that, Watson and Ogden
06:25so you're great to see them on the bench because they've both been doing brilliant for the
06:28U21s.
06:34Well I think it's going to have to be Mepham because Dan Ballard went up front for the
06:37last few minutes of the game, went and won a header, did win it, he still couldn't quite
06:41get on the end of it but was in a huge amount of pain, had to be carried off the pitch by
06:45two physios. We don't know what the extent of the injury is, hopefully it's not serious
06:49I certainly don't want to hype it up too much or anything like that but he did leave the
06:52ground on crutches and he was in a brace so I think it's fair to suggest that there might
06:56be a fairly significant injury problem there or certainly one that would make him a doubt
07:00for this weekend, I don't think that's been sort of overreacting, we'll obviously wait
07:03and see but I think there's a good chance that Mepham comes in next weekend and you
07:07know he'll have to be ready, good that he got 90 minutes of wheels the other night to
07:10be honest to top up his match fitness. I do like Isidore missed a good chance today at
07:14the back post where maybe if he's a bit sharper he gets it, I mentioned that Roberts cross
07:18which maybe he could have got on but he's definitely got something about him, gets good
07:21positions, got a bit of pace so hopefully Peter will see him make an impact.
07:25Michael says how important is it to not lose our heads and keep perspective? Obviously
07:31we need to bounce back but it's still a long season. Yeah I agree, I think it is a bit
07:35of a reality check today in that Sunderland didn't look like a top two side today, like
07:39Plymouth caused them a lot of problems and maybe it just makes us reassess a little bit
07:44that teams are going to adapt to Sunderland, they're not going to have it all their own
07:48way and there's going to be bumps and I think we have to remember where Sunderland come
07:52from at the end of last season and be a little bit ambitious but also because a club like
07:56this should always be pushing for the playoffs but that is the expectation I think, there
07:59has to be a team pushing for the playoffs and over the course of five games so far there's
08:03been a lot of good signs. I think the signer for me is the third goal today because they
08:07shouldn't have gone in and they were a bit too open, the first shot should have been
08:11saved. 2-2 would have been a good result in really in the context of the first four games
08:17and you can come away with you unbeaten run and I think that would have been a fair reflection
08:20of the game. So I think it's really important not to lose perspective, I think there's loads
08:23of positives even out of the defeat today. The spirit that they showed to get back to
08:272-2, Mundell who I mentioned before, I can't praise highly enough, I thought he was tremendous.
08:31Roberts looks back to his best even though not just because he scored a goal, I thought
08:34generally his performance was good. I think there's good signs all over the pitch but
08:39I think also that it is a little bit of a reality check, this is a team who we want
08:44to be pushing for the playoffs. If they can continue what they did in the first four games
08:47and push for the top two, amazing. But that was not what any of us expected at the start
08:52of the season so while we want to hold them at the club and the team at high standards,
08:55I think it is important to keep perspective. It wasn't a dismal performance but it was
08:59maybe a little bit of a reality check and so I think it is important to keep perspective.
09:03Obviously Barrow is a tough game next weekend and they will need a real response.
09:09Andy says, where has it gone wrong? Don't say fine margins. We look OK in the first
09:12half but second half we capitulated. Yes, I find it quite difficult to assess that immediately
09:16after the game, Andy. I know what you mean in terms of don't say fine margins but I think
09:23the point would have been a fair result. I do think that. I think you have to give Plymouth
09:27a lot of credit for the second half but Sunderland nearly won it late on and they could have
09:31won 2-0 up in the first half. So I don't think we should be saying this was a terrible
09:34performance, albeit it was a disappointing one. I think that Sunderland lost control
09:38at the start of the second half. I agree with Mark's point earlier that maybe they could
09:41have changed it a little bit earlier and got Brown on a little bit quicker. That would
09:44be one takeaway for me. Maybe that is something that went wrong. I don't think they adapted
09:48quick enough. Maybe it is the inexperience in the team. Is it maybe a little bit of a
09:52lack of composure? I am not sure. But I think if you look at that period, certainly the
09:56two goals, Paterson plays a kick out into a dangerous area which lets Plymouth break
10:00and the second goal obviously Ballard misses his clearance. I think there was a bit of
10:04a lack of composure in that phase of the game which is obviously disappointing and something
10:08that is going to have to be worked on. The one thing I would say is we haven't seen that
10:11in either of the four games. So hopefully that is something that happened today rather
10:14than being a recurring trend. Obviously we will have to wait and see in that. So I think
10:18for me there was a bit of a lack of composure and maybe they weren't quite quick enough
10:22to change it. That would be my reaction. But I do have to say that the margins were fairly
10:29fine and I think the stats would back that up. Obviously we need to improve going forward.
10:34Mike said, seem to struggle to respond to that stuff. Hope to step up and pace and press
10:37in the second half and go over Arran which I totally agree with. How quickly do you think
10:40he will seek to push Samad and Oleksiič in the middle? Berra and Watford might be a good
10:44indicator of prospects for the season. I agree. Two fantastic games. It will be really interesting
10:48to see how Sunderland fare and I think going into that international break after then the
10:51Derby and Leeds games at home will have a much stronger sense of how good the Sunderland
10:55team is and where they are on the table. To be honest, I don't think either of those
10:59players are going to be coming into the team massively quickly. I think Oleksiič has only
11:03just arrived in the country earlier this week because he was on international duty so he
11:06has barely had any training time. From what I hear, his English is very much a work in
11:09progress. He is obviously a young lad from Serbia. English is not a natural second language
11:13to him. So that is going to be a bit of an adaptation period. I think it will be an impact
11:16substitute. Although I know Sunderland have spent a lot of money on him and I have high
11:19hopes for him. Samad, as I said, is not quite in full training yet. So I don't think he
11:23is going to be in a position to start against Middlesbrough. Maybe he will be on the bench
11:26and can start the weekend after. I do think, obviously, he has been signed to be more of
11:30an impact player and I think today would have been a day when maybe that genuine Holden
11:34midfielder might have been valuable in the second half. So I do think he will see him
11:37come in a lot quicker. His English is also really good, which is helpful. He has got
11:41a lot more experience as a footballer. But I would be surprised if it was next weekend
11:45against Middlesbrough. That is my feeling.
11:49Why change a winning side?
11:54To be honest, I have got no issue with changing the side. I think that Dan Neal is Sunderland's
12:00best number six. I think he has learned the discipline of the role well. I think his passing
12:04is really, really good and I think you saw that in the first half. He helped control
12:08the tempo of the game. I think that realistically it is a long season and you want Sunderland
12:13to have different options and you want them to rotate. I don't see it as a negative at
12:17all, to be honest, that the team has changed. But that is obviously just my opinion.
12:22Yes, that is all your questions, which I am really grateful for. I will just leave it
12:25to the comment from Rodio, who says to me, it takes a bit of pressure off the lads going
12:29into the next game. However, getting that equaliser should have been enough. A point
12:32away from home is a great result. We need to slow the game down and defend the point
12:35of game management.
12:36Yes, I think it is fair. I suppose the flip side of that is if Isidore's header goes
12:40in, then you are taking away an incredible result and we would all be talking about the
12:44spirit and the fight that they have shown to turn around and win it. But I listened
12:47to Lebris, who agreed with you to an extent. He said he loved seeing the desire of his
12:50team and the attitude to go and win it. But they needed to have a more solid base behind
12:54the ball and they did for that third goal. So, yes, Lebris agrees with you to an extent.
12:58I think a point would have been a fair result and it would have been a good result and that
13:01is a little bit of a learning, I think. So, yes, thanks for all your questions and comments.
13:04Like I say, really disappointing. Clearly things to improve, but hopefully we will be
13:08back talking about more wins because it has been a more enjoyable start to the season
13:12than I anticipated and long may that continue. We will be back, there will be a podcast on
13:16Monday on all your usual feeds and channels and then we will be back with another On The
13:20Whistle after the Middlesbrough game. Thank you very much.