Phil discusses all the big talking points from Sunderland's draw with Millwall
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00:00Morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of On The Whistle. Thanks for joining
00:14me to talk through Sunderland's 1-1 draw with Millwall. A little bit bleary eyed after a
00:19long day yesterday but always a pleasure to be here chatting Sunderland AFC with you.
00:24A really difficult game to assess I think because in the context of where Sunderland
00:29were heading into this game, I think beforehand if you'd offered any of us really a point
00:35in one of what is the most notoriously difficult places to go in the Championship, I think
00:39we would have all taken it. We already knew that Le Bris would be missing five core first
00:44team players even before you get into all the long-term absentees and then when we got
00:48on the ground we discovered it was even worse because Dennis Serkin couldn't play due to
00:52a broken wrist. I think at that point if you'd said that the team would perform well
00:57for the most part and get a point, I think we've all seen it as a step in the right direction
01:02and I still think it was. Although of course it was the worst possible way for that outcome
01:06to come around with Sunderland conceding in the 93rd minute thanks to Femi Aziz's goal
01:11on the break which was a really tough one to take especially because just seconds before
01:15Sunderland had gone so close to scoring a second goal through Milan Alexic. I just want
01:20to start off by saying that of course sending our very best to the two Millwall fans who
01:26were affected by the medical emergencies in the first half which forced the game to be
01:32paused for 30 minutes. Obviously all the stuff we talk about in terms of the football is
01:36irrelevant really when you consider that so I just want to send the best to the Millwall
01:42fans and also everyone who was involved in dealing with that situation and hopefully
01:47both fans can make a speedy and a full recovery. In terms of the game from a Sunderland perspective
01:52I think in the context of the team, the fact that there was a lot of new partnerships,
01:58players and new roles in different positions that we haven't seen from them, I thought
02:01the first half was up there or maybe I should say the first part of the game up until that
02:06delay was as good as we've seen them play in the context of what was happening. I thought
02:11they played Millwall off the park, it wasn't always free-flowing football. A lot of the
02:16time they were really happy when Millwall pressed aggressively just to turn it into
02:20the channel and ask Isidore to chase it and hold it up and relieve a bit of pressure that
02:24way. They had a nice blend between picking their moments to get their foot on the ball
02:27and picks and passes and understanding when they were under pressure, when there was a
02:31danger from the Millwall press and just getting it out of there basically. I thought that
02:36as I hoped was happening because I think it's a really attractive option while the Ampivade
02:40is injured, I thought at the end there was a real threat off the right. We know that
02:43he works hard, we know that he tracks back, we know that he's got good positioning, but
02:46he looked such a threat cutting it off the right and I think it was really good for Labrice
02:50to get that option. Tommy Watson, as we expected would happen, back on his favoured left side
02:55and looked a different player. A real handful for Millwall in the first half, gave Ryan
02:59Leonard all kinds of problems and of course Aaron Connolly getting his first goal and
03:03I thought he did nicely linking up as well. So there were so many positives. The second
03:07half, really, really disappointing in terms of Millwall really being... I think you always
03:12expected because Millwall had been so poor there was going to be a big reaction once
03:16they'd had their talk with the manager at the break and made some tweaks. So it was
03:19no surprise really that they had the better of the second half, but obviously you felt
03:24going into the stoppage time that Millwall had spent some huge chances, especially right
03:28at the start of the second half, two big set-piece opportunities that they wasted. But you obviously
03:32felt that once someone got into five minutes of the stoppage time that they kind of got
03:35through the worst of the storm and that was what made the goal so difficult to take,
03:40especially because it came straight after a Sunderland attack of their own. So I think
03:44that's really... I think Millwall are entitled to say for sure that they deserved a point
03:50on the basis of the second half to create the better chances, albeit Sunderland could
03:54definitely have picked up a second on the break. I do think Millwall deserved a point
03:58and from a Sunderland perspective it's really disappointing that they've let game get away
04:01from them. And there's obviously, as we'll go into talking on this video, there's a lot
04:05that can improve. I think it's a strange one because the frustration of the late equaliser
04:09is added to the fact... added to by the fact that they've drawn their previous three games
04:13and that obviously means it's now a four game sort of drawing streak, which is not really
04:18where you want to be when you're pushing for automatic promotion, even if there are some
04:21positives within those games. I think the strange thing is that I actually think yesterday
04:26was the best result of those four. I think obviously Coventry is the worst result because
04:30you're 2-0 up at half-time and seemingly in complete control. QPR, although Sunderland
04:35did really well with 10 men in the last half hour of the game, you can see from QPR's form
04:40I think that that was an opportunity missed, although I thought they were okay on the day.
04:43And again, Preston played really well that night, Sunderland went the deep deal, but
04:48the Breecers side just weren't able to produce their best. So I think it's important in a way
04:51to take this game away from the other three because I think that in the context of everything
04:55that was going on, the strength of the opponent, the injuries and the suspensions, I think that
05:00this was the best result of the four. And I think it was really important that the players
05:03who stepped in get the praise that they're due. I mentioned people like Meander, I thought
05:07our Gilles here was excellent and given he'd barely kicked a ball since August, I thought
05:11he deserved to be on the winning side. So I think that there are loads of positives to
05:15take away, I genuinely believe that. And in a lot of ways, I'm much more positive about
05:18the performance and the result yesterday than I am about any of the previous three.
05:22But I totally accept there'll be a lot of frustration out there about the way it came
05:27about. So I'm going to get into your questions now. Thanks to everyone who sent me over on
05:30Blue Sky. Just to remind you, I'm posting on Blue Sky now as a Phil Smith reporter,
05:34that's where I'll be putting out my call for questions and putting all my updates.
05:37So firstly, David says, was there any reason given for Hjelda and Roosen not being on the
05:41bench? Yeah, I asked Lebris about this after the game. Let's have a sip of coffee.
05:48Both of them are injured, but Lebris didn't give any nature on the details of the injury,
05:52but he did just say that he didn't think they were major injuries. So at this stage,
05:56I don't think they've necessarily been ruled out in the next couple of games,
05:58although obviously there's a chance that we won't see them for a little while. We'll just
06:01have to wait and see. I should be able to get an update for you on Monday afternoon on those two.
06:05One thing I will say is that Hjelda did travel with the squad. So it's either an injury he's
06:09picked up very, very late just before the game, or it's one that they thought potentially would
06:13recover in time for him to take his place in the squad. And that just didn't quite happen.
06:17So I think especially in Hjelda's case, the early indications are that it's not a particularly
06:21serious injury. And just following on from that, Zeus Stelix says, is there a Serkan return date?
06:28Not really. So Serkan actually broke his wrist in the nail drill with QPR, played through the
06:34pain barrier for the next two games, but then it was decided that he needed surgery on it,
06:38and the international break was the best time to do that. Unfortunately, it just hasn't recovered
06:42from the surgery as well as someone would have hoped in time. But the very clear message yesterday
06:48was that there would not be a long absence. There was some talk that he might be able to play
06:53on Tuesday against West Brom. There is a level of confidence that even if that doesn't happen,
06:57he should definitely be able to play with the Chefs United next Friday. So I don't think any
07:02of those three players will be out for a while, but clearly not ideal given all the other absentees
07:07as well. So let's get into some of your other questions. Thanks, Liam Davis, for sending this
07:12in. How worried should we be about the second half drop off in performance? Could we have made
07:17better use of subs, even if only just to waste a bit of time to see the game out?
07:21Yeah, thanks, Liam, for your question. I think that I have some sympathy with the briefs on this
07:24because I don't think that's the situation to be introducing a lot of these younger players
07:28that don't have a lot of championship football. You're probably right in terms of the very end
07:32of the game, just to eat up some time that maybe some subs could have helped break up the rhythm
07:36of the game, which was a bit more open than probably someone would have liked defending a
07:40lead. So I'm sympathetic to that point. But I think it wasn't the right situation for some of
07:47those young players to make what would have pretty much been their championship debut or their
07:51second or third appearance or something of that like. I think it's one of those things that we've
07:55talked a lot about on these videos so far this season. Again, Millwall had a huge advantage by
08:02having players that could bring off the bench. Harris was just bringing on fresh legs, fresh
08:06legs, fresh legs, another forward, all the way through the second half. And although the briefs
08:10is cautious with subs and it's not really his manner, I think, to make loads of changes early,
08:15this was yet another game where the opposition had a huge advantage by being able to make
08:21aggressive early changes in the game because of the depth of their bench.
08:25And I think that obviously there are reasons why some of them aren't able to do that at the moment.
08:28Injuries, suspensions, there's a fair bit of bad luck in there. But if the situation hasn't
08:33improved in January, then the clear need there is to recruit because this is something that's
08:36happening time and time again. And for me, we can talk about the tactics and I understand that
08:42totally. But I think that there is a big fatigue factor in Weissenden that maybe is seeming to drop
08:48off why they can't produce 90-minute performances. And they either need their luck to change or they
08:53need to recruit when the opportunity presents itself because I do think that's the reason
08:58why it's costing them. The other thing I would say Liam is Millwall are so difficult to beat at home.
09:04They are up there, right up there on the table in brilliant form for a reason. They make it
09:08difficult for you. The first half, they were dreadful. The second half, fair play to them.
09:11They were a completely different team. And I think that while we can definitely look at Sunderland,
09:16I think that we also have to credit Millwall for turning it around, for doing what they do.
09:20It's not easy to play against Sunderland. They're far from the only team to struggle against it. So
09:24I think we do have to give them some credit for that as well. They have a unique style and they
09:29do very, very well and fair play to them. It's obviously a factor in the final result.
09:34I'm going to put this question in there as well from Joe because it's a similar theme. Joe Hughes,
09:37thanks so much for your question. Great to hear from you. Why do we set off so much away from
09:42home? Is it a hangover from dropping points at Plymouth and Watford? Yeah, I think this dropping
09:47off thing, I've seen a lot of fans talking about, which I completely respect because we have seen
09:54Sunderland play with a pretty low block for much of this season. The only thing I would say is,
09:58and maybe I would have to watch the game back, in the ground at the time, it felt like more of
10:02what Millwall were doing. Then it conches out from Sunderland to drop off. It felt like Sunderland
10:06couldn't get out. But I might be wrong on that and that's maybe something I can ask Labriece
10:10about when I next get the opportunity, Joe, and hopefully get a bit more insight for you.
10:14The one thing I will say is that Labriece, speaking after the game, didn't seem too
10:18concerned about where Sunderland were defending and actually felt that their defending of the box
10:22and what they were doing in the defensive phase was really good. What he was critical of and where
10:26he said his team have to improve is he said they just didn't use the ball well enough once they'd
10:30won that first contest. So the Meander chances and obviously the big Alexis chance was a great
10:36example of Sunderland actually having huge opportunities to kill the game off, but just
10:40not getting the pass right, not doing the right things under pressure on possession.
10:44We know they like to play on the break, but if you're going to do that, you've got to get your
10:47first or second pass right to set up that counterattack. There were too many times yesterday
10:51where they were just inviting pressure back onto them. So I agree with you, it would be nice at
10:56times to see Sunderland be a bit more proactive, but Labriece very much felt that the game was
11:00there and the opportunities were there and Sunderland just didn't take them. Again, personally,
11:05happy for them, but I know people will disagree. I think fatigue was a factor. I think players like
11:09Rigg, who were brilliant in the first half, weren't quite able to find that speed of thought
11:13and that precision in their passing in the second half. And a good few counterattacking opportunities
11:18sort of went by the wayside. I think that's inevitable with the minutes that some of these
11:21young players are playing. And as I say, I think getting some more depth in the coming weeks is
11:26going to be absolutely vital. Although I feel like I've been saying that all season and not too much
11:30has changed. So yeah, thanks again for sending that in. A couple of other comments here.
11:36Neil says, disappointing as the late equaliser was, it's really important we take the positives.
11:40Good performance despite half a team missing and look ahead to a really important week.
11:44Yeah, I think that's always true in the Championship. A disappointing result can
11:47quickly be flipped if you back it up. If you get a good win at home, then this becomes a
11:51very good away point. So I agree with that, Neil. Chris says, disappointing result but feels different
11:55currently. That was two points thrown away. This is two points dropped at death with half a team out.
11:59We do need a win though and we do need to sort our game management out. Yeah, Chris, I think everyone
12:04would agree with that. Good question here from Chris. Chris says, do we need a strengthening
12:09jam? We always have loads of injuries and the bench looked very light today for Millwall away.
12:13Chris, hopefully I've kind of addressed that already in the video. I totally agree with you.
12:16Obviously, there's a lot of bad luck in there. But I do think the bench is a persistent issue for
12:21Sunderland this season. Even if Lebris doesn't seem to want to make loads of subs at the moment,
12:26he doesn't really have the option to make that many. And I think that's really important moving
12:29forward. And if the injuries don't clear in time, then recruitment is going to be really important.
12:34Davy along that line, thanks Davy for your comments as hopefully we can add a bit more
12:37strength and depth in January. He also says, interested to know what you thought about
12:41Connolly and Aleksic. So definitely Connolly's brightest performance. Not just the goal,
12:47I know it's easy when I play a strike score to say you did well. But actually, I thought through
12:50the first half, his link-up play was really nice. Obviously playing in a much deeper role than he
12:54would be used to, almost playing as a third midfielder really. Showed some really nice
12:58touches, got involved with some nice bits of link-up play over on the left-hand side.
13:02I think it was nice for him actually to play from the start. I know Preston didn't really work out
13:06because he was really isolated. But a lot of times he's come off the bench, it's been when Sunderland
13:10have been defending the lead. And it's just been about seeing the game out, winning three kicks,
13:13taking a bit of time out of the game. He hasn't really had much of a chance to show us what he
13:17can do as a sort of dynamic forward. And yesterday was a big step in the right direction. And nice to
13:21see him and he still play well together. It's another option for Lebris. So I'd be positive
13:25about Connolly, Davey. And I have to say, I'd be positive about Aleksic as well. I totally get it
13:30that obviously he's missed a big chance. Millwall have gone straight up the other end and scored,
13:34which is incredibly frustrating. But that was about the most difficult situation he could
13:39have come on to in his debut. So they're not really seeing any of the ball. Millwall away,
13:43they're just putting the absolute barrage of balls into the box. I thought he did okay. I thought
13:48he played one beautiful switch of play that set up a big counter-attack. His first switch broadly
13:53was very good, although there were one or two moments where it got away from him. What was nice
13:56to see actually is he showed a bit of strength at times. He was happy to put his body in and use a
14:01bit of strength as well. So for a 19-year-old playing his first championship game, I thought
14:05there was some encouraging signs there, Davey. Obviously not getting carried away. I think it's
14:09going to be a long process with him. He's a player who's clearly been signed for the long run.
14:14I think some of them have signed him knowing that like Mundell, like Trey Hewitt, there'd be a big
14:17period of adaptation. So I don't think we were suddenly going to start seeing him play loads
14:21and loads of minutes just yet. But I actually was quite encouraged. The way Lebris has talked about
14:25him about being a really attacking midfielder and being really careful with him, I almost expected
14:30him to maybe be a little bit lightweight from the way he was talking about him. But that absolutely
14:34wasn't the case at all. So to be honest, I know the headline will be about his sort of missing
14:38him one-on-one, which to be fair, very, very nearly scored the goal. He was quite lucky.
14:43I think that, well, it was a good save, but it could have gone anywhere once it sort of hit him.
14:48You know, I think there were some positives to take. So yeah, hopefully I've answered all your
14:52questions there. Thanks so much for sending them in. Just a reminder, if you're not on Blue Sky
14:56and you're thinking about it, I am on there posting my Sunland updates and you can send in your
15:00questions for the next couple of games. So I'll be back after the next couple of games with some
15:04more additions on the whistle. There may well be a feature-length broadcast tomorrow as well to go
15:09through the game and preview the next week. But yeah, really frustrating circumstances, a decent
15:14point, but obviously loads for Sunland to improve on and really important that they sort of get that
15:20win in the next couple of games. Thanks so much for spending some time with me on your Sunday.
15:24I hope you have a lovely rest of your weekend and I'll see you again soon. Cheers.