Phil discusses Sunderland's 0-0 draw with West Brom and answers questions from viewers in his weekly Q&A
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00:00Hi everyone, welcome to the latest edition of On The Whistle.
00:17We have yet another sun and draw to talk about, the fifth in a row, this time a nil-nil draw
00:22at West Brom.
00:23I've got loads of questions from you, I thank you for sending them in.
00:26Over on Blue Sky, just a reminder I'm there on Phil Smith Report and that's where I'm
00:31asking people to send in their questions, so thanks to all of you who did that.
00:35Just a few of my thoughts on the game really, before I go into your questions.
00:38I thought that, probably a game in two halves to an extent, whereby, although Sunderland
00:44pretty much dominated possession and territory throughout the 90 minutes really, I thought
00:48the first half West Brom looked really, really comfortable.
00:51They had a lot of injury issues, suspension issues, they obviously had to make a change
00:55their start in 11 just minutes before kick-off as well.
00:57And I think it was fairly obvious pretty much from minute one that they'd be very happy
01:01with the point and if they could nick three on the break, then they'd be absolutely ecstatic
01:05with that.
01:06So I think it was a game where the onus was always going to be on Sunderland to break
01:09West Brom down.
01:10The first half, I never truly felt that they were going to do that.
01:13I thought there lacked a bit of creativity, I thought the pace was a little bit slow,
01:18I thought they made it too easy for West Brom to defend in the kind of low block that they
01:21wanted to.
01:22I have to say that the second half, up until probably about 80 minutes, I thought that
01:27Sunderland played pretty well against a good side.
01:29I thought that they dominated the game still, but actually I thought they looked incisive
01:33at times.
01:34I thought Rigg really came into the game and looked a real threat.
01:37East's goal, that's a matter of inches away from him being onside and possibly even millimetres
01:43really, centimetres.
01:44And if that goal goes into a different game, obviously Roberts nearly scored a really clever
01:50finish at the near post after good work from Hulme.
01:53So I thought that much of the second half performance actually was a pretty good one
01:56from Sunderland.
01:57I thought they lost the way late on, it seemed like that chance where Ballard cleared it
02:00just off the line after a strong West Brom break, that seemed to give West Brom a little
02:04bit of confidence and Sunderland seemed to get a little bit frustrated and I thought
02:07they rushed things a bit in the last 10 minutes.
02:10So I do think that if either team deserved to win the game, I definitely thought it was
02:15Sunderland.
02:16I thought there were some positives, especially from the way they controlled the game in the
02:18second half while also having a threat.
02:20But I think when you look back at it, Sunderland will probably have to rue the fact that the
02:23first half passed them by a little bit, I think, in an attacking sense.
02:27And it's a strange one because it's how do you look at it?
02:29Is it five games without a win or is it 10 games unbeaten?
02:33And I think that tells us something about where the Sunderland side are at right now
02:36because very similar to the last two games really, Coventry at home and Millwall away,
02:43it's not results where at the start of the game you'd have felt that was a really poor
02:47result.
02:49A slightly frustrating result because you always want Sunderland to win, but they would
02:52have felt like decent points in the context of everything that's been going on with injuries
02:55and suspensions, the strength of the opposition.
02:58But obviously once you get five draws in a row, if you have genuine promotional ambitions,
03:03there has to be that concern that you're lacking a little bit of ruthlessness.
03:07And yes, certainly over the course of the game, Sunderland didn't quite create enough
03:11to win it, albeit I did think they were much the better side in the second half.
03:15Another frustrating night really.
03:17I think the thing that we've talked a lot on this video over the course of the season
03:23about not judging Sunderland unfairly because they've started so well, I still think that
03:29this is kind of a play-off race, if you like, and in that sense, Sunderland are still well-placed.
03:33I do think it feels quite ominous that Burnley, having been a side that seemed to be struggling
03:38a bit at the start of the season, despite the players and the budget they have, are
03:41already starting to moan how they beat Coventry last night.
03:43Another strong win for Sheffield United.
03:46All of a sudden, Sunderland are bunched in there with Burnley and Sheffield United, the
03:48Parish for Payment teams and Leeds United as well.
03:51And it starts to feel like maybe the true shape of the table is being formed.
03:55And at the moment, Sunderland maybe don't look like they're quite in the calibre of
03:58those other three teams just because of their recent results.
04:02Obviously their place in the table is a little bit based on what they did in the opening
04:05week.
04:06So I think it's fairly clear that while there's no need for great negativity because Sunderland
04:10are still unbelievably well-placed, if they do genuinely want to be part of that conversation,
04:14which is not what we expected at the start of the season, but what we hoped after the
04:17first few performances, then I think it's fairly clear that they're going to have to
04:22find another gear fairly quickly.
04:23So I'm just going to have a sip of coffee and then we'll go into your questions again.
04:27Thanks so much for sending them in.
04:31A few of them are on a similar theme, so I might deal with a few of them at once.
04:34But I just want to start with this one that I saw earlier.
04:39This is from Tom Shiny.
04:40Tom, thanks for sending your question in, or your comment in, I should say.
04:42We never seem to be able to penetrate teams who play with a low block.
04:45We are lacking quality in players who move the ball quickly.
04:49I think that the low block thing, to be honest, is an issue that's been at Sunderland at home
04:54for a long, long time, actually.
04:57I think even if you go back to the Ligue 1 era, even under Alex Neil, when Sunderland
05:00eventually got promoted, they never looked that comfortable breaking down the team with
05:04a low block.
05:05I think the one thing that I would say in the context of last night's game specifically
05:08is that I think West Brom, or more to the point, Carlos Cobran, is pretty much the best
05:14exponent of the low block in the division.
05:17I think if you look at getting a West Brom team to the playoff semifinal last year, getting
05:21a Huddersfield team a few years back to the playoff final, a huge part of that was counter-attacking
05:27well but being incredibly effective at defending your own box, and particularly being incredibly
05:32effective at defending leads and breaking on teams.
05:35So I guess I make that point to say that I think, as we said with Millwall, really
05:39on Saturday, in the context of that game, there'll be a lot of teams who go up to Millwall
05:42and struggle with their approach.
05:44I do think there'll be a lot of teams after games against West Brom who talk about how
05:48their side struggled to create, and I think that's as much about West Brom's organisation
05:52as it is about Sunderland.
05:54One of the encouraging things about the early part of the season was that Sunderland actually
05:58dealt with the low block fairly well against Oxford and Derby, and even though they did
06:02it slightly differently against Sheffield, Burnley, Middlesbrough, they actually have
06:07always looked at threat at home.
06:08Coventry kind of blew away in the first half and then obviously performed poorly in the
06:13second.
06:14So on that particular issue, I'm not getting too concerned based purely on this one game.
06:19I think West Brom are very, very effective at defending in the low block, and so I wouldn't
06:24be overreacting to that aspect of the performance, although I agree with you that there was a
06:28lack of quality and certainly didn't move the ball quickly in the first half.
06:31I thought for part of the second half that started to change, but maybe it was a little
06:35bit too little too late.
06:39Carl says, are there any deeper concerns about the recent run of draws?
06:42Out of context, some could be viewed as good results.
06:44However, with all of them coming at once, it seems to change the narrative and feeling
06:48behind the team.
06:49I'd be worried about the energy levels based on pressing and lack of changes.
06:55This is kind of similar to another question that I had from Rob, which says, when does
07:01Regis get called out for his lack of substitutions, but then saying they might not strengthen
07:05in January?
07:06We looked dead on our feet at the end and clearly something needs to change.
07:09Five draws in a row doesn't happen for a team going apart on that.
07:13So just again to say that, yeah, I kind of agree with both you, Carl and Rob, on that
07:17point that five draws within that, there's a lot of context and reasons in terms of injuries
07:22and suspensions.
07:23But I agree with you that clearly at the moment, someone aren't playing at the level of a top
07:29two side on a consistent basis.
07:31I think that's fairly obvious.
07:33I think for us, it's where do we judge that?
07:36Are we now judging them against, you know, Sheffield United, Burnley, Leeds and saying
07:39there should be a top two team?
07:41Or are we saying that, you know, probably coming into the season, our expectation was
07:44that this is a team that should push for the playoffs and they still are doing that.
07:49I think I probably lean more towards the latter, but I agree with you.
07:54And this question of energy and changes is, I think, something that we've talked about
08:00a lot because I think Lebris is cautious.
08:02I don't think he likes to make a huge amount of subs.
08:04I don't think he likes to make them early.
08:06Last night, he was almost more proactive, really, in bringing on Mienda and Alissa earlier.
08:11Did it work?
08:12I totally understood bringing Alissa on because I think he wanted an overlapping option with
08:16a left footer on the left.
08:18I wasn't sure about Mienda cutting in off the left.
08:22That was a really difficult substitution because I think Watson looked tired.
08:26I think he had to kind of make that change.
08:28The problem is, is if, you know, Mienda really wants to play on the right, but if you bring
08:32Connolly on instead, your only other option is to move Isidore out from the left.
08:36Isidore pretty much just scored from the middle of the penalty box.
08:39We've seen in previous weeks when he's gone out to the left, that's not really worked
08:43as well because someone have lost his running and his penalty box presence.
08:46So I can understand why he tried to be a bit creative and he tried to get Mienda out
08:50on the left, but I don't think Mienda looked comfortable.
08:52I think he wants to cut in field, so cutting in from the left on his left foot, I just
08:56think looks really clunky, but I can understand why Labriez did that.
09:01Could he have made another change later on to get Connolly on?
09:03I think possibly.
09:04That might have been something that worked, but maybe he was a little bit concerned about
09:09not leaving things too open.
09:11So I definitely think it's one to watch because, as I've said many times, I have this mitigation
09:16for Labriez in that he hasn't made many subs early because a lot of the time his bench
09:20just hasn't had those options on.
09:22That should really be starting to change a little bit in the next few weeks and so it
09:25will be interesting to see if we see a kind of slight shift in approach.
09:29Just on your specific point, Rob, there about Labriez saying we might not strengthen in
09:33January.
09:34So I was in that press conference on Monday when Labriez was asked about January and whether
09:39he wanted to see the squad strengthen.
09:42I didn't come away from it thinking that someone weren't going to strengthen in January.
09:46I definitely think Sunderland will be looking to add some quality and they need some depth.
09:49I just think the point that he was making was, by the time, the point that he was making
09:54was it was a little early to kind of be finalising plans, or at least that's what I took from
09:59what his plan was.
10:00Obviously, Sunderland's recruitment team and Christian Speakman are doing a lot of work
10:03and talking a lot about targets behind the scenes.
10:06But from Labriez's perspective, he's saying basically, you know, I've got a lot of work
10:10to do already in this building and focus on the players that I have.
10:14He was mentioning the fact that maybe Mienda can play on the right wing because he's done
10:17really well at Millwall.
10:19And he was just making the point that he doesn't know how the squad's going to develop between
10:22now and January and if Samed, Perveda and Abdullahi are all fit and fire and then he's
10:26got quite a big squad.
10:29So if there's a concern that Sunderland don't seem to be wanting to strengthen in January,
10:34then I think I can probably allay that.
10:35I definitely think Sunderland are looking to strengthen in January, albeit I don't think
10:39it's going to be a window where they sign five or six players, but I think that's okay.
10:43For me, it was always a window about getting in a little bit of real high quality who can
10:47add something, a little bit of an x-factor and something a little bit different to the
10:51squad rather than an overhaul.
10:53So I definitely feel the concern about energy levels and maybe the fact that it doesn't
10:59feel like Sunderland finish games particularly strongly and it hasn't felt like that for
11:02much of the season.
11:04I wouldn't be too worried about January off the back of those comments.
11:07I think Labriez was just more making a point that right now, it makes a little sense for
11:11him to be putting too much time into focusing on that.
11:15Hopefully that's kind of helps on that one.
11:19Chris says the last two draws seem disappointing, but is it only because the three before happened?
11:23Do our wide players need to get the byline more instead of coming inside?
11:28Yeah, I agree actually with both those comments.
11:31I think it was something that Robertson particularly did really well at the start of the season.
11:34He was going on the outside a lot more and putting crosses in with his right foot.
11:38He's never going to get the same speed or pace on his delivery as he does on his stronger
11:42left foot, but actually it was a big part of I think him having a strong start to the
11:45season.
11:46So that's definitely an interesting point, Chris, and something I'd like to see more.
11:49I agree with you with the comment about the last two draws.
11:53It's because Sunderland had a man sent off, in my opinion, at QPR and couldn't take fully
11:57advantage of that situation.
11:58They played poorly at Preston and then they basically gave it away against Coventry, didn't
12:02they?
12:03I think that's why these last two draws feel so disappointing because it's so long since
12:06we've had that win.
12:08I don't think the last two games are necessarily missed opportunities as of themselves.
12:13Millwall became a missed opportunity because Sunderland played so well for so long and
12:16had a lead in the 93rd minute, so it was a missed opportunity in the end.
12:20And although West Brom had suspensions and injuries, they're a top six contender.
12:25Very well coached, as we've discussed, by Carlos Cobran.
12:27So that in and of itself wasn't necessarily a missed opportunity to get a point.
12:32So I agree with you, Chris.
12:33I think that the last two results, the frustration is more about what came before it than the
12:40actual game themselves and the results themselves.
12:43I would definitely agree with that.
12:45Chris also says, who plays at the back when everyone is fit?
12:47It's a really interesting question because Serkin should be back on Friday, if not certainly
12:53the week after.
12:56And yeah, it's basic numbers.
12:58One of Chris Meckham, Dan Ballard and Luke O'Neill is going to have to come out the side,
13:01which is going to be a really interesting debate because I don't think you can drop
13:04Chris Meckham personally because I think he's arguably been Sunderland's best player since
13:08he came into the side.
13:09Dan Ballard, I think, showed last night and to an extent against Millwall what he's all
13:13about.
13:14But we know that Luke O'Neill is so hard not to pick because of his mentality and also
13:18because of what he brings on the ball, which is probably better than any of other Sunderland's
13:21defenders.
13:22So that's going to be a really interesting one to watch.
13:24Clint also says, Luke O'Neill getting subbed was weird.
13:26I appreciate you want to get Alessio on, but Luke O'Neill was one of our most industrious
13:30players.
13:31Yeah, I really agree with that.
13:34I'm not saying he should have brought Hulme off instead because Hulme did look a threat
13:37from left back in the first half, but I thought O'Neill was doing really well.
13:39I thought he was offering an outlet, linking up really well.
13:42He'd obviously put that cross in for Eastdorf quite soon before he came off, which on another
13:46day is an assist.
13:47Yeah, Luke O'Neill looked a bit miffed when he was brought off and to be honest, I could
13:51completely understand that.
13:52I got the logic.
13:53As you say, Clint, I understood the logic of the sub because to get a left footer on,
13:57natural left foot for the overlap to try and give West Brom another problem.
14:00But I thought O'Neill was quite hard done by.
14:02Clint also says get Luke in the middle instead of Dan Neal.
14:05Personally, I don't agree with that aspect of it, Clint.
14:07I just think we've seen when Luke plays in the championship in midfield, I don't think
14:11he has the same level of composure on the ball in a frantic midfield area that Neal
14:16does.
14:18I get a debate about whether Neal should play further forward, but I do think he's probably
14:21a better option than that.
14:22I think O'Neill's a defender now.
14:23I think we've seen that over a period of time at this level.
14:28I've got quite a few, so I'm just going to bring them all into one.
14:31Quite a few of you are asking about Roberts and a few of you are asking if Meander should
14:35start ahead of him.
14:36Just basically asking what's happened to his end product.
14:38Listen, I said a few weeks ago that I thought if he took a step back, that Roberts has had
14:45a really, really, really good start to the season and by and large, I still maintain
14:49that.
14:50His goal and assists were decent.
14:51I think he was influential in the vast majority of games, as I've talked about before, even
14:56in games where he wasn't getting a goal or an assist.
14:59More often than not, you could find him playing a big part in one of the goals, whether it's
15:02a little bit of build-up play with Rigg or Hulme that leads to a goal.
15:06So I really think that, broadly speaking, he's had a decent season.
15:09I do think his delivery, especially from set-pieces last night, was off and I think that was a
15:12problem in terms of West Brom, breaking West Brom down.
15:16I think you needed your wingers to produce that bit of magic and last night they weren't
15:20able to do that.
15:21So I definitely think it's one to watch.
15:23I wouldn't be overreacting because, as I say, I do feel that Roberts has had a good
15:27season so far.
15:28But clearly, last night wasn't his best night and we haven't seen him at his best for a
15:31little while.
15:32Part of that might be the fact because there's so little pressure on his place, because Poveyda
15:36hasn't been able to get fit.
15:38Mainder was really good at Millwall on Saturday and let's hope he can put a bit of pressure
15:43on and hopefully that can maybe help Roberts find his best level in the next couple of
15:47games.
15:5010 games in a row unbeaten is a great achievement for a team that lacked consistency this season,
15:55but is there a concern that we're not creating the same kind of chances that we were at the
15:58start of the season?
15:59I feel like a lack of depth is a worry, especially for creativity in midfield.
16:02Yeah, I definitely agree.
16:03It goes back to that January debate, doesn't it?
16:06If everyone's fit and someone to have a decent squad with a fair amount of variety and options,
16:11the reality is it's just never been the case this season and it feels a stretch to say
16:14that it's going to change any time soon.
16:17I completely understand that concern over the lack of depth.
16:19Again, we're seeing last night was a little bit better, but the Breece not having loads
16:23of options to change the game.
16:25I do think I agree with your point in terms of the performances compared to the start
16:29of the season.
16:30I think that Sunderland probably caught teams out a little bit at the start of the year.
16:34They were really resilient defensively, had a really good structure and then were breaking
16:37like lightning on teams and teams didn't really seem to know how to deal with that.
16:42I think they've clearly adapted as the season's gone on.
16:45I think Sunderland now need to improve again, really, to find some new ways to hurt teams.
16:51Clearly playing, as we discussed before, they have done really well at times, especially
16:55at home.
16:56They've shown a few different approaches.
16:57They can press teams and that nearly worked last night.
16:59I do think Sunderland put a lot of pressure on West Brom with that press.
17:03So yeah, I do agree with you.
17:04I don't think Sunderland are performing at the same level as they were in the first six
17:08to eight games of the season.
17:09I think that's absolutely sort of a fair comment.
17:12I think both attacking and sometimes defensively as well, they're not at the level they were.
17:18And clearly, no need to sort of, as you mentioned, ten games in a row and beating shows that
17:22this side has some really good traits to it and some really good quality within it.
17:26And so we should be looking ahead positively, but definitely they're not quite at the level
17:30they were right at the start of the year.
17:32And the onus is kind of on Lebris to try and turn that round and get Sunderland back to
17:37exactly where they were.
17:38So thanks for all your questions and comments.
17:39Hope you've enjoyed the video.
17:41Yeah, and we'll be back on Saturday, I guess, after the Sheffield United game.
17:46So again, over on Blue Sky, Phil Spith, my reporter, is my handle.
17:50I'll be asking for your questions on Friday night after the game and speaking to you over
17:54the weekend.
17:55So thanks again, as ever, for watching and sending me questions in.