Sunderland v Leeds Utd Match Thread

[Jaydog]

Sorry but little sympathy...ranks in the top 5 goalkeeping gaffs I have seen in 50 years...absolutely incredulous that that happened....absolutely gobsmacking !!

Is it worse than a defender wildly slicing it in to his own net. Or missing a pen or open goal. Terrible tackle that gives away a penalty.
He’s definitely going to be here after the break so we might all have to forgive and forget.

[The Subhuman]

Bamford did the same after a missed pen or the like.
Its just a normal human reaction to me. I’ve done it because sometimes its all you can do.

Doesn't bother me either..

[Carrick Dave]

Bamford did the same after a missed pen or the like.
Its just a normal human reaction to me. I’ve done it because sometimes its all you can do.

In any footage I’ve now seen he looks devastated, and Farke claimed he was almost in tears in the dressing room.

[John in Louisiana]

I'm sure Ilan feels as bad as he ever has in his life.

I just hope we don't miss promotion by these two points. I can't imagine being in his shoes then.

Gutted. On the very edge of going joint top with a team full of second stringers.

[Barlow Boy]

I'm sure Ilan feels as bad as he ever has in his life.

I just hope we don't miss promotion by these two points. I can't imagine being in his shoes then.

Gutted. On the very edge of going joint top with a team full of second stringers.

I could point at Aaronson missing the sitter against Portsmouth which would have guaranteed us 2 points, as another example of players feeling guilty of costing us promotion.

Football is a team game, s**t happens, we move on

[andrewjohnsmith]

Rather harsh. It was a howler, it is whether he allows it define him, or from here on in makes amends. Consigning anything to the bin so quickly is often a mistake.
Just the other day I was going to throw some old favourite shoes out and the Mrs convinced me to get them re heeled- back in the favourites book again.

It was a bit harsh. Think about Rob Green and his howler in the world cup.

I've defended Meslier endlessly. I thought he was a terrific young keeper under Bielsa. I still think he makes some fantastic reflex saves. I gave him a pass in the relegation season. We conceded a horrible amount of goals. But it was a dysfunctional squad and our defence and midfield were abysmal. He was constantly exposed and his confidence was probably shot.

Last season, we were arguably the best team in the division. We had a super tight defence and didn't face a lot of goal attempts. There was a stat that I can't quote. But Meslier was in the bottom half of the table in shot saved percentage. Ipswich and Leicester were in the top half for comparison.

We're still seeing the same again this season. We just concede goals on too few shots faced. And, up until this week, I've still defended Meslier. Then there was the weak penalty this week. I was undecided still. After today's game I'd drop him. At least for a short spell and not permanently. Darlow is proven at this level.

Having said that, I'd rather be wrong. I'd rather believe he's going to be the next Courtois.

[andrewjohnsmith]

Two tough away games out the way. With our injury issues I would have settled for 2 draws beforehand. So I will not allow the shitty situation to prey on my mind after next Thursday.

I took the same. We almost took 3 points. But a draw was a fair result on the balance of play

[GreennWhite]

I could point at Aaronson missing the sitter against Portsmouth which would have guaranteed us 2 points, as another example of players feeling guilty of costing us promotion.

Football is a team game, s**t happens, we move on

Exactly BB, i Cant believe what i read on this forum sometimes. Of course we are all gutted by not collecting all 3 points, but before the game most would have taken a point considering what has happened injury wise. The fact that we got ahead and got so close makes it even more difficult to take, and i really feel for the players and geniun fans. For those who want to see the back of Mes, i suggest you grow up, have you never seen a goal keeper make a serious c**k up before. Our outfield players miss chances that cost us 3 points a hell of a lot of times, its football, its what happens sometimes.
Some fans are mad that we didnt get all 3 points, im mad reading some of the s**t that some of our fans come out with

[andrewjohnsmith]

Exactly BB, i Cant believe what i read on this forum sometimes. Of course we are all gutted by not collecting all 3 points, but before the game most would have taken a point considering what has happened injury wise. The fact that we got ahead and got so close makes it even more difficult to take, and i really feel for the players and geniun fans. For those who want to see the back of Mes, i suggest you grow up, have you never seen a goal keeper make a serious c**k up before. Our outfield players miss chances that cost us 3 points a hell of a lot of times, its football, its what happens sometimes.
Some fans are mad that we didnt get all 3 points, im mad reading some of the s**t that some of our fans come out with

My point isn't to bin him or flog him. But when outfield players have subpar performances they get dropped for guys that are on the bench. Then have to win their place back or wait for another opportunity. Should be no difference for the goalie.

[whiteswan]

goalie?....pathetic. simples.

[GreennWhite]

My point isn't to bin him or flog him. But when outfield players have subpar performances they get dropped for guys that are on the bench. Then have to win their place back or wait for another opportunity. Should be no difference for the goalie.

Thats not strictly true how many chances did players like Geo, Jimmy, Willy and others miss last season that cost us all 3 points and still keep playing. When Darlow was brought in as back up quite a few fans were not impressed by what he had done at other clubs and wanted a better back up keeper, now Mes makes a mistake and all we here is, get Darlow in the team.
Im not saying Mes is undropable every player is to some degree, but the OTP comments after his mistake tonight are just pathetic.

[Cjay]

18 points from 9 games is normal top 2 form.

16 points from 9 is playoff form.

We are 3 points better off than a season apparently with such a difficult start we had to pretend the first 2 months didn't exist.

It was a massive error but it's overall impact is all the more sobering.

We could be outside the playoffs by Monday

Doesn't seem much but as we know from last season and before these plucky draws or unlucky results have a way of catching up with this club.

[DDB220]

18 points from 9 games is normal top 2 form.

16 points from 9 is playoff form.

We are 3 points better off than a season apparently with such a difficult start we had to pretend the first 2 months didn't exist.

It was a massive error but it's overall impact is all the more sobering.

We could be outside the playoffs by Monday

Doesn't seem much but as we know from last season and before these plucky draws or unlucky results have a way of catching up with this club.

Conversely we could be top of the league after the next 5 games. Far too early in the season to start worrying about the table. I don’t look at it until 44 games have been played.

[John in Louisiana]

I could point at Aaronson missing the sitter against Portsmouth which would have guaranteed us 2 points, as another example of players feeling guilty of costing us promotion.

Football is a team game, s**t happens, we move on

Yes indeed. Win, lose, and draw as a team.

Meslier is going to need everyone's support.

[JoeDenver]

It was a bit harsh. Think about Rob Green and his howler in the world cup.

I've defended Meslier endlessly. I thought he was a terrific young keeper under Bielsa. I still think he makes some fantastic reflex saves. I gave him a pass in the relegation season. We conceded a horrible amount of goals. But it was a dysfunctional squad and our defence and midfield were abysmal. He was constantly exposed and his confidence was probably shot.

Last season, we were arguably the best team in the division. We had a super tight defence and didn't face a lot of goal attempts. There was a stat that I can't quote. But Meslier was in the bottom half of the table in shot saved percentage. Ipswich and Leicester were in the top half for comparison.

We're still seeing the same again this season. We just concede goals on too few shots faced. And, up until this week, I've still defended Meslier. Then there was the weak penalty this week. I was undecided still. After today's game I'd drop him. At least for a short spell and not permanently. Darlow is proven at this level.

Having said that, I'd rather be wrong. I'd rather believe he's going to be the next Courtois.

Thank you AJS for putting it all together. We keep finding ways to give him another opportunity because he’s young, etc. But at the end of the day, he’ll NEVER be a good keeper at Leeds. I find his case to be similar to young quarterbacks in the NFL (American Football)…needing a change of scenery to thrive. Call it the history, the passionate fan base, the tense confines of Elland Road, and/or a combination thereof. His issue is mental and I sincerely doubt it will happen here.

[JoeDenver]

Exactly BB, i Cant believe what i read on this forum sometimes. Of course we are all gutted by not collecting all 3 points, but before the game most would have taken a point considering what has happened injury wise. The fact that we got ahead and got so close makes it even more difficult to take, and i really feel for the players and geniun fans. For those who want to see the back of Mes, i suggest you grow up, have you never seen a goal keeper make a serious c**k up before. Our outfield players miss chances that cost us 3 points a hell of a lot of times, its football, its what happens sometimes.
Some fans are mad that we didnt get all 3 points, im mad reading some of the s**t that some of our fans come out with

GKs are held to a different standard. Mes also isn’t isolated to a single serious c**k up. Seems pretty routine with him. Only way I could see him being a successful keeper in the future is with a change of scenery. But holding on to him because he’s young and somehow promising has “sunk cost fallacy” written all over it.

[AcrossThePondAsh]

Exactly BB, i Cant believe what i read on this forum sometimes. Of course we are all gutted by not collecting all 3 points, but before the game most would have taken a point considering what has happened injury wise. The fact that we got ahead and got so close makes it even more difficult to take, and i really feel for the players and geniun fans. For those who want to see the back of Mes, i suggest you grow up, have you never seen a goal keeper make a serious c**k up before. Our outfield players miss chances that cost us 3 points a hell of a lot of times, its football, its what happens sometimes.
Some fans are mad that we didnt get all 3 points, im mad reading some of the s**t that some of our fans come out with

Agree and why is the first reaction to drop him, strip him of his co-captaincy, make him walk the plank, etc? Not trying to be overly touchy-feely but where's the empathy or at least the consideration that something else could have been at play? In CJays post-game write up DF said "Struijk said he never seen anything like this. He said the ball bounced in a different direction. I cannot tell you if it did, but this is what Pascal said." Surely that means the ball bounced oddly and went off in a strange direction at the last second--as painful as they are to watch, the replays seem to show this. If that was the case, does that squelch the anger at all? Everyone f*cks it from time to time. Surely that can apply to this situation. He'll need support to not get head-f*cked over this, not the angry mob mentality. Let's all collectively breathe and cut the kid some slack.

[Clitheroe White]

Love messlier

He will feel crap

Got to support him. He will be even more committed to ensure we succeed now.

Purposely short post ( still in shock).

[SG90]

I guess being clobbered by Struijk's knee didn't help. I felt he should've been subbed off then, but I guess Farke has no confidence in Darlow. It feels like a defeat, another game we should've won, we've gifted to the opposition. Makes the blunts game a must win now, as we can't keep gifting points to sides at the top.

We won't even get a rest, as half the squad are away on international duty. Even players like Crew are getting call ups now, it's a joke. There should be a maximum number of call ups a Championship side can have. Not sure Firpo, Aaronson or Tanaka will even be available for the blunts, given they'll be on the other side of the world in midweek.

Both Rodon and Bogle are a booking away from a suspension now too.

[Barlow Boy]

Agree and why is the first reaction to drop him, strip him of his co-captaincy, make him walk the plank, etc? Not trying to be overly touchy-feely but where's the empathy or at least the consideration that something else could have been at play? In CJays post-game write up DF said "Struijk said he never seen anything like this. He said the ball bounced in a different direction. I cannot tell you if it did, but this is what Pascal said." Surely that means the ball bounced oddly and went off in a strange direction at the last second--as painful as they are to watch, the replays seem to show this. If that was the case, does that squelch the anger at all? Everyone f*cks it from time to time. Surely that can apply to this situation. He'll need support to not get head-f*cked over this, not the angry mob mentality. Let's all collectively breathe and cut the kid some slack.

I’ve watched it a hundred times or more, the ball definitely spins oddly. He still should collect it comfortably, of course he should, but it is a weird bounce.