Sixers Sevens: Aston Villa 6 SAFC 1: Paulo’s boys punished by resurgent Villa

Jake poin Sixer to the wall
Jake captures Sixer’s wall of strength

…The mood going into this game was positive and after the last two victories there was justified cause for optimism. This was to be our Champions League Final, the three points ensuring another year of Premiership football. As Sunderland fans we should know better than to get over excited and tonight showed why. This is the part where Pete Sixsmith usually shares his seven word summation of the game but instead he spent this evening watching Shildon in the Northern League. Good choice! Here’s the supersub’s verdict.

April 29 2013 Aston Villa (2) 6 SAFC (1) 1 * Errors punished by better team on night

April 20 2013 SAFC (1) 1 Everton (0) 0 Organised and committed, things looking better now

April 14 2013 Newcastle United (0) 0 SAFC 3 (1)Such days come once in a generation

April 7 2013 Chelsea 2 (0) SAFC 1 (1) *Huge improvement gives us hope of survival

April 7 1973 FA Cup Semi Final: SAFC 2 (1) Arsenal 1 (0) Wembley bound without a F****** in sight

March 31 2013 SAFC 0 (0) Manchester United 1 (1) Did OK, but OK doesn’t win points

March 17 2013 SAFC 1 (1) Norwich City 1 (1) Abysmal yet again and trapdoor is opening

March 17 1973 FA Cup Sixth Round SAFC 2 (0) Luton Town (0) 0 No classic but another step to Wembley

March 9 Queens Park Rangers 3 (1) SAFC 1 (1) * We deserved nothing from another shocking performance

March 2 2013 SAFC 2 (1) Fulham (2) 2 Better in second half after woeful first

Feb 27 1973 FA Cup 5th round replay SAFC 3 (2) Manchester City 1 (0) City slickers subdued by scintillating Sunderland show

Feb 24 1973 FA Cup 5th round Manchester City 2 (1) SAFC 2 (1) Magnificent performance that belies our lowly status

Feb 23 2013 West Bromwich Albion 2 (1) SAFC 1 (0) Another disappointment. Looking over our shoulders again

Feb 9 2013 SAFC 0 (0) Arsenal 1 (1) *Second half fightback fails to earn point

Feb 2 2013 Reading 2 (1) SAFC 1 (1) *More points thrown away by shoddy defending

Jan 29 2013 SAFC 0(0) Swansea City 0(0) Be thankful Swansea don’t have a Fletcher

Jan 19 2013 Wigan Athletic (1) 2 SAFC (3) 3 Important win but nerves shredded at end

Jan 15 2013 FA Cup Third Round replay: SAFC (0) 0 Bolton Wanderers (0) 2 What a difference three days make: awful

Jan 12 2013 SAFC (1) 3 West Ham United (0) 0 Great show by Vaughan inspired comfortable win

Jan 5 2013 FA Cup Third Round: Bolton Wanderers (1) 0 SAFC (0) 2 *A Gardner wonder strike saves the day

Jan 2 2013 Liverpool (2) 3 SAFC (0) 0 Our heads went down second half – worrying

Dec 29 2012 SAFC (1) 1 Tottenham Hotspur (0) 2 Nearly a draw but not quite there

Dec 26 2012 SAFC (0) 1 Manchester City (0) 0 What a wonderful way to spend Boxing Day

Dec 23 2012 Southampton (0) 0 SAFC (1) 1 Jingle bells, jingle bells, Sunderland win away <

Dec 16 2012 Manchester United (2) 3 SAFC (0) 1 Dismal first half defending cost us dear

Dec 11 2012 SAFC (2) 3 Reading (0) 0 Just a comfortable win against poor oppositon

Dec 8 2012 SAFC (0) 1 Chelsea (2) 3 Far better performance than the scoreline suggests

Dec 2 2012 Norwich City (2) 2 SAFC (1) 1 Took too long to get into game.

And read Monsieur Salut at ESPN: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/sunderland/id/710?cc=5739

Nov 27 2012 SAFC (0) 0 Queens Park Rangers (0) 0 Won’t see a poorer game all season

Nov 23 2012 SAFC (0) 2 West Bromwich Albion (2) 4 Ridiculous scoreline but too many basic errors

Nov 18 2012 Fulham 1 (0) SAFC 3 (0) Good goals, better performance, 3 important points

Nov 10 2012 Everton (0) 2 SAFC (1) 1 Chances created, which is progress. Much better

Nov 3 2012 SAFC 0 (0) Aston Villa 1 (0) Another abject performance. A long winter looms

Oct 30 2012 Capital One Cup Fourth Round: SAFC 0 (0) Middlesbrough 1 (1) Plan B even worse than plan A

Oct 27 2012 Stoke City (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 Don’t bother with MoTD: a real stinker

Oct 21 2012 SAFC (0) 1 Newcastle United (1) 1 Got out of jail. Just about deserved

Oct 6 2012 Manchester City (1) 3 SAFC (0) 0 Never gave up but City simply better.

Sept 29 2012 SAFC (0) 1 Wigan Athletic (0) 0 Scrappy performance but a win’s a win

Sept 25 2012 Capital One Cup 3rd Round: MK Dons (0) 0 SAFC (0) 2 Second goal settles nerves for comfortable win

Sept 22 2012 West Ham United (0) 1 SAFC (1) 1 Need to be more positive when ahead

Sept 15 2012 SAFC (1) Liverpool (0) 1 More than happy to take a point

Sept 1 2012 Swansea City (1) 2 SAFC (2) 2 *Lack of ambition against 10 cost points

Aug 28 2012 Capital One Cup Round 2: SAFC (1) 2 Morecambe (0) 0 Shrimps potted as we stroll to victory

Aug 18 2012 Arsenal (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 Gritty, determined and a well earned point

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10 thoughts on “Sixers Sevens: Aston Villa 6 SAFC 1: Paulo’s boys punished by resurgent Villa”

  1. The positive from Monday was that we attacked – far too frequently this season we have sat back and tried to eek out a draw. However that approach has got to be tempered with some element of caution.

    The problem with pushing up and pressurising teams is that you need to push the defence up high. With O’Shea and Cueller between them have the pace of a slug that’s spent the past couple of years over indulging at its favourite restaurant. Rose, against the mags and Everton, used his pace to get us out of trouble effectively, on Monday they sprung us a few times on our right hand side.

    Larsson was pushed out to the left to accomodate Gardner – he plays that role a lot narrower than McClean does, and therefore left Rose exposed frequently.

    Bardsley had a shocker, Johnson was ineffective again.

    The real issue for PDC to address in the summer is the chronic lack of pace, not only in defence but all over the pitch. Graham, Johnson, Gardner, Larsson, Fletcher and McClean don’t have a great deal of pace – Sess is nippy, but not quick over distance.

    Let’s hope the complacency that was evident on Monday has been wiped out for the game this Monday.

    WIll be interesting to see how we react to the weekend’s other results. We’ll have either had pressure heaped onto us or there’ll be danger of complacency again.

  2. I already sense people getting ready to get on PDC’s back. For God’s sake he’s working with the most inept, useless squad imaginable, left by that pillock O’Neill. It’s incredible he’s already helped us to get 6 points. To keep us up would be a near miracle.

    I don’t know if he’s the right man long-term but no-one would find life easy with the joke squad he’s inherited.
    I’m no big fan of Larsson (and i’m not into having right-footers on the left and vice-versa) but the alternative is to include McClean in the team and he’s done less than anyone all season.

    It was the players who crossed the white line and were hopeless last night – but they are a very poor bunch. Don’t go starting to blame the manager already.

  3. My hopes that PDC was more than an exuberant motivator got a real set-back last night. Dave and Eric have made my points for me, I would only add that the ineffectiveness of Larsson and lack of defensive support for Rose were blindingly obvious after half an hour – and surely a change should have been made at half-time? The lack of such makes me wonder…. and worry….. Stoke without Sess is a real test for manager and team. I am praying that Wigan will have Wembley on their minds…..

  4. Brilliant tactics from P Di C. He had obviously worked out that if we lost by 5 it would send the Mags down to 17th and he sent out his team to achieve just this aim, with Larsson out on the left where he would be totally ineffective and Gardner wandering around the middle like a lost soul. Graham up front would offer no threat whatsoever, Sessegnon looked like he was on his jollies already (and is now), and if you don’t put a man on each post at corners you will surely concede. Game plan worked a treat. The man is a genius!!

  5. Was MON back in our dugout last night?
    The team and shape that appear next Monday will tell us a lot about whether PDC is a long-term prospect as manager as just a short-term motivator. So far, he has been rightly praised for changing our shape subtlely and making a big difference so why on earth did he change it last night. bardsley for colback was understandable if, in my opinion, wrong. Gardner into centre-mid and Larsson out to the left was complete madness.
    Gardner is a nice bloke but cannot play in a central 2 at this level. He disappears for long periods (did he touch the ball in the second half, I genuinely cannot remember him at all) and the key point in the whole game was his ludicrous pass for their second goal. PDC can probably be excused for not knowing enough about Gardner’s talents in the middle but their can be no excuse for Larsson being moved to the left where he is utterly useless. He has been superb in the middle in the last 2 games but i could defend him when he plays on the left and I am 49 with 2 bad knees. His lack of pace and non-existent left foot means that you just show him the outside in the knowledge that he cannot go past you and will, at some point, try and cut in. It also appeared that this was a tactical move to puch Rose inside a little when they had the ball, which meant that Villa just sent 2 men down our right and could cross at will.
    I am not going to abandon hope for PDC and am hopeful that he will change things successfully but next Monday will tell us whether we have another manager who has fixed ideas and does not actually watch the game.
    Perhaps most importantly, it was across the field from me so I couldn’t see clearly but do we have any chance with teh appeal on Sess’s red?

    • I doubt it. It looks harsh to me but viewed in TV close up you can see the foot go down on the ankle. It’s the sort of thing the FA don’t like though there didn’t appear to be any deliberate attempt to get the player. Looks like we’ll be Sessless for the rest of the season.

  6. The honeymoon is over, there is still work to do and fast. We were bullied and outmuscled last night and Stoke will adopt their usual tactics and could cause us the same pain, we need 5 points to stay up and we need to win both home games

  7. First the good news Ian – we pushed up and tried to be positive but the Villa goals although well taken came from unforced errors. Failure to clear effectively, long passes cut out, corner given away when no danger, perfect defence splitting pass from Vaughan to Agbonlahor etc. The Rose goal was well taken but Villa were good value for the win and were up for it.

  8. Absolute disaster. And a big confidence blow. The worst thing is that Sess got sent off and we miss him for the next crucial three games! Help!
    What the heck happened here? Where did it go wrong. (I didn’t watch game or listen to it.)

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