****The Official Lapps Match Thread v Sunderland (L/A) *****

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,023]

Pukki clearly has to start next game...but then so does Sargent.

Conundrum for Smith to now find the best way of accomodating both.

Neith Dowell, Sinani or Hernandez can claim to be undroppable after today

I can only see one of Pukki / Sargent playing slightly off the other. It would be a shame to shove Sargent out wide

[Van wink 2,994]

6 minutes ago, ricardo said:

We won on xg by the way.

Sadly I'm becoming more of an XL man these days......too many pies!

[Beetley Yellow 57]

Having so much (relative) quality to bring off the bench is a massive advantage in this division, the 3 subs today changed the game, we seemed so much better on the ball and moved their tired defence around, which is how the goal came. Resolute defending kept us ‘to nil’ to be fair, an awesome job especially big Grant and Andy O who were under intense pressure at times.

[TeemuVanBasten 3,328]

12 minutes ago, City 2nd said:

Unbeaten yes, but doesn’t the way a team plays, (or should play) have something to do with it. How NCFC won that is incredulous.

Playing poorly and winning is the sign of a good team.

[Nuff Said 5,690]

14 minutes ago, KeiranShikari said:

Pathetic performance but they do say that winning when you're awful is a good sign.

Let us hope this helps build some confidence.

 

“Pathetic”? The only thing that’s pathetic is you mate.

[Pyro Pete 2,234]

First time Sunderland have lost at home since February, according to Paddy Davitt.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Pyro Pete

[pete 344]

Lets hear it for Byram, not crocked at LB and solid

[KeiranShikari 1,524]

1 minute ago, Nuff Said said:

“Pathetic”? The only thing that’s pathetic is you mate.

Result is all that matters today but we need to improve massively. 

Smith isn't taking us up.

[pete 344]

Smith will be here long term get used ro it

[Danke bitte 1,119]

I read a stat that stated Sunderland haven’t beaten Norwich at home since 2012. Are we becoming their bogey team?

[Nuff Said 5,690]

16 minutes ago, KeiranShikari said:

Result is all that matters today but we need to improve massively. 

Smith isn't taking us up.

If you react to a a winning performance by calling it pathetic, I’m not sure you should be making predictions and expecting to be taken seriously.
 

So you don’t like Smith, tell us why with some evidence, don’t just spout unjustified criticism.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Nuff Said

[City 2nd 192]

17 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

Bollöcks . Who have your lot got today? Anyone we have heard of ? 

My lot are NCFC, t**t!

[Herman 10,808]

1 minute ago, City 2nd said:

My lot are NCFC, t**t!

Oooh, away at Halifax. Tough trip.😉

[Capt. Pants 4,732]

Can't believe some are nit picking over the performance. Sargent had 2 good chances first half and we could have had at least 2 pens. We actually created the better chances

We defended very well even if our midfield wasn't at its best.

 

[Midlands Yellow 4,511]

Lots of energy from Sunderland but little quality. We weren’t great but if the referee had got key decisions correct the win would have more cosy. Onwards to Birmingham and three more points. 

[Rivvo 262]

24 minutes ago, City 2nd said:

Unbeaten yes, but doesn’t the way a team plays, (or should play) have something to do with it. How NCFC won that is incredulous.

The way we play is only important to some when we win, apparently when we lose the only stats that matter are in the goals column.

[KeiranShikari 1,524]

6 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

If you react to a a winning performance by calling it pathetic , I’m not sure you should be making predictions and expecting to be taken seriously.
 

So you don’t like Smith, tell us why with some evidence, don’t just spout unjustified criticism.

Have you not seen us play over the last 9 months? On balance of play today we lose more than we win and that was against a recently promoted league 1 team without a manger.

Hopefully it'll be the cliche about a good team finding a  win when they're bad I don't see it.

I'll admit we weren't good at the beginning of our last promotion season but I'll need to see a lot more before I'm confident of anything close to a top 6 finish.

Edited August 27, 2022 by KeiranShikari

[shefcanary 2,818]

27 minutes ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

Friendship trophy comes home! 

 

Is that a star we can add to our shirt? 😉😜

Aarons really should refrain from surreptitiously slurping from it!

Whoops wrong post quoted! Am I on drugs?😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Edited August 27, 2022 by shefcanary

[Grumpy 140]

2 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

Can't believe some are nit picking over the performance. Sargent had 2 good chances first half and we could have had at least 2 pens. We actually created the better chances

We defended very well even if our midfield wasn't at its best.

 

Did you miss the goal mouth clearances by Hanley,Dowell and Nunez, the chance that hit the post and the one Krul put over with his arm.

Could someone enlighten me with regard to the reference of Aarons and drugs

 

[shefcanary 2,818]

26 minutes ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

I mean, the mug of tea might have some drugs in it?

Right this is the post I meant to answer.  

Aarons really shouldn't surreptitiously slurping from Deano's mug!

 

[TeemuVanBasten 3,328]

2 minutes ago, Grumpy said:

Could someone enlighten me with regard to the reference of Aarons and drugs

Got papped with Pete Doherty at 4am in Camden during the week.

[shefcanary 2,818]

1 minute ago, Grumpy said:

Could someone enlighten me with regard to the reference of Aarons and drugs

 

He dropped a right clanger in the first half, which could only be explained away by him not concentrating, or as I joked, on drugs. 

[hogesar 10,304]

32 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

Looking forward to the xG stats on this one. First time we've 'lost' on xG, maybe? Or, for all their chances, did we actually have the better ones?

I'll post them as soon as I have them!

I didnt see large parts of the game but the base stats suggest our xG will be lower, but like you say quality of chances.

We also should have had one pen at least on balance, you can add something like 0.7xg to whatever we get for the 'moral xg calculation' 😅😅

[Capt. Pants 4,732]

4 minutes ago, Grumpy said:

Did you miss the goal mouth clearances by Hanley,Dowell and Nunez, the chance that hit the post and the one Krul put over with his arm.

 

Some would call that good defending and goalkeeping. Which is what they are on the pitch for. You can win football matches at both ends  which is what we did.

[percy varco 237]

Smith out. 
smash and grab today. 
what is Smith’s style. Still can’t see it. 

[cambridgeshire canary 7,494]

1 minute ago, percy varco said:

Smith out. 
smash and grab today. 
what is Smith’s style. Still can’t see it. 

There it is!

[Nuff Said 5,690]

8 minutes ago, KeiranShikari said:

Have you not seen us play over the last 9 months? On balance of play today we lose more than we win and that was against a recently promoted league 1 team without a manger.

Hopefully it'll be the cliche about a good team finding a  win when they're bad I don't see it.

I'll admit we weren't good at the beginning of our last promotion season but I'll need to see a lot more before I'm confident of anything close to a top 6 finish.

I don’t personally think the PL season has much relevance now. We’re in a different league, we have (some) different players and the opposition is very different. What matters is how we are playing this season, not how we played in the Premier League season, and that was true after the first season we were relegated from the PL under Farke as well as now. 

Even when we weren’t getting the results at the start of the season, we *were* playing well, and I hoped and expected us to start getting the results we deserved. We didn’t play as well today although we weren’t bad and Sunderland pressed and harried us to good effect. Smith made the right substitutions and we won. I don’t see that as anything other than a positive sign for his leadership. To claim we were pathetic is baffling to me.

The team and performances are by no means perfect, but they are going in the right direction. 

[SwindonCanary 456]

As soon as Smith brought on the 3subs we started keeping the ball better and won it.

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

We clearly cannot setup like that away from home and get away with too often.

With nobody sitting in the centre of midfield, we allowed Sunderland too much ball in the first half. Second half they tired and we dominated after an hour. But we could have been losing by half time.

I think 4-4-2 away from home might be a better option on our travels.

But it is good to get a fullback on instead of the makeshift. And seeing Nunez prepared to shoot, and reasonably accurately, from outside the box. 

[Robert N. LiM 5,519]

4 minutes ago, hogesar said:

We also should have had one pen at least on balance, you can add something like 0.7xg to whatever we get for the 'moral xg calculation' 😅😅

People struggle enough with xG without introducing MxG.