Monday Moyes: Rating Dave's decisions v Chelsea - Post-match comments epitomise awful season

Team Selection: Pitiful

I genuinely felt sorry for Moyesy today after twelve players became unavailable for what was always going to be an incredibly difficult trip down to London. A back three of Billy Jones, John O’Shea and Joleon Lescott were essentially taught a lesson in football despite holding Chelsea to a solitary goal in the opening hour of the game.

As soon as Chelsea bagged their second though, there was nothing Moyes could do about the incoming rout, unless he fancied throwing Donald Love in at the deep end in an effort at plugging the leak in the dam with his finer?

The question simply must be asked though: how many of that dirty dozen are genuinely injured, and unable to play? I’d be willing to bet money that there are certainly a few who just didn’t fancy a hammering, and have their bags packed already, and that is nothing short of a disgrace.

Tom’s Verdict: A dozen players missing from a match-day squad of eighteen - pathetic isn’t it? Then again, are the players totally to blame, or are more than a few simply sick of dour old Dave?

Tactics: Ha!

We’ve struggled to put a coherent plan together all season, so to expect us to play with a particular style and identity on the last day of the season, with a entire starting line-up out injured, against the league’s best team is a bit of a stretch.

Our back three had a combined age of one-hundred, so what did we really expect to do?

Tom’s Verdict: What were we going to do? The answer: nowt.

Substitutions: Protecting the young’uns?

Moyes didn’t ultilise any youngsters on the bench other than Lynden Gooch while Darron Gibson was given a two minute cameo at the end of the game.

I’m disappointed the likes of Asoro or indeed Maja weren’t allowed out onto the pitch just to soak in the atmosphere, but then again after receiving a five-goal thrashing of their own last week then perhaps Moyes was right in wrapping them up in cotton wool.

I honestly cannot wait to see the back of so many of these simply awful players. I understand the Championship isn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows, but anything must be better than this. Six wins all season, and an average of less then ten per season in our ten year spell in the top flight - grim.

Tom’s Verdict: What was the point in Gibson’s cameo, though?

Post-Match Comments: Sake...

I think John Terry, in his own way, deserves a great send off. He got that today.

We knew it was coming, and we agreed to put the ball out. It was Diego Costa that actually asked Jordan to kick the ball out. We actually did it about 15 seconds too early, but we knew it was happening.

I don’t know what it was about the 26th minute substitution of John Terry that irked me, but Sunderland’s participation in the whole farcical display was really irritating.

Perhaps it was the fact that yesterday marked Sunderland’s 26th defeat of the season that got to me? Why did we think this was a decent thing to do? I can’t wrap my head around it because to me that’s just a total lack of self-respect, and epitomises why we are in the position in which we find ourselves.

He went on to note that:

I’m gutted we’ve been relegated, and really disappointed with the way the season’s gone. But what do you do? Football has winners and people who lose. Chelsea are winners today, and I hope at some point in the future we’re involved in something similar.

Again, I might be overreacting, but come on - “what do you do?” Well not losing 26 games would be a great start, and not pausing the game in the 26th minute to allow an opposition player to be applauded off the field would also be much appreciated. I would have loved it if Chelsea had put the ball out only for the Lads to play on and bag a goal - at least then we might have looked like we had some fight and guile left in us.

Bleurgh.

Anyway, the Scot has talks with Ellis today, so who knows what’s going on behind the scenes? I constantly get the feeling that this bunch of clowns couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery never mind stabilising this swiftly sinking ship.

Tom’s Verdict: - Jesus wept, man, what has football become?