Dear Roker Report,
With a couple of cup games coming up & 10 league games played, now seems a good time to take stock. On the face of it our points tally is great & yet I’m still worried.
How many of those games have resulted in comments from pundits & fans alike such as ‘We know how to win ugly’, ‘didn’t play well but got the win’. I have also heard Parky say a few times ‘We weren’t at our best but still got a result’.
In how many games this season have we been ‘at our best’ ? You know the sort of performance where on this site, the Sunderland Echo, the Chronicle or whichever media outlet you read the players all have 8 or 9 out of 10. I can’t think of any. Our performances aren’t great, they are scrappy, disjointed, pedestrian, slow, predictable. I’ve heard all those adjectives used multiple times.
I think we’ve done well to achieve the points we have so far but I think for a change, luck has been on our side. I don’t believe what appears to be Parkinson’s 1st choice 11 is good enough. It wasn’t last season & it’s 90% the same players, just a year older.
Can we really keep our win rate up with average performances? It’ll be enough to beat some teams for sure, but not all. I hope that some of our latest signings can get in the side (otherwise what was the point in signing them). I still believe that Grigg could be a goalscorer for us given a run in the side. I would love for Diamond, Neil & Kimpioka to feature more otherwise they will leave for more football elsewhere & maybe have successful careers. I hope that’s with us.
Come on Mr Parkinson - be proactive rather than reactive & make some changes now & hopefully we’ll see improved performances which should yield more goals & points. And it might just make you look like a tactical genius!
Michael Atkinson
Ed’s Note [Gav]: Sadly, Michael, I’m afraid that we knew exactly what we were getting when Mr Parkinson was appointed. He’s played the same style of football at every club he’s managed, so it won’t change soon here!
Yes, we are competing at the right end of the table, but I’m not convinced that this will be good enough to see us finish top two come the end of the season. I guess we’ll see.
What’s constantly hanging over us is this apparent takeover of the club. IF (big if) it happens, what do you think the new owner(s) will make of Phil Parkinson leading this club into the future? I for one hope that someone with progressive, forward-thinking ideas is coming to buy the club and, if that is the case, they’ll want something more than what we’re getting now.
But... those are problems for the future. Right now, Parkinson is the man in the manager’s hot seat and those of us wanting ‘more’ will have to bide their time.