Cronky

There are signs that, with the big inflation of transfer fees for players of average ability, that the spending limits need to be adjusted a bit. Most clubs need to be struggling. It doesn't have to be a big increase.

Apparently we've enquired about signing the Spurs left back. We texted Levy the message - 'How much is Udogie in the window?' (Those that don't get it, ask your parents)

Hopefully Isak will be back soon, but one of the bonuses of that game was that the front three of Miggy, Gordon and Murphy actually looked dangerous. That's something I never expected to be typing this time yesterday. I thought Miley did well in the first half, but struggles defensively - naturally enough, given his age. But there's much more to come from him going forward, and I think we'll see it fairly soon. A big win for Eddie, who has had to weather a bit of a storm this last few weeks. Beneath the surface, I thought he was quite emotional at the end. Tactically, he won the battle with Emery hands down. It feels like we're back. I'm getting a bit emotional now (sniff)

The spirit and the confidence was there from the get go. Not to mention the tactics. We're back!

Best half of football I've seen in ages from us. We're taking good advantage of Villa's high back line.

I think that young Mainoo is a cracking player. A great future beckons.

Clearly, Eddie has more faith in Livramento than Hall, even when it comes to the left back position. Livramento makes mistakes with his positioning but is a good athlete and often recovers. That may be the difference, at the moment, between the two players. But I also wonder whether Hall would do better if played further forward into the midfield. I think he himself has said that he ultimately sees himself as a midfielder. His chief assets seem to be his touch on the ball and his passing, so it does make some kind of sense. I have the nagging feeling that this lad is going to come good at some stage in his career, but it may not be with us.

I must admit, listening to the commentary did make me feel that we had few friends out there, in reality. That's particularly in relation to the way the alleged handball was dealt with, but what persistently riles me is the way these guys are often vague about the rules. They are paid to inform us, and it's not asking too much to expect them to be accurate with the laws and their current interpretation. Instead, way too often, they flounder.

Looking forward to Silva's calmly considered views on the first goal.

That was a tough watch. The most worrying thing is how slow and unconfident the midfield looked. We got harried off the ball in so many situations. I'm not looking forward to the Villa match.

Because they don't know the rules.

Well we really needed that goal. Up till then, we were completely dominated in the midfield and struggled to put two passes together. At least mentally we seem to have woken up now. But the Bruno - Longstaff - Miley midfield is seriously lacking in pace.

I didn't particularly see this coming. I thought the theatrical shows of bad temper were a sign that he was enjoying himself. They've got some good young players coming through. I think the set up is very encouraging for an incoming manager. They'll be taking over a winning and improving team rather than one that's struggling.

I'd say never assume that because someone has been successful in one line of business, that they're necessarily going to make equally wise decisions when it comes to football. Particularly if they're a fan. PS - it may be partly an emotional gesture towards City (ie 'we're bigger than you') And if I were City, seeing someone with a lot of inside knowledge going to my main rival, I might just be getting nervous.

Nobody can be particularly sure of how the City enquiry is going to turn out. We're in uncharted territory. I don't have much doubt that the tribunal will find them guilty. City signed up to a certain set of rules in taking their part in the Premier League, and the evidence seems clear that they broke the rules of that particular organisation. Where things might get tricky is when City try to invoke the law of the land in various ways, as I think they will. I can see them attacking the process as unfair, and the Premiership rules as being contrary to other rights in law. I think it'll depend on the enforceability of the rules, in which case the whole edifice of FFP will be at stake. I'm not sure on this, but the balance of proof that the tribunal will apply in judging City as a club might well be different from the balance of proof required for a conviction for fraud on the part of an individual to succeed in a law court?

Rice in his best role is good at what he does, but he seems reluctant to stray out of his comfort zone. From what I see, he spends most of his time in that anchor position, in plenty of space, re-distributing the ball around the midfield players ahead of him. When he has the opportunity to move forward in possession into space, he can be a difficult player to tackle, so he does have good qualities. He's very strong, and wins lots of challenges. What I don't feel I see enough of, is him moving forward into tighter, advanced spaces to receive the ball. And yes, I know his basic role is that anchor position, but a world class player should have the ability and confidence to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves, and rely on someone else to cover. He often seems to spurn those opportunities. I suspect his first touch isn't that great and he's a bit worried about losing the ball in those tighter spaces. I also think that whilst his passing is decent for that anchor role, I don't see much passing ability beyond that. To re-iterate, I think he's a good player. Just not a great one.

Declan Rice. I'm with Souness and Keane on this - he's a decent player but doesn't do enough to warrant his superstar status.

Recent results have not led me to doubt Eddie's ability one iota. The explanation is clear - we have not been able to rest players, either between games or by using subs - and we have generally been playing in mid-week every week. Given the pace of the modern game and the standards that are expected, rotation is an important weapon in the manager's armoury, and Eddie has been deprived of it. The scale of the over-achievement last year is being under-estimated. We didn't have, and still don't have, a Champions League level squad. In addition to the injury situation and the fixture congestion, that factor also has to be borne in mind.

We do need a third striker. If he's the best we can get at the moment , then so be it.

At international level, he started off in central midfield, and then became a sweeper, playing behind an orthodox centre back. I don't think he had to put in many tackles from there, but could control the game from behind his team mates. (That probably wouldn't work in modern football) That's my recollection, anyway. Another one of my near-contemporaries gone. (Sigh)

Thanks for posting that. Interesting, like you say. Two things struck me - Eddie was very focused and absorbed in his work, and that seemed to rub off on the players. There was no messing about. There was also plenty of praise and encouragement. Any criticism was constructive. Very professional - no surprise there.

He's still stuck in an adolescent mind-set where he expects more of other people than he's willing to expect from himself. He then gets stuck in squabbles where he justifies his own behaviour by citing supposedly bad behaviour on the part of others. The guy has some intelligence, but he seems to have been brought up in an eye-for-an-eye environment. He hasn't twigged that you have to set your own standards for your actions, and not be governed by what you think others have done.

I was expecting the win, but wasn't expecting it to be so comprehensive. The Mackems had every psychological advantage, being the underdogs, playing at home, in a local derby and facing a rival that had not won in a while. Somehow, it looked like we wanted it more, and they were the ones who were more scared. In terms of both tactics and motivational skills, our man has no superior.

Yeah, with the first goal he had the confidence to hit the ball first time with his weaker foot, and it went straight into the top corner. No mistake. I feel very confident about his penalties - I don't think he's missed one for us yet. It's very difficult to tell from his approach where he's going to put the ball.

Get ready for this take on it in the Sunday media. The-game-has-been-ruined-by-money-brave-Sunderland-uphold-the-true-values-of-football-moral-victory-against-petro-dollars-Stanley-Matthews-only-eared-tuppence-a-week.