Gallowgate Toon

The other thing that was noticeable in that first goal is as soon as Shelvey gets the ball, Sissoko makes a run in behind straight away. They obviously trust him to find them. Edit: the pass had a bit of disguise on it too, I thought. He sort of gave the eyes before popping it off.

I'm not sure that it's down to him or just the quality of the players we are signing. Wijnaldum, Perez and Jonjo are just good footballers who play football the right way. Graham Carr was getting flak on here for signing too many players unsuited to the premier which was justified to some degree, but from a technique perspective some of our best football comes from those signings. What I will say is that the football we saw yesterday could never have been produced in a million years by a long ball merchant like Pardew. It's a mixture of both. You need the players to execute the gameplan. That first goal was a smashing team effort and Shelvey said it was something they were instructed to practise in the warm up. McClaren was much more astute in his post-match interview, talking about the importance of a passer like Shelvey opening a defence and tempo being key. I'm sure he knows the formula, he's just not had all the tools for it. We'll see where it goes from here.

He played on the left for Tenerife, didn't he? I think he'd be absolutely fine there with a good LB behind him. Long-term, he's probably a fit for 10 but I think he's better off sticking wide for now and keeping on learning his craft. We still need a LW, obviously - if that Montero rumour is true we should be all over that.

Great to hear the 1st goal is a move we've been practising. It was executed so well.

He's not as talented a dribbler as Ben Arfa but his overall game is better. He's sensational and certainly the best of those, in my opinion. The others all had some form of big-ish weakness in their game, Gini is pretty damn complete.

Lovely, lovely finish.

That pass is as spectacular as you'll ever see, man

The subs were OK, tbh. We naturally sagged back due to the mistake, the players are human and feel pressure. His subs are the worst thing about him, imo, but I thought today's were fine and helped to combat some of their threat. Good job, Steve.

He'll frustrate but he looks a very natural footballer. That pass will get real attention but it was how easy he made some more subtle moves that really impressed me. Couldn't care if he's erratic as fuck, I'm happy to have a risk taker there.

I thought he was quite decent, after his first few touches. Got a couple of good interceptions in, nice Cruyff turn, comfortable on the ball. Think he could be a very useful player for us.

Finishing aside, he was very good. If he hits a vein of goalscoring and form and notches 10 for the season, it'll have been a really solid year for the lad.

This guy, man, by the way. What a phenomenonal footballer he is. Could very realistically hit 15 this season. Starting to run games too.

Apart from, you know, the first 8 games of the season.

That bench is horrific, mind. So f***ed off about Colback. Hope he either tears his hamstring or bites someone and gets a lifetime ban. Prick.

Fucking Colback, man. Fucks sake, the bloke is fucking rubbish.

Despite logic saying it won't work out, I have a feeling he'll do well here.

Wijnaldum's dribbling is top notch, tbf. Unreal close control and acceleration.

Yep, unfortunately. I'm not against bedding Saivet in for a game or two, but that's only if Tiote is available.

He creates things every single game, almost without fail. After Wijnaldum, he's the next name on the teamsheet. Would be mental to not play him.

Shelvey and Townsend have shown decent glimpses of talent, tbf, the former especially. There's signs they can be moulded into something at this level, and both have attributes we really need.

I think he's fine for what we need now but he's no long term solution. He can be a decent player when he has set instructions to work with. Don't get the Obertan comparisons at all. If anything, this lad's far too direct for his own ability

Even if Townsend comes in, we should keep him here. He's looked brighter in his cameos and we need the depth.

Cabella had a few good games for us. Spurs away, Chelsea, Hull, good cameo against Liverpool, played well against Arsenal at home, off the top of my head - I'm sure he played well at West Brom too. Even in one of his poorer games away to Villa he still created a good chance. Should've been given some more time here, just like Thauvin should be given until the Summer.

Have all of Sunderland's wins this season come against 10 men? I can't remember the last time we had an opposition player sent off

Showed some tactical flexibility with our general approach to the game, tbh, they've obviously been working on the possession side of it again and it's useful to have in your arsenal. I would've made a change or two much earlier, though. The bench wasn't great but we just needed some legs to push our momentum from the equaliser through.