Very pleasing result from what was a sub par performance really, our performance level has been poor all season but it is all about results so another win chalked up. Kaminski won us the game with a superb performance. We struggled to deal with aeriel balls and Scott Wharton again was shaky. Travis was more like his usual self and Wharton and Morton again impressed, especially the former. Brereton really looks tired, Gallagher was good and scored a typical strikers goal. A worry would be our strength in depth, both strikers were out on their feet but Dolan and especially Vale are such a drop off in quality, I cannot possibly believe that Dack or Markanday should be behind those, and it also says a lot about Hirst who we only just signed that he is not seen as worthy of a place in the squad. I also am not convinced about Garrett, I felt like his man of the match award midweek was more because it was his debut and he seems very limited on the ball, for all of the blood and thunder tackling,

Why? They aren't doing well, they are in the bottom 3.

I am very happy that those decisions went for us obviously, but I think we got away with 2 mistakes from the officials. I also think the watchability of the Championship is overrated simply because of the evenness caused by an overall lack of quality. 75% of games at this level can really lack in quality and entertainment.

Ronaldo has had a sharp physical decline pretty suddenly, most players do about 5 years before he has but it has made him far less effective. But I think they have other players at United that hide behind the Ronaldo story to justify their own shoddy performances. Rashford is often half arsed and has flattered to deceive most of the time since he broke onto the scene. Sancho looks overweight and regularly hides. Fernandes has been pretty poor again since he broke onto the Premier League scene initially. They cant pin everything on Ronaldo.

Very good point on our inability to come back so far this season. He is a natural goalscorer and he makes things happen, even if he doesn't start he has to be on the bench.

To be fair, that was worst case scenario and he has still boosted his bank balance in a way that won't affect his Championship reputation.

Can see Jesse Marsch getting sacked soon. Leeds fans not happy and singing for Bielsa.

I don't get why they would announce that Davis is staying specifically until 2023. Surely he still remains caretaker, Beale rejected them so they carry on looking to get someone in ASAP.

Why would they suddenly start listening?

If you genuinely would prefer a bench of Pears, Mola, Phillips, Travis, A.Wharton, Dolan and Vale with Dack left out should we potentially need a goal, then I can't help but thinking that again you are just saying what you expect Tomasson to do and are agreeing with it. You are either offside or not, and he was.

Skeptical of the article, feels like a potentially big assumption. If there is any truth in it then it is to the detriment of the team if a good player is not being considered to due to a personal issue with the manager.

No I agree, we are all happy that he is gone but sometimes things are said out of hatred that simply arent true.

He played 29, 29, 31, 38 and 31 times, and had quite a few muscle injuries in that time.

Regarding Travis, if whats and maybes. What did happen is as I said, he got a chance, did well and was consistently stuck with as a regular from there. Wharton had numerous loan spells which seemed to really help to develop him as a man, came back much better for it and became a regular. You look at Phillips, he wouldn't have played anywhere near as much as he had if it wasn't for the injuries earlier in the season, we had no alternative. Garrett wouldn't have played had Travis been available, much of it is circumstantial and timing. I don't think that anyone suggested that he invented it, and there is an element of truth in us needing to be more reliant on it now due to the lack of money, applying to both Mowbray and Tomasson. But Mowbray did bring players through, and although it is fashionable now to criticise him wherever possible, creating alternative situations where youngsters dont break through under him to discredit him seems needless to me.

Szmodics seemed closer to the front 2 rather than the midfield 2, but Hedges could play as that number 10 I guess, I did consider that. Dack would also fit that role.

Absolute nonsense. Travis broke through under him and remained consistently in the side, contrary to expectations of reinstating Smallwood when he returned from a ban. Buckley broke through and was persisted with, becoming a regular. Nyambe only broke through properly under Mowbray, and consistently played throughout his tenure. Wharton broke through under him and became a regular. Throw in Lenihan and half of his team was through the academy. There are also other examples of players including Dolan, (signed as an under 23 player) Rankin Costello, Carter and Butterworth.

Be a difficult team selection, unsure if Ayala is going to be fit but he would come in for Carter if he is. Szmodics pulled up just before going off plus he struggled on the ball the other night. Pickering coming back in may allow for more balance. Kaminski Hyam Ayala Wharton Brittain Morton Wharton Pickering Hedges Gallagher Brereton Subs: Pears, Carter, Travis, Garrett, Szmodics, Dack, Markanday With Carter in for Ayala if necessary.

Although to be fair, genuine thanks to him following the headline save that Kaminski made at the weekend.

Why would that mean that he has integrity? If he had gone, he would be moving up a division.

Has he fallen on his feet with that squad? They have quite a few of a squad that stagnated in League 1 for years, they have Corry Evans as captain and even their attacking players are ones with at best mixed careers who have flattered to deceive or loanees who are very young and raw. You do know that you are allowed to admit when blatant errors in officiating have gone in our favour? They won't revoke the win if you do. The first was a foul, I didn't think it was at first as I thought that Hedges got the ball but he didn't. The second was a clear offside, even for you your justification is a stretch. We got a massive, massive helping hand from the officials, had VAR been in place then it would have almost certainly overturned both decisions to correct them. As it is, it isn't in place and we won so happy days, but I don't get why you would pretend. In the second half we struggled to keep the ball and kept giving it back to Sunderland, allowing them to sustain pressure but they lacked a goal threat due to Simms and Stewart being out. Can Dack fit this style, as an excellent player at this level, yes he can. Hopefully back in the squad at the weekend, he would have been a better sub than Vale or Dolan. For all of his flaws here, bringing youth through was something he did well.

Would be a very strange appointment. A decent start in a very even Championship but enough to become the leading candidate for a job at a Premier League regular? Not for me.

Another thing from last night, why again have they started with goal music? Very tacky and counter productive to any atmosphere.

I suppose the best barometer (with the league table not being fair game due to different games played) is points per game, so 1.69 points per game. That is 77/78 points over a season, doesn't mean anything really but a good start results wise.

Brilliant to see us at the top of the league at any point, even if it is because we have played more games than most. Was an excellent result from an average performance in which Sunderland dominated big chunks but lacked their injured strikers and we benefitted from massive refereeing mistakes which we will take every day of the week. We made lots of stupid errors on the ball in the first half and struggled to manage the game in the second half but here was lots of determination and guts to get us over the line, aided by the referee and 2 bits of quality. Kaminski made another great save and the stand out defender again was Hyam, not amazing on the ball and nearly cost us in the first half but reads the game very well and when we struggled to manage the game in the second half, inviting on pressure, he was the main man in the defensive wall stopping them. Wharton has not been at his best this season and made one or two mistakes again but he is a good defender. Carter is an upgrade on Phillips at the moment but not a Championship regular standard, clumsy on the ball and sometimes a little rash. Brittain is not a left sider and Hedges is not a wing back and they contributed in making us a little disjointed simply by being out of position, as much as both are very competent players at this level. Hedges has loads going for him, superb skill to win the free kick and the ball in was excellent, and his shot at the end was so close to being goal of the season, but he was caught out a few times defensively because he is not a wing back. Brittain is a good player but he kept coming inside, the problem is that we don't have any adequate alternatives to him and Pickering really. Morton again impressed me, Garrett was tenacious and let no one down although wasn't man of the match which was awarded to him IMO because it was his debut rather than being stand out. Brereton was man of the match, he ran himself into the ground to the point that I was worried about a potential injury, superb goal too. Gallagher was not particularly effective nor were the subs Vale and Dolan, and the fact that we were still solely reliant on Brereton on the counter attack tells you how they did. The Dack and Szmodics situations naturally overlap because of their position, Szmodics runs round all day and really grafts, once he did really well to force Even if we were a really intense pressing side which we aren't, just running off the ball and trying your best isn't enough to become a good player, Elliott Bennett ran all day but he was shit, on the ball is at least as important (probably moreso) and the jury is still out on Szmodics in that regard. He has had occasional quality in a Rovers shirt (his 2 goals were well taken and his assist v Rotherham was excellent) but often he struggles to get on the ball and when he does, his decisions can be wrong or his technical ability can let him down. Yesterday he once did well to get to the byline in the first half and nearly forced an own goal but he also hit a shot nowhere near the target and chose to wrongly cross to Brereton (who did remarkably well to avoid a goal kick concession) in the second half, improvement is needed there to start every game. So a mixed bag from him. I stand by the fact that Dack would offer more than any other sub last night, assuming he doesn't start. The social media stuff with his wife is not ideal but it's a woman made "famous" by reality TV and trying to promote a new show getting attention, the people sucking up to/arguing with her on there really do puzzle me, why you would spend your time doing that I have no idea. Lots of talk on here and elsewhere about the dislike of Mowbray and the potential booing and negative reaction, as expected it never materialised aside from one or two jovial "Mowbray, whats the score" chants.

Another team picked out of a hat it seems, lets hope it works. No Dack in the squad with Vale and Dolan as the attacking subs is a joke.