In the first half it felt like a feeling out process, and that we were struggling to get to grips with the situation, but as with most recent performances we upped the tempo in the second half, and managed to take the one good chance we had.As you can see below, the pitch clearly affected Sunderland’s ability to pass the ball. Test your knowledge by trying the Roker Report quiz - let us know how you score! Kalvin Phillips at Leeds, Wilfred Ndidi at Leicester, Joao Moutinho at Wolves, Tiago Silva at Forest - 2020 is becoming the year of the hard-working midfielder.The importance of the water-carrier is no different when you look down the leagues, and Power has definitely taken it upon himself to be that player in Sunderland’s midfield.Defensively we looked relatively solid too, bar one or two hairy moments when getting used to the pitch early in the first half. To learn more or opt-out, read our The numbers don’t appear too impressive, but they don’t tell the full story as Tranmere’s pitch acted as a ‘leveller’, whilst Max Power is slowly morphing into Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson... it’s Talking Tactics!Tranmere may be way down the League One table, and we might have battered them earlier in the season, but it counts for nothing when the playing surface is terrible. These are some of the best defensive midfielders in the football space, and it does not look odd to find the name of the Super Eagles ace in that elite class. We might have lost that game six weeks ago and being able to win in the manner we did shows how far we’ve come in a short space of time.We need to take the three points and clean sheet and move on to the next one - Portsmouth will surely present us with a more difficult task in what could be a massive game in terms of the promotion race.
Declan Rice has the following offensive skills. The ‘grass’ at Prenton Park was most definitely a leveller on Wednesday night, and there was no chance that we were going to see a decent game of football on a pitch that is, quite frankly, an utter disgrace. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
You can well imagine that we would have lost that game in October or November, because having to run hard, battle for every loose ball and throw yourself into tough defensive situations is taxing on the body. Wilfried Ndidi would fit the bill for City. Bailey Wright was good on his debut, and I enjoyed the way he threw himself aggressively into the aerial battles. His African roots also do not help matters.Seriously, would England’s and West Ham’s Declan Rice be Wilfried Ndidi has been named the 10th most valuable defensive midfielder in the World behind the likes of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey & Ruben Neves with an estimated €45m value. They may be in decent form themselves, but I bet they’re wary of playing us and finding Sunderland difficult to break down. The Nigerian has seen his brilliant performances elevate him to the elite group of the world’s finest defensive midfielders, but does he deserved to be listed among the best on earth?Thomas Partey, Rodrigo Hernandez, N’golo Kante, Fernandinho Luiz Roza, Wilfred Ndidi, Carlos Casemiro, Sergio Busquets.These are some of the best defensive midfielders in the football space, and it does not look odd to find the name of the Super Eagles ace in that elite class.Partey has paid his dues to become the unmoving shield guarding La Liga’s meanest defence – Atletico Madrid’s.Rodrigo sealed a multimillion-euros move to Manchester City in the summer and has not disappointed in showcasing his talents on the ball.Kante’s skills-set is helping Chelsea in their push for a top-four finish, while Busquets’ name has become synonymous with Barcelona’s success in the last decade.Manchester City’s progress under Pep Guardiola would have long fallen apart without the firm resolve of Fernandinho.But which of them can claim to be better at his job than that Brazilian enforcer, Casemiro? Thankfully, Leicester City are flying high in the Premier League and are likely to be in the Champions League next term. Here’s how Jimmy Lowson rated the Lads after today’s match.Fan Letters: Should Parky settle his differences with Aiden McGeady for the sake of Sunderland?RR reader Mark Wild wants Phil Parkinson to bring Aiden McGeady back into the fold, but have Sunderland moved on? Use headphones for a greater experience. Ndidi’s has the following offensive skills.He has 2 goals and a total of 3 shots on goals. The 27-year-old has been almost as crucial to Los Blancos recent successes as any of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, or Gareth Bale.Three FIFA Club World Cups and four UEFA Champions League winners medals show that the 2019 Copa America winner is probably the best in the business.Surprisingly, though, recent statistics show that there may be someone more refined than the Real Madrid star in the art of stopping opponents’ attacking moves.1 – In LaLiga 2019/20, Carlos Casemiro is the player with the most:https://twitter.com/samiejay01/status/1227378967709147141It should be noted that the former Genk player is no flash-in-the-pan, one-season-wonder.While Casemiro has led the stats table as the best defensive midfielder in La Liga, Ndidi has topped it as the Yet the 23-year-old continues to be underrated because he features for a ‘small’ team. Honor and Glory to Jesus Christ! What would you do? At the continental stage, more eyes will finally appreciate the quality Ndidi oozes every weekend in England.However, whether Ndidi stays with Brendan Rodgers’ side or moves to one of Europe’s topsides, discerning eyes see he is already world-class.Stats show Ndidi has no equal in the world of stopping attacking midfielders, although stats do not usually tell the whole story.Ndidi may not be better than Casemiro, but the mere fact that the Nigeria international is mentioned in the same breath as the Brazilian shows he is on the right path to the top.Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Isaac Hayden is another, at Newcastle, starting to get some deserved recognition for the way he plays this role.