HUDDERSFIELD HINDSIGHT

After we exited the Carabao Cup at the hands of League One Huddersfield in the earliest stage possible as per SAFC norms since the Speakman era began, I decided to focus on the positives from that game. Whilst it's embarrassing to go out to teams way below us in terms of league status and squad quality, I think there are plenty of positives...

Before you continue, just a pre-warning, I'm by no means a 'happy clapper' where everything is rosy but I would say I'm very much an optimist, perhaps too much at times, and even though a lot of us would like a cup run, I don't think it's too bad that we have exited this minor competition so early. I can't even remember who won it last year, it’s that irrelevant…

The first positive is that we got more minutes in the legs for our 'second string'. Those that are either not in consideration in the league or who would warm the bench on most days. That said, for these players it was the perfect chance for them to show to the group in charge (mostly Regis) that they deserve a starting position in the Premier League. It was also a good chance for some of them to put themselves in the shop window with a week to go in the transfer window, to secure a decent loan or permanent transfer away.

That said, I don't think many of them did themselves any favours. It was a very subpar performance against what should be subpar opposition, after all they are in League One... The lads that did do themselves no harm was mostly the new lads: Masuaku, Mukiele and Guiu - plus Enzo if you count him as a new lad, I guess technically he is a summer signing.

Other players like Harrison Jones were alright too, despite him playing out of position once again. His position in pre-season and this game are somewhat of a bugaboo for me personally, in the academy he was flying but he was usually in midfield and in a more advanced role so we can't be too harsh on him if he doesn't do too well when he's shoehorned in a position he isn't familiar with. Even Luke O'Nien has said before that Jones is one of the best young players to come through the academy, even over (or the same as) Tommy Watson and Chris Rigg. I remember Luke saying that even though if it doesn't look like it in these games, there's very few players with his work ethic, attitude and ability. Ever since he joined the senior training group last season he's always been on the bench, so clearly our mad genius Le Bris rates him very highly. Give him time and we'll see the benefits.

Riggy also showed a few good signs as we expect but I think this season he'll play less whilst learning so much from the sidelines. I'm sure the club have explained the plan for him and with time and less pressure by being rushed in the squad, he'll continue to improve and become one of the best players from our academy.

One of the mini negatives, because I really don't think getting knocked out is a bad thing, especially this season, is that those who could depart didn't do amazingly well. I think Milan Aleksic could be great for us in the future, so I think a loan this season with plenty of game time would help him excel, and to be fair to him he got an assist but I think his SAFC career and future would be better if he goes out on loan. Tonight he represented himself well, despite that very poor penalty effort.

As for some last season regulars like Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and Patrick Roberts, they didn't do as well as I thought they could or should. Neil was more like his sometimes League One self with silly errors and too much time on the ball, Roberts was again all bark and no bite which frustrates me the most - he's clearly got the quality, and we see it when he runs past four players but the final action rarely has conviction. Huggins was bullied in the first half but I think we knew Huddersfield were going to be a big, aggressive team so it was pretty obvious he'd be a target. Harsh for him. I do think if he can stay fit he has the quality to put a shift in in the top flight, but I'm more worried about his injuries, Leeds knew this too and that's more than likely why they gave us him in League One.

Aside from the players perspective, I do think leaving this competition early is good for our Premier League aspirations. Even though at the moment our squad seems quite large, there are still positions we are somewhat thin with depth. If we got far and had midweek cup games with Prem games on the weekend I think we'd lose more league games as a result with less focus on those games which ultimately are more important. I'd love a cup run, but I don't think we'd actually win the competition. And I'd rather see a cup run in the FA Cup over this competition, it's more prestigious and for me this competition seems like more of an inconvenience for most Premier League clubs.

But my point is that hopefully those around us in the league later in the season are still in it and have midweek games before playing us which could stretch their squad out. Much like how playing teams after a European game could absolutely play in our favour if we prioritise a more physical or intense game, we've seen many lower teams in the Prem go far in continental competitions or Europe yet suffer on the weekends in the league as a result. Ultimately this season our aim is to stay up. I think RLB handing over media duties to his assistant head coach was a statement that it isn't really that important this year, much like other years with promotion as the main goal. It was nice to see Goochy do well though, I still love him.

At the end of the day I don't care that we went out. Lads got minutes, some did well and now we have one less thing to worry about. One final positive thing is that despite not offering too much in his overall play, Marc Guiu got his first goal under his belt which can be a big thing for strikers on loan, look at Mason Burstow a few seasons ago, he looked alright at first but after not getting his first goal for a while his performances and confidence clearly dropped. Hopefully now that's out the way Guiu can deliver on his supposed great potential. Interestingly, at the time of his debut for Barca at just 17 years and 291 days, he became the youngest and fastest debutant for Blaugrana to score in La Liga. It only took him 23 seconds to score the only goal in a 1-0 win against Athletic Bilbao. We did also give him the number nine shirt from Luis Hemir so whilst he hasn't got much to live up to, we clearly have a lot of faith in the lad who came from Barca's academy, and he's only 19 so he's got plenty of time to improve, at Sunderland we love helping players reach their potential, so I think he'll smash it.

Despite the result, there's plenty to be happy about at the moment so lets relish that and not focus on the minor things. A positive and loud Stadium of Light is one that inspires the Lads to win on the day, not one littered with down-and-out doubters so early into the season. Onto Brentford at home on Saturday, Haway The Lads.