Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini says people can "overthink" Regis le Bris' decision not to start defender Dan Ballard in Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Manchester United. Ballard was left on the bench from the start at Old Trafford but was brought on with 37 minutes gone and the Black Cats already two goals down. "It's easy to say [he should have started] but sometimes you can mess about too much," Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle.
Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini says people can "overthink" Regis le Bris' decision not to start defender Dan Ballard in Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Manchester United.
Ballard was left on the bench from the start at Old Trafford but was brought on with 37 minutes gone and the Black Cats already two goals down.
"It's easy to say [he should have started] but sometimes you can mess about too much," Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle.
"If it comes of you're a genius but, if it doesn't, have you done the right thing?
"Most coaches edge on the side of everyone knowing their job. Sometimes there's a glaring mismatch but sometimes your position on the field doesn't make too much difference. There's a certain responsibility on a player to read the game and fill in the position which they think is needed.
"We're in an age where these things get analysed by hundreds of people with different opinions. He's gone to a back five but that can also mean he's gone to a back three with two full-backs pushing on. There's two different ways of reading that.
"We can overthink it sometimes and I think the key things went for Manchester United on the day.
"We never got outplayed or overawed particularly. Like all Le Bris teams have been, we were competitive, had opportunities to get forward, but did the sensible thing a lot of the time.
"You just sometimes have to move on to the next game."
Listen to the full chat on BBC Sounds
Category: General Sports
