Sunderland Review
Sunderland – season review
Final League position: 16th
Points total: 38
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Season 2014-15 Summary:
It may still be difficult to believe for many Sunderland fans, indeed for some of the players and staff just quite how they managed to avoid getting relegated. If there wasn’t such comprehensive television and internet coverage of the Premier League there may well have been calls for a points recount on the final day. Their season started poorly, got marginally worse. Then fractionally better. Then ended. With everybody breathing a sigh of relief (those sighs of relief at having stayed up indistinguishable from those that were just glad it was over).
You could make a case for Sunderland’s season being worse than that of all three relegated teams. QPR at least had one or two standout performers, a run of form at home and hope that flickered until late April. Burnley consistently punched above their weight, gave fans a couple of glorious moments (home wins v Southampton and Man City) and no team was edged out by the odd-goal more. Even Hull - who are tedious even when playing well – afforded fans and onlookers occasional reasons to reassess and reconsider. Bracketing pairs of wins together in December, February and April. And they have the Europa League to blame. But Sunderland’s turgid season can be best summarised with two stats:
They drew 17 PL matches, that’s 44% folks – and fully five more than anyone else.
Nine of those draws (count ‘em, n-i-n-e…) were scoreless.
Toothless Black Cats…
In fact, when a quarter (or near as dammit) of your matches finish 0-0 there is a case for being relegated by default. Even their survival failed to muster any drama - their PL status was, ahem, ‘achieved’ with a 0-0 draw (of course) at Arsenal. Conceding over 75% possession to a team preoccupied with keeping their shins blemish-free ahead of the FA Cup Final. If season 2014/15 was a single match, Sunderland fans would have been streaming for the exits by Christmas.
When you toss in the fact that Sunderland have spent £118 million in the last five years, yet more potential excuses go running for cover. Only seven teams have spent more in that time and you won’t be surprised to hear they filled the top seven places in the PL. Sunderland’s 16th place finish was two places below last season, but on the same number of points (38). Their current eight-year stint in the top flite has averaged 41pts a season, only scraping into the top half once. Were it not for their recent hex over bitter north-east rivals Newcastle United – five wins in their last five meetings and unbeaten in the last seven – Sunderland would have beaten relegated in each of the last three seasons. The two 1-0 wins in the Tyne and Wear derbies again proved to be (perhaps the only) highlights, with the Jermaine Defoe wonder volley in the home leg proving pivotal in the run-in.
New faces, same old problems…
The 2013/14 season has ended on a relative high. A run of four wins from five, including the sensational away scalps of Manchester United and Chelsea, plus a draw a Man City had earned Gus Poyet a new contract. After all, no-one minds a poor season if it ends with a Houdini act – ask Nigel Pearson. A glut of new faces replaced a stream of exits during the summer, most notably Jack Colback leaving on a free transfer to the enemy 15 miles north. But with only £2.5 million spent – a smattering of ‘undisclosed fees’ notwithstanding – Poyet’s remit was a familiar one: to summon some consistency from the talent at his disposal and revive this sleeping dinosaur.
Of the players coming in, Argentine Santiago Vergini (on an extended loan from Estudiantes) and Patrick van Aanholt (on a free from Chelsea) established themselves in the full back positions. Making 31 and 28 appearances respectively, with van Aanholt weighing in with a handy five assist from left back – more than any other Sunderland player. Romania goalkeeper Castel Pantilimon and forgotten England midfielder Jack Rodwell joined from Man City. Pantilimon establishing himself as first choice after Victor Mannone’s eight trips into the back of his net at Southampton in October and finished the season in the sort of form that took him Man City in the first place. Sadly the same cannot be said for Rodwell. His season – like his career - was interrupted by injury, managing just 17 matches and three goals. The jury will remain out on Jack for another season, despite an awful long time deliberating room so far.
Jordi Gomez was another freebie from Wigan and on the face of it decent value. His goal tally of four (from just 22 starts) was on bettered by forwards Conor Wickham and Steven Fletcher, who cost a combined £20 million. Full back Billy Jones arrived from West Brom but played second fiddle to Vergini, or Antoine Reveillere, a free signing from Napoli who was added in October. Winger Will Buckley cost £2.5 million from Brighton but spent most of the season on the bench, providing just two assists in nine starts. But Sunderland’s torpor cannot be blamed solely on the 2014/15 in take. Better players, with bigger reputations – and transfer fees – have similarly came, saw and conked out.
A season of draws…
An opening day draw at West Brom was followed by another point at home to Man United. So far, so-so. But any pre-season hope began to ebb away after losing the season’s first six-pointer at QPR and three more draws (making five from the opening six), two of them goalless did little to arrest seeping fears. On the plus side, they weren’t conceding many goals and even registered a couple of welcome clean sheets. The first win was a convincing 3-1 over Stoke, delivered Steven Fletcher’s first two goals of the season and lifted Sunderland into the top half of the table. And then they went to Southampton…
Sunderland’s 8-0 defeat at St Mary’s was notable for many reasons. It effectively ended the career of goalkeeper Victor Mannone, but not before he had thrown another in his own net for Arsenal the following week. It featured one of the best own goals ever scored, Argentine Vergini volleying in from the edge of the penalty area to start the rout. It was the first – but by no means the last – indication that Wes Brown is no longer fit-for-purpose in the professional centre back industry (he was withdrawn at half-time). And should’ve prompted a reaction from an ‘embarrassed’ Poyet, the players or the club. But did’t. Sunderland plodded on drawing five of their next seven (three 0-0s). And it was only after a run of six matches producing just one goal (v Hull) culminating in a 4-0 hiding at Aston Villa that Poyet was finally jettisoned. Dutch master Dick Advocaat arrived just in time for the visit of Newcastle United.
Jermaine Defoe arrived in January from Toronto for an undisclosed fee (read: massive) on an undisclosed wage (read: even massiver). Two goals in his first three matches was a good introduction. But if you really want to write yourself into the hearts of the fans, smashing in the goal of the season to beat your biggest rivals is what you really need to be doing. Hats off, Jermaine. In one swipe of his left boot (normally reserved for standing) Defoe whipped up the fans, galvanised the team and probably paid off an undisclosed amount of his wage bill. After a (typical) blip v Palace in the very next match, Sunderland went five unbeaten, including an avenging win over Southampton and a wholly improbable one at inform Everton. Securing PL safety with two 0-0 draws (naturally) and even took the lead at Champions Chelsea on the final day.
Who, where and what is required?
The combination of not scoring enough goals and conceding too many, is never a good one. Especially not at home. Only one team scored less and just two conceded more on their own patch. Defensively, if right back Carl Jenkinson can be tempted out of London for a season, he would complement van Aanholt on the opposite flank. But centre back is a problem. Celtic’s £10 million rated Virgil van Dijk is on the radar, or perhaps they could upgrade their Man United rejects Wes Brown and John O’Shea – Jonny Evans spent 2006-2008 there on loan and has less miles on the clock.
In midfield, Lee Cattermole, Jack Rodwell, Jordi Gomez, Seb Larsson and Adam Johnson have enough quality not to be scrapping relegation next May. But recruitment might be need to cover Cattermole’s suspensions (no one topped his 12 yellow cards), Rodwell’s fragile health and Johnson’s dalliances. But Sunderland’s fate will ultimately depend on the attacking players.
Defoe needs to hit the ground running next season. Darren Fletcher needs to hit the road, with Celtic mooted. And Conor Wickham and Danny Graham need to demonstrate they can hit a cow’s backside with a banjo, which didn’t look the case for much of last season. Advocaat’s three-pronged attack for the PL run-in looked like a throw-of-the-dice and is unlikely to be the way Sunderland start the campaign next time. So they will be looking to add physical presence with a goal threat. Liverpool’s Rickie Lambert fits the bill. He would provide an ideal foil for Defoe, a focal point for their attack and a target from set pieces. But whoever is in charge of persuading Lambert that starting every week for Sunderland is preferable to warming the bench at Anfield, needs to do a better job than they did on Fabio Borini.
Matt Nesbitt is a one-time player, long-time tipster and full-time fan of the beautiful game. He is a regular guest on TipTV.co.uk and the man behind Premier League Match Predictor MatchSim.com. Email: mattnesbitt
