As we head into what is surely the 115th international break of the season, Sunderland AFC remain at the summit of the Championship league table. If we are honest, that was not where most of us thought we would find this club of ours after roughly 1350 minutes of football.
Based on the tremendous start we should remain positive around what lies ahead.
Indeed, post-match and Régis Le Bris still projects a personality akin to calm waters – neither high following victory nor deflated after the disappointment of a poor result. For supporters of the Black Cats, however difficult it may be to achieve in practice, this feels like a good trait to adopt as we now begin to experience the inevitable choppy seas.
The weekend’s result against Coventry was a tough one to take. 2-0 up and cruising against a disorganised and dispirited Sky Blues. The scoreline at half time seemed more than enough to ensure those previous two 0-0 results would be the end of consecutive draws. Yet, Sunderland wasted guilt-edge opportunities in the final third (Patrick Roberts, Wilson Isidor and Dan Neil we are looking at you) and switched back to a low block just when we seemed ready to deliver a knock-out blow.
That was enough to leave the door ajar for our manager-less opponents. The fact that Coventry nearly blew it off its hinges was a stark reminder that this squad is still a work-in-progress. The club has never declared it to be anything else to be fair. However, for fans it is understandable that when a win follows another win, it is easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment.
That is not to say this season still cannot be a successful one for Sunderland.
Rather, like Le Bris himself – some balance is always the preferred position to take when analysing the moment as well as future possibilities.
So, what are we able to dissect from the last few performances in particular to help us gauge whether the Black Cats can steer through any rough waters?
Squad depth
With Patrick Roberts and Trai Hume suspended for Millwall away and Jobe Bellingham continuing to sit out following his red card, we know for sure that Sunderland’s squad will now be severely tested.
This – unfortunately- is the best case scenario.
With both Alan Browne and Romaine Mundle limping off on Saturday it remains unclear whether they will also be on the sidelines beyond the international break.
Eek!
These challenges were always likely to come. For those of us who have followed the club for years it was as sure as night follows day. The last few seasons have been examples of where Black Cat chiefs took a risk on a small, inexperienced squad. Whilst there was undoubted talent within it, injuries and suspensions often left the group ravaged and the gamble left those responsible looking somewhat naïve at times.
The past summer recruitment arguably went some way to address this.
When it comes to bringing in experience, Sporting Director, Kristjaan Speakman, will hold up Chris Mepham as ‘exhibit A’. At 27-years-old and despite only having 17 more games under his belt than Dan Neil at 22, the Welsh international is a player that absolutely looks every bit the Premier League talent, slotting seamlessly alongside Luke O’Nien at the heart of defence.
However, if truth were told, given the injury record of Aji Alese (132 days out), Dan Ballard (276) and Jenson Seelt (279) bringing in another centre-back option was not so much shrewd for the recruitment team, as common sense.
Salis Abdul Samed is another who appeared to tick all the boxes when he signed on loan from Lens on deadline day. A combative defensive midfielder with experience of the Champions League was just what the squad needed. Yet, injury has resulted in Samed not kicking a ball for the Rokermen. Indeed, if Browne and Jobe are to miss the next few matches then the midfield begins to look rather stretched. Perhaps not in numbers but in depth of quality.
Neil and Chris Rigg are the only two ready and obvious options as Milan Aleksić also is yet to kick a ball. Le Bris may elect to bring Rigg into the Jobe ‘8’ position and offer the Serbian his debut in the more advanced role for the next fixture. On the other hand the Den is perhaps not the ideal scenario to throw the unproven youngster into such a ferocious pressure-cooker environment for his first match in red and white.
Formations
Another potential quandary for Le Bris in the weeks ahead is whether the change in personnel requires a broader change in approach. Sunderland’s formation during the opening matches has not been the rigid 4-3-3 some would have you believe. Whilst it has certainly been a case of adopting this tactic more often than not with the ball, out of possession has seen a visible switch to 4-4-2 and at Luton in particular even a change to a back five with Neil dropping in in between Mepham and O’Nien.
There has been a pleasing fluidity in tactics to adapt to changes in games and not sticking rigidly to one style has been a major factor in the Frenchman’s early success.
However, before the events unfolded during the second half against Coventry and with Dan Ballard’s return alongside Bellingham missing games, Le Bris was recently asked if a switch to a back three might be on the cards:
“I don’t think so. I explained that idea before. We built a system with strong foundations and I don’t want to change the structure too early.”
Still, onto other matters and he very much on the list of the many positives is Wilson Isidor.
Should Le Bris’ men stay in and around the pack by January, assess the areas that need addressing based on injuries and performances, and strengthen the squad with proven quality (not just potential), there is no reason Sunderland’s season cannot still be a successful one, potentially leading to – at last – that fabled Premier League status.
