There are some players who have to be in the team if fully fit and playing to their potential. Proven match winners who can change a game. But, at Sunderland, with the squad we’re now building, I’ve got a problem.
Take this team for example…
Burge
Huggins Flannagan Willis Xhemajli D Hume
Embo Evans Winchester McGeady
Broadhead
Subs Patterson, Gooch, O’Nien, Diamond, O’Brien.
Not bad? Certainly a solid League One side and, it could be argued that, if fit, Broadhead and McGeady would be first name on the team sheet type players in this division. Only problem is, that’s my reserve team.
I was frustrated against Portsmouth that we didn’t create as much as I’d like. There’ve been a few games recently where we’ve struggled to break teams down due to a lack of creativity. Pritchard’s injury going forwards as problematic as our recent loss of Wright and Evans was when it came to leadership. As I thought about the need to get Pritchard in the team I remembered Roberts… and McGeady… and Dajaku… and Embleton. OK, I’m going to just play one central midfielder so I’ll pick Neil. Or Evans, Winchester, O’Nien… It’s mad. The improvement in our squad since Kyril and Speakman arrived is insane. And If everything we’ve heard about Roberts and Trai Hume and what we’ve already seen from Batth is true then any defeat with a fit squad would be, well, embarrassing.
Pictures of O’Nien and McGeady getting involved are great news for the club and for them as individuals but do they make the first team? I think they are likely to make the bench - O’Nien, a bit like Gooch in that he’s a substitute who covers about five difference positions, McGeady because well, imagine being a league one full back and after 75 minutes you finally see Dajaku is being taken off and we swap him for a player than Messi thinks is good.
Last week I mentioned my concern that Johnson doesn’t use enough substitutes. If we are to use the immense squad we have, these players recovering from injury need minutes. They simply can’t get them all from U23 football. They need to be fit and ready to go when called on for the first team and to do that they need first team minutes. As games come thick and fast, players will need a rest and, of course, some will get injured. We need to use the squad now so its ready to use later.
There is one other issue that my squad love in shows up.
I struggled to decide which defenders and midfielders to pick in my first eleven. We have three goalkeepers who are all top keepers at this level. But striker was easy – Stewart. Because, we only have him and Broadhead and Broadhead seems to be made of cheese strings so we can’t expect too much of him.
With a week to go before the deadline, we risk everything if we don’t sign another striker. An injury to Stewart and it doesn’t how many balls are delivered in by Pritchard, Roberts, Dajaku, McGeady, Embo, Gooch…. If there’s no one to turn it in, it’s a waste of time.
Whether it’s the dream return of the prodigal son or someone else. I don’t care. But it’s got to be someone. Hasn’t it? Either that or we need to bubble wrap Stewart. Why risk everything by failing to sign someone we can all see could be needed.
Hopefully in a week a striker will be added and will be trying to force themself into the first team.
Until then my fully fit first eleven is…
Hoff
T Hume Batth Doyle Wright Cirkin
Dajaku Neil Pritchard Roberts
Stewart
What’s yours?
