Dusted down and wounds licked with a Euros to pass the summer. Well, that and possibly the biggest rebuilding job the club has had since we came down from the Championship.
When we dropped out of the second flight there was a huge amount of work to do both on the pitch and off it. In some ways, with a new owner coming in, the parallels are there. In other ways this one feels very different. The fans went into the Jack Ross season on what was an almost an expectancy; we’ll have some fun down here, rebuild under new owners, get our club back and enjoy standing on terraces again. Cracking. Three years later and it’s all a bit tedious. We’re fed up with this league and we want the club to take a promotion drive seriously. The fact that we failed this time has given us a right old boot in the chops. We had it all in our hands and we threw it away, embarking on relegation form as we approached the final furlong.
The aftermath has seen Lee Johnson come under fire for failing from that position with what is probably the third most expensive squad in League One history (after the two previous Sunderland squads in League One). Before moving on to analyse what is needed, a word on Lee Johnson. His points per game were worse than Parkinson but that is almost understandable. When he came in he was not afforded a real transfer window due to the takeover and the ill-fated attempt at applying a salary cap in League One. Then he had a defensive injury crisis that would have crippled most teams; ironically, it coincided with our best run but that’s an aside. That doesn’t entirely excuse him, but if he’s playing Parkinson players in a Johnson formation it gives him some leeway. But what exactly is Johnson’s formation?
If you look back at his time at Sunderland it’s very difficult to pinpoint what his desirable formation would be. The injuries left him playing a midfielder at right back and another at centre half. One of those has now departed and the other we wait and see. The most used formation was probably a 4-5-1 or maybe a 4-4-1-1, occasionally a 4-4-2 when we went for the big men up front. Let’s assume it’s a 4-5-1 for the sake of planning out our close season.
GOALKEEPER
Lee Burge was touted by pundits as having had a great season. He was top of the charts for clean sheets. I suspect that was more to do with the defence than his individual ability though and that’s something which Johnson can probably claim some credit for. Parkinson talked about clean sheets and we played some pretty dreadful football under him, but Burge kept twice as many clean sheets in the league under Johnson than he did under Parkinson. If we can continue with that then Burge may be fine for next season as a stop gap until we get into the Championship and can attract a better alternative. Perhaps though we will see Patterson emerge from the U23s which, by all accounts, may be no bad thing if you listen to the feedback he is getting. In terms of priorities, I see keeper as low down.
RIGHT BACK
Power has gone, McLaughlin has gone. So, unless we’re going to ask Luke O’Nien to fill that gap and last an entire season this is a top priority. For Johnson’s style we need to look at a full back who has an attacking outlet. This was always a weak spot for us last season. We either had Power who just didn’t have the positional discipline for a defender or McLaughlin who, whilst being a big improver, was a couple of games away from an injury and offered little in terms of turnover play.
CENTRE BACKS
Dion Sanderson was excellent. When he was injured it was like losing a star striker. Flanagan for all his vocal ability lacks the cool head that Sanderson showed over and over again. We would all love for Sanderson to return to the club, but unfortunately unless we are prepared to pay a lot of money in both wages and fees, it seems unlikely. It is imperative that we sign at least two centre backs in my opinion. Bailey Wright is prone to injuries and slow and Flanagan has shown that he can be prone to the odd panic. Ollie Younger may break through, however, that’s a lot of pressure to put on young shoulders. Jordan Willis is there too of course, but he’ll miss most of next season through injury. We need strong defenders in the middle with cool heads. Again, this is a top priority.
LEFT BACK
If we can keep Denver Hume at the club and keep him fit then, for all his defensive naivety, he could be a first choice left back. We need cover though. Thankfully McFadzean has gone but that does leave us thin on the left side of defence. If Hume goes then this, obviously, puts the left back spot in the same top priority section as right back. Even if he stays though I think we need to bring in someone capable of challenging him. Young players who are a shoe-in tend to get complacent and there are times when Hume has underperformed. Proper competition in this position could push Hume on to be the player I believe he can become. He is an attacking threat, but his defensive work is sometimes a little lackadaisical and he is one of many players who have benefitted from having Aiden McGeady in the same team as him. They do seem to have an understanding, but we’ll come to McGeady later.
CENTRAL MIDFIELD
Well, we’ve still got George Dobson! Leadbitter going is kind of hard to take because he’s a Sunderland lad through and through. After what he has been through in recent times it’s been a sad end to his time at Sunderland. Hopefully he’ll get a backroom job, but we are where we are. With Power and Scowen leaving we’re very short in that controlling role in midfield. Winchester will come through for us next season and hopefully Embleton will finally get a decent run and fulfil his early promise to win a second promotion from the same league in two years, but I don’t think we can rely on that. We need a central midfielder who can find space and switch play from defence to attack. We have been missing that for years, probably since M’Vila. Now we’re not going to get that standard of player in League One but that’s the model we should be looking for. Central midfield needs addressing.
RIGHT MIDFIELD
I’m going to admit something. Gooch frustrates me beyond belief. He must have aching shoulders after every match as he appeals to the ref with his arms aloft every time he gets tackled after trying to beat every single player on the other team without considering passing to a team mate. Then again, he scores goals. In the right set up with the right coaching he could do a job. If we can look to the younger players as a backup for Gooch then I see this as a lower priority. Don’t get me wrong, if we can find a bargain to challenge Gooch then that would be no bad thing, but if you’re prioritising improvements, right wing probably sits low down.
LEFT MIDFIELD
McGready! Hang on to him at all costs. Yes, he has games where he doesn’t look like he can't be bothered, but in this league he’s an absolute gem. To get the assist tally that he did having played half a season is remarkable. More than that though we saw him coaching other players on the pitch. He brought Jordan Jones through, and works well with Denver Hume. His experience and ability make him a shoe in. The only problem is his age. So, we need someone else to bring on when he’s tired and bored of turning a full back inside out. Huge priority, get someone young in now to learn from him as he is clearly in a position where he could coach players. A far cry from the disruptive influence he was touted as during Parkinson’s incomprehensible spell of sending him out in the cold. Bring in a youngster to learn from him. Keep McGeady, please.
FORWARDS
If Wyke goes, so be it. He scored loads of goals last season, but he scored nine league goals for us in two seasons before that and I think Stewart will also do well next season. That said if Wyke goes we’ll need cover…
So, there it is, that’s my assessment of where we need to spend. There’s a lot of work to do and hopefully there is money to spend in the right areas. More than anything though, let’s get the signings right. If we spend a load of money on journeymen, then we have to look at what we do if we do go up. Do we bin them? Let’s not sign players just for this season, let’s sign them for their ability to go on and compete in the Championship. Speakman has a massive task on his hands.
