Sunderland lost 1-0 at home to Leicester City in the Championship tonight, on another frustrating night for the Black Cats.
Sunderland returned to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night where they welcomed league leaders Leicester.
The Black Cats had lost their last four going into this one and the Foxes had lost their previous three, seeing their lead at the top shrink to just three points going into tonight.
But it was Enzo Maresca’s side who struck first on the night with Jamie Vardy netting after 13 minutes.
Leicester had the lead going into half-time, and then at full-time following an improved second half from Sunderland.
Chriss Rigg was among the few who shone. But Sunderland ended the night with nothing.
Another misshaped Sunderland side under Mike Dodds
Interim boss Mike Dodds has now lost three out of three.
And in all three we’ve seen three different XIs in three different styles, or at least that’s what it seems.
Journalist Michael Graham commented at half-time of tonight’s game to beg the question of what Sunderland’s shape even was tonight.
He posted on X:
It looked like Sunderland lined up in a 5-4-1 formation tonight with Luis Hemir once again leading the line, Jobe Bellingham on the left and Rigg on the right.
Spotlight starting to shine on Dodds after tough start
Dodds remains a well-liked figure among the fans, and it seems like he’s a well-respected name behind the scenes too, having taken temporary charge on three occasions now.
And although he’s without Jack Clarke, having not had Dan Ballard for two games before tonight as well, the Black Cats have been very poor.
Dodds keeps changing the style and shape and whilst he may deserve some credit for trialing and testing new set ups, he may also warrant some criticism for how poor Sunderland have been.
Like Graham points out, it’s hard to tell what shape Sunderland go out in, and what their actual game plan is.
Leicester City is a difficult task, granted, but Dodds’ side simply looked bland on the night, offering very little and showing no real signs of a plan of attack.
This current vein of form won’t be doing Dodds’ chances of landing the permanent job any favours, and it’s also highlighting how poor Sunderland are without star man Clarke.
Up next for the Black Cats is a trip to Southampton this weekend.