Sunderland drew 1-1 away at Millwall in the Championship this afternoon, in another bland performance from Tony Mowbray’s side.
Sunderland were looking like strong promotion contenders at the start of the season, following on from their heroics last time round, and what seemed like a strong summer transfer window.
But the idea of Sunderland now achieving a top six finish this season looks like a distant one.
The Black Cats ended a run of two-straight defeats today, but their performance against strugglers Millwall was uninspiring.
Mowbray remains a man under pressure following a team selection dotted with questionable calls, with a triple substitution in the second half arguably salvaging a point in the end.
And with so many youngsters in the side, a lot of whom with very little experience of English football, it seems like the Black Cats are missing some of their old guard.
James Copley makes transfer admission
Sunderland have received criticism online for another poor performance.
Individuals have come under the spotlight with Abdoullah Ba one of several names facing criticism, but journalist James Copley has had his say on the club’s recruitment, and the decisions to sell experienced duo Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch in the summer.
Copley posted on X:
The pair joined Norwich City and Stoke City respectively.
Batth’s sale was a very questionable one after the centre-back earned the Player of the Season award last time round, only to be replaced with the likes of Jenson Seelt who often plays at full-back, and Nectarios Triantis who we’ve barely seen.
Are Sunderland paying the price for a poor summer?
Something’s not clicking for Sunderland right now.
They have an experienced boss in Mowbray who only last season was rated as one of the best in the league for his achievements with Sunderland, and so something’s gone quite drastically wrong.
And many are starting to point the finger; not only at Mowbray but at the board for what’s proving to be a poor summer of recruitment.
The club spent well and signed some exciting players. But the planning behind it is what’s caused Sunderland to struggle so far this season.
Mowbray still lacks an out and out goal-scorer and he boasts a team made up, largely, of youngsters, with the Sunderland board pushing this new youthful ethos perhaps a bit to hard and sudden.
The likes of Batth would have been a huge help today, and Gooch; someone who knows the club inside and out and has bags of experience and versatility, surely would’ve been a help to.
Sunderland are paying the price right now, and things don’t get an easier ahead of a home game vs West Brom next weekend.