Two Sunderland players currently rank inside the Championship’s top 10 for this one interesting statistic.
Sunderland currently sit in the mid-table position of the Championship.
They’ve endured a mixed season and perhaps a 12th place finish might be a fair representation of how they’ve done.
Though with Mike Dodds‘ side having lost their last six now, Sunderland might be grateful of a 12th place finish, with just nine points separating the Black Cats and the relegation zone.
But there’s been positives to take from this season; the progression of Jack Clarke who’s scored 15 goals in the Championship, becoming a wildly valuable asset in the process, and maybe the emergence of Jobe Bellingham who’s played more games than he may have expected.
And the pair now rank inside the Championship’s top 10 for one statistic.
Jack Clarke and Jobe Bellingham among most fouled players in the Championship
Both Clarke and Bellingham, Clarke in particular, are lively players.
They have the ability to move past players with ease and kickstart attacks, which might explain why they rank so highly in the list of fouled players in the Championship.
As per The Punters Page, Leeds United’s Georginio Rutter is the most-fouled player in the Championship this season with 86 fouls drawn, followed by Clarke on 83.
And it’s Clarke who’s made the most dribbles in the Championship this season (117), followed by Rutter in 2nd (102).
Then Bellingham comes in with 58 fouls drawn, but only from 24 dribbles, ranking him as the 6th-most fouled player in the league this season.
Sunderland draw fouls, something has to change
It’s been a common talking point among Sunderland fans this season, the amount of fouls their players draw.
And it’s perhaps no surprise to know that Sunderland are the most-fouled team in the Championship, with 484 fouls drawn this season (The Punters Page).
It’s because they have many players like Clarke and Bellingham who want to get on the ball and go past opposition players; Patrick Roberts fits into that category, along with names like Nazariy Rusyn, Pierre Ekwah, and Chris Rigg to name a few.
For opposition teams, it’s easier to foul these players as often times when they actually get on the ball, it’s in the middle of the pitch or deeper in Sunderland’s own half, so there’s no risk of a red card.
For Sunderland next season then, whoever the manager is needs to find a way of reducing this number and getting players like Clarke (although he’s likely to leave), Bellingham and so on, further up he pitch when they do get the ball.
Teams are figuring Sunderland out; simply committing fouls limits Sunderland in their attacking play and this run of six-straight defeats suggests that the Black Cats are indeed becoming very easy to play against.
Sunderland host QPR in the Championship this weekend.