One Sunderland man was far off-the-pace in the recent draw against Watford.
The Black Cats were held to a 2-2 draw against Watford at the Stadium of Light.
Goals were scored by defenders Luke O’Nien and Dennis Cirkin, which highlighted the lack of quality in the final third by Regis Le Bris’ side.
Sunderland simply didn’t create enough opportunities throughout the clash, and much of this came from the lack of quality in the midfield three of Chris Rigg, Dan Neil and Salis Abdul Samed.
The latter of which had plenty of pressure exerted upon him after his previously limited performance against Plymouth Argyle, and once again showed his limited nature after his showing vs Watford.
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Salis Abdul Samed performance vs Watford showed clear weakness in Sunderland midfield
The Black Cats were very limited in-the centre-of-the-park, and one of the suspects that didn’t help with Le Bris’ side’s fluidity was Abdul Samed, who was simply passive.
The summer signing has started the last two games at the Stadium of Light, and has appeared to have contributed in holding the side back in a progressive sense. His abilities lie more in defensive play and sitting back, something that Le Bris’ side should certainly not be doing at home against an out-of-form Watford unit.
It is clear, from the stats, that his style of play is not suited for Sunderland in such a game, as, per SofaScore, the Black Cats midfielder notched just 20 touches of the ball, accumulating an unsatisfactory 14 accurate passes, one of which being a long progressive ball. On the defensive side he didn’t quite achieve too much either, making one tackle and clearance.
Regis Le Bris must be aware of Salis Abdul Samed qualities and how it didn’t apply for Watford draw
Whilst we are still yet to see much at all from Abdul Samed since he returned from his lengthy injury period, it is clear his qualities will potentially lie within his defensive work and ability to break up play.
Prioritising the defensive capabilities of the summer signing over rolling the dice by starting someone like Eliezer Mayenda was a major issue from the off by Le Bris
The French boss must come around to the fact that, whilst Abdul Samed can be important in his squad, against lower opposition his presence in midfield is wasteful, when a more advanced player can be utilised in his place.