Kristjaan Speakman must accept the blame after one key issue has become prominent after the Sunderland loss.
Sunderland suffered their second defeat of the season as they were undone against Watford.
It is now two away defeats in a row for Regis Le Bris’ side, who came out with a 2-1 loss against Watford, with many key players not quite living up to the billing.
Black Cats midfielder Jobe Bellingham has put in several incredible performances so far in the 2024/25 Championship campaign, however he was severely off the pace in the loss against Watford, as was fellow midfielder Chris Rigg.
Whilst it was incredibly out of character for both Bellingham and Rigg to put in a poor performance on the road, Sunderland fans have become used to captain Dan Neil being in the shadow of his midfield counterparts in terms of quality, and he was unfortunately instrumental in the demise of his side vs Watford.
Following a poor decision to give away a reckless foul in the box, which saw a resulting penalty converted to hand all three points to Watford, Le Bris in many cases may take action with the midfielder, however it has become apparent that one key issue is stopping this from happening.
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Lack of midfield depth is a major issue for Sunderland
Whilst there was no necessity for Sunderland to recruit vigorously this summer, certain positions were in dire need of strengthening.
The options in the centre-of-the-park have been improved following the signing of Alan Browne, but following his and Salis Abdul Samed’s fitness issues at this moment, Le bris has no obvious alternative midfielders to turn towards and it has become clear that Kris should have brought in further recruits.
In most cases, the form of Neil at this moment would result in the French boss taking drastic action and give him time on the bench to recoup, however the lack of depth simply doesn’t give him the option to do this.
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Sunderland ranks will need to support Dan Neil to end poor form
Whilst Neil has been far from a liability in this side, with him still playing a significant role whilst warming up to the role of being team captain, he has entered a patch in his season where he will certainly benefit from support.
There is no doubt that it was a clumsy decision made by himself to give away a penalty whilst the Watford attacker was causing no real threat at goal, and it is a case of Neil putting that moment past him.
He has rightly been commended for coming out after the game and apologising for his decision as opposed to facing away from it, but what matters is if it will affect him on the pitch, and Le Bris and his staff must do everything to ensure that he does put that past himself.