The anomalies of football and decisions from officials has been there for all to see in the last two Sunderland matches.

Two moments stand out which, in the first instance could have cost points but thankfully didn’t, and in the second, could well have cost points given the time of the match and the score at the time. Both were blatant penalties.

One, against Sunderland in the Sheffield United match, was given. One, for Sunderland in the Stoke City clash, wasn’t. Against Stoke, Chris Mepham was about to pull the trigger and did actually get a shot away in the penalty area a few yards out as his shirt was pulled back preventing him from getting a proper connection. The referee on the day didn’t see it and Stoke got away with one. It happened in the first half and therefore the decision not to give a spot-kick could well have made a big difference, with the score at 0-0. We all know goals change games.

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Then, remarkably, in the exact same position on the pitch, Luke O’Nien tugged the shirt of Kieffer Moore against the Blades and a penalty was given. They could have been the exact same incident, in the exact same place, but the two decisions could not have been further apart.

Thankfully for Sunderland, Anthony Patterson came to the rescue with a superb save with his legs and Moore didn’t profit.

But it just shows you that, as Regis Le Bris often says, football can be unpredictable. It certainly has been in those two examples.

We also saw the unpredictability of players too, particularly in the case of Eliezer Mayenda. Big chances missed in the previous two matches were cast from his mind against Sheffield United, as well as the criticism, as he made the most of a mistake from Jack Robinson to power forward and finish well.

Is he someone who can score goals? Or a goal-scorer? That is the conundrum facing the club as the January transfer window gets underway.

Wilson Isidor is another enigma. He scored an excellent goal against United and yet he too has been guilty of spurning big opportunities in a host of matches.

Will the club dip into the transfer market to bring in someone guaranteed to score goals? Well, they did bring in Aaron Connolly and he hardly gets a game so we will have to wait and see what the club have in mind.

Taking the odd crucial chance in big games could be the difference between promotion and another year at least in the Championship.