Sunderland - Perfect Time for International Break

The current international break is crucial for Sam Allardyce - let’s hope he realises it. Some may say that it would be best all round if the Black Cats could get straight back on the wagon following the crushing defeat against Everton and the recent disappointing Southampton result. However Allardyce may feel that time on the training pitch is the better tonic at the moment.

I’d go with that approach too. Big Sam needs to spend this time with the squad he has available to him and determine a better balance between Sunderland’s attack and defence. That is likely to be far more difficult to do in practice than it is to write. However, the former Bolton manager should also use this period to understand which players have the ability to not only deliver the equilibrium required but also the mental strength to play in front of our passionate home crowd.

Some of the players look as though the matters in hand are too much for them at the moment. They’re shirking away from the challenge on occasions and it hasn’t made good viewing. Let’s be clear I’m not talking about Sunderland standing off players when the collective belief is the opposition can have the ball in areas that don’t pose any danger. Clearly on those occasions the manager is the one calling the shots and the players are simply applying instruction.

The real conundrum is why are professional football players not tracking a runner and why are the opposition allowed a clear pass through our midfield like it’s not there? Do we believe that the Black Cats have given up trying?

Well, the truth may well likely be different, supporters can only go by what is presented before them on a match day. Judging by this evidence, the current struggles faced by the Black Cats appear to be a fight that some need to reminded they’re even in, nevermind prepared to get out of. Allardyce should hopefully see that 100% commitment from the squad this week especially from those who haven’t been around the starting eleven during the season so far.

There also needs to be signs of better understanding of the task in hand. Once the right balance is found the players need to have not only the intelligence to see its strengths and weaknesses but also how they fit in to it. Only then will we begin to see improvements. The defeat at the hands of Everton showed that the team just didn’t sense the danger and hadn’t the nouse to be able to deal with them.

So what system should we use once the dust has settled? 4-5-1, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3? Some have even called for the return of 4-4-2. I wouldn’t be averse to this in principle, but the question that usually very quickly follows this assertion is have we haven’t got the players to make this truly effective? I’d agree that we don’t have pacey wingers in the mould of some of our greats but surely with the likes of Duncan Watmore, Jeremain Lens, Fabio Borini, Adam Johnson even young Lynden Gooch, there’s somebody in that squad that can do a job on the wings and allow us to get both Defore and Fletcher firing on all cylinders. There’s goals in those two players and Allardyce needs to do whatever it takes to get them on the pitch together while not overly exposing the team at the back.