Sunderland are seven points from safety with 10 matches left to play. Is their decade-long stay in the Premier League finally coming to an end?
Sunderland drew 0-0 with Burnley on Saturday, leaving them in 20th place in the Premier League with 10 matches remaining. They trail 17th-place Swansea by seven points (with a game in hand), and haven’t won a match since the beginning of February. After nine seasons of narrow escapes, is this the year the Black Cats finally go down?
There’s hope for the Black Cats yet
James Dudko, @JamesDudko
Sunderland have become specialists at surviving the relegation battle in the Premier League in recent years. Yet the Black Cats have never looked more likely to suffer the drop than they do this season, a campaign where the club sits seven points short of safety with just 10 games to play. Sunderland fans shouldn’t despair, though, not when there are ample reasons to believe this team can still pull off the greatest of great escapes.
Those connected with Sunderland looking for reasons to believe should consider what has worked in the past. Last season, Sam Allardyce built a side adept at striking on the break. Two seasons ago, Dick Advocaat coaxed some miserly defending out of a veteran back four.
It’s up to David Moyes to try and revive both qualities from this season’s squad. Fortunately, Moyes has the players to do both. Of course, he needs those players available.
The good news is key center-back Lamine Kone will return from injury after the international break, according to his manager, per Richard Mennear of the Sunderland Echo. Kone’s comeback, along with the recent return of stubborn and gifted young goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, can give Sunderland the platform they need to keep a few more clean sheets.
A clean sheet wasn’t a problem in the recent goalless drawn with Burnley at the Stadium of Light, but the 0-0 stalemate did help emphasize Sunderland’s other main problem, namely a chronic lack of goals. Specifically, Sunderland need somebody other than Jermain Defoe to score. Frankly, getting goals from midfield shouldn’t be a problem for a squad littered with forward-thinking players in the middle. Jack Rodwell, Darron Gibson, Sebastian Larsson and Adnan Januzaj have all got goals in them.
What those midfielders and Defoe need is better supply. Finding it is one of Moyes’ biggest problems, though. Of all of Sunderland’s obvious issues, the absence of creativity between the lines is surely the most troubling.
There isn’t much Moyes can do about it with Jan Kirchhoff still getting over his injury issues. The German playmaker has the quality on the ball the Black Cats have missed all season, yet Moyes has revealed Kirchhoff will sit out another four weeks with a recurrence of a knee problem, according to Phil Smith of the Sunderland Echo.
Without guile in midfield, Moyes ought to substitute technique for athleticism. It means Didier Ndong needs to play regularly. The Gabon man has been one of Sunderland’s few standouts this season, but Moyes surprisingly left him out against Burnley. He can’t afford to leave a midfielder with the power and drive to influence any match out of the side again.
Sunderland still have the players to make the most of a favorable fixture list that includes game against fellow relegation candidates Hull and Swansea. There are also winnable games at home to West Ham and Bournemouth, as well as a trip to Watford.
Restoring key players such as Kone and Ndong to the spine can give Sunderland the strength to still claim the points they need to survive.
This is the end for Sunderland
Peter Johnstone, @9PniJ2
The past few years have been difficult viewing for Sunderland fans, but the club has, just about, managed to stay in the top flight thanks to a series of improbably escapes. In each of the past few seasons, Sunderland’s form changed for the better right around this time of year.
But with 10 games left Sunderland supporters can’t feel too optimistic, especially with David Moyes in charge. The Scottish manager was slightly unfortunate at Manchester United but his time in charge of Real Sociedad was catastrophic, and he’s done little to suggest he can keep the Black Cats up this season.
Sunderland have lacked consistency under Moyes with only one set of back-to-back wins all season, and only 24 goals scored in 28 matches. They’ve shown fight at times, like in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool and their 0-0 stalemate with Tottenham. Yet they’ve not been able to build on those results and that comes down to a lack of quality throughout the squad.
From front to back it seems there’s either not enough experience or just not the right calibre of player for the Premier League. At the back, John O’Shea is looking like his time as a Premier League player is coming to an end, while the club’s midfield has had a horrendous season.
For a club like Sunderland, who don’t score a lot of goals, it’s imperative to have midfielders who can chip in every so often. The likes of Adnan Januzaj, Seb Larsson and Wahbi Khazri have the skill sets to help out in that department, but the trio have a grand total of zero goals between them.
The only midfield goal has come from club-record signing Didier Ndong, who’s a more defensive-minded player. The only shining light for Sunderland has been the form of Jermain Defoe, who has netted 14 times this season — an impressive return given the team he’s playing for. Up front they’ve been unfortunate, though, losing both Duncan Watmore and Victor Anichebe to injuries.
Related Story: 25 best club soccer teams of all time
If Sunderland are to stand any chance of survival, then they probably need to win at least five of their last 10 games. Unless Moyes is sacked and a new manager is brought in, that doesn’t look like happening. Hull, Swansea and Crystal Palace all made managerial changes and while none of them are safe, their chances of survival have all increased after those changes.
Sunderland have left it too late. If there’s a silver lining it’s that a stint in the Championship might do them some good. They’d be among the favorites to win promotion, and would have the opportunity to establish some kind of consistent playing identity. Their fans might even get to see them win a couple games.