The Season is Upon Us, Are Sunderland Ready?

Article by Ben Mummery

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The talking is almost over, and the beginning of the 2014-2015 Barclays Premier League is only a few days away. On Saturday, all of the summer speculation will be a thing of the past, as Gus Poyet’s Sunderland side travel to the Hawthorns to take on a New Look West Brom team and bring the summer break’s long wait to an end.

The most frustrating aspect of the summer has definitely been the transfer market, which has seen the arrival of five players so far, three Bosman deals, one potential bargain “buy of the season”, and a ten million pound splash out. However many fans feel there is still further need to strengthen the squad considerably before the window closes, though for now let’s look at the players we have, the current squad, and assess – are we really ready for the new season and what it has in store?

Sunderland have tempestuous finishes to the last two Premier League seasons, having walked the tight-rope of relegation with Di Canio, and found a “miracle” to end last season on an unprecedented high. Black Cats fans are a realistic bunch for the main part, the collective know where the club stands in terms on realistic ambition, and are aware that to wish for too higher honors is nothing short of folly! With this in mind, we must consider, what exactly it is we want out of this season, as we can’t gauge our success without having some sort of goal can we?

Surely if asked, the vast majority of fans would answer in a similar vain:

To finish the league comfortably, avoid relegation without drama, and to have a decent run in the cups.

Not too much to ask surely? This sort of requirement seems to be a recurring theme at the start of each season, but is it enough to expect, or conversely, is it too much?

Looking at the club financially, it is no great secret that Sunderland is never likely to be in a position to compete with the big spenders in the upper echelons of the league. However, it’s not unreasonable to suspect that given the club’s business ties and their excellent recent efforts in the field of spreading the global reach of the brand, there will definitely be a few quid squirrelled away in the coffers that could doubtless come in handy in pipping the odd potential rival to a signing or two. Sunderland will likely never be able to consider themselves one of the “big players” in the financial market, but nor are they by any means minnows. There is a general feeling among fans that given the financial ability of the club, the last two seasons have been a disappointment. Seeing clubs with less money, smaller gates, smaller catchment areas and having spent less time in the top flight finish above us has been difficult to bare, and leaves one wondering why we haven’t at times been able to secure the type of players to enable us to be competitive on a regular basis.

This feeling has raised its ugly head again this summer while watching the likes of Swansea, Hull, Stoke, West Brom etc. strengthen their squads considerably while to many fans it has seemed like Sunderland are treading water, and could possibly be left behind.

There is however one serious wildcard in the pack that Sunderland do have in their favour. An individual who, when signed last season, showed us potential and promise beyond all expectations – Gus Poyet.

Having “suffered” some pretty miserable football under Martin O’Neil, not known whether they were coming or going with Di Canio, and had a pathetic start to last season under the Italian, the Sunderland fans were rightly apprehensive when the Uruguayan ex-Brighton man was placed in charge one week before the Tyne Wear derby. Since then, and with a squad many would agree was questionable in places, Gus has proved that his “brand” of football is without a doubt the way forward. The play is fast, fluid. Passing is high tempo, the team look to press the opposition when not in possession. The only thing that stood out from time to time was, in fact, the lack of players who were able to play in this way week in, week out. This could well be where we the Sunderland fans have to now, at this junction, put a massive amount of faith in our manager.

While the club has shipped out certain players many would consider surplus to requirements, and while new faces have been in short supply, one hopes that Poyet has selected these individuals because he believes that they are the type of player who can play his way, and pre-season has certainly showed us some promising signs that this could in fact be the case.

Poyet’s personal brand of play is without a doubt some of the brightest football that has been played in red and white for a considerable amount of time, cast your mind back to the first half of the Capital One Cup final, where our midfield dominated Man City’s, our full backs used the width of the pitch, we were clinical and precise – even Lee Cattermole had the half of his life! Moments like this, of which there were many, proved that Gus can instill a sense of fluidity into his side, and that given the right players, his team could be a real force to be reckoned with!

This said there are still many improvements that spring to mind. We MUST be more ruthless in front of goal. We must manage to pick up our woeful home form of last term, and we must manage to keep clean sheets more regularly. A run of back to back wins in the Premier League can make your season, as so many teams have proven time and time again, indeed a string of wins last term saved us from the drop. Consistency is key for Sunderland this time around, especially as one considers how compact the table was from ten to twenty last season.

Are Sunderland ready?

It’s difficult to say. The manager and his staff have, although frustratingly, played their cards very close to their chest throughout the summer. Signs in pre-season have looked good, but not great. The return to form of Steven Fletcher could be massive, and the fans cannot wait to see what Jack Rodwell and Jordi Gomez can do in the middle of the park once the pressure is on.

Come half past four on Saturday afternoon, we will know a little more!

Stay tuned to @e_sunderland and @e_football twitter accounts for rumours, news, and gossip.

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