Sunderland players need to remain focused as Villa loom
It is becoming ever more a case of open warfare at the Stadium of Light as Coach Dick Advocaat bemoans the club’s transfer activity.
Article by Jon Guy
If stories today are true, and the club failed to reach agreement with Napoli’s Jonathan De Guzman and that he is off to Bournemouth, you can only imagine the Little General will be less than happy.
However the arrival of Ola Toivonen may well calm matters somewhat and he is seen as a box to box midfield player who has played with bit Lens and Larsson in recent times and worked with Advocaat.
He says he is hard working and keen to get in an help the strikers in the box which should be good news because as fans all we ask if that the players give 100 percent. If he shows that commitment he will be halfway there and with Lens, and M’Vila the midfield has been bolstered somewhat.
Advocaat said he wanted two or three so you have to hope Lee Congerton is on the phone trying to squeeze an 11th hour deal or two.
It was interesting to see Advocaat has also condemned the player recruitment in the past and I am sure that Ellis Short is not the type that likes his dirty washing aired in public but it seems Advocaat looks to believe he is now in a positon of strength and worryingly seems to be getting his excuses in early in terms of relegation.
I think every fan will have picked up the comment about there being something fundamentally wrong at the club, something that we have also heard from the previous three incumbents of the coach’s chair.
That aside we have a match to play and one which will depend on just how focused the players have been able to be with the simmering rows going in in the background and in the media.
Those who went on Tuesday will say that obviously it is weighing on their minds as after taking a 2-0 lead we let in three soft goals and while the second half saw us ease through it was not a convincing performance by any stretch of the imagination.
However, the performance in the first half last Saturday gave a reason for hope and the fact that they battled back from the late first half goal and really could have won the game.
Villa did their own great escape and have in Tim Sherwood a manager that I still think the jury is out over his ability to deliver the tactical genius to ally with his obvious man motivation.
They have spent in the transfer window but lost two of their star performers so their fans will be as edgy as we are.
If we can keep it far tighter at the back than we did midweek we may well build on last week’s point with at least another at Villa Park.
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