Taking a Breath
By: Lucas | September 8th, 2007SAFC is idle this weekend, in the midst of a 2-week international break before Reading FC comes to the Stadium of Light. So with no chance of losing to any Liverpools or Man Utds (or, ahem, Lutons), I thought I’d take a look at the season thus far, at how Keano and his new signings are performing.
Black Cats back in the Premier League. As is well known, the last two seasons Sunderland spent in the top flight, they set records for futility, tallying 19 pts in 2002/03 and a mere 15 pts in 2005/06. After an inspiring campaign last season which saw new Chariman and SAFC legend Niall Quinn, and new manager Roy Keane take the team from last place to win the League Championship, they entered the EPL this year with relatively high expectations. An opening day 1-0 win over Spurs certainly got things off to a bright start, which continued with a resilient 2-2 draw at Birmingham City (both games featuring late goals from SAFC). Since then, though, there have been predictable losses to Liverpool and Manchester United, and a pair of demoralizing 3-0 defeats at the hands of Wigan Athletic and League Two Luton Town (which latter knocked Sunderland out of the Carling Cup); not to mention captain Dean Whitehead going out for 6 months with a knee injury. This international break is generally a pain in the ass for teams and fans, as the season has just gotten underway and momentum is just building. But for SAFC right now I’d say this is a welcome reprieve, a chance to catch their breath and get ready for another struggling club to visit the intimidating confines of the Stadium of Light.
New signings. The signing period was a mixed bag for the Mackems. They saw Roy Keane spend £35m, including a record £9m for Scotland international goalkeeper Craig Gordon and £5 a piece for Saints striker Kenwyne Jones and formerly hated geordie boy Michael Chopra. Also added were defender Paul McShane (West Brom, Ireland), midfielders Dickson Etuhu (Norwich) and Kieran Richardson (Man Utd, England), striker Roy O’Donovan (Cork City).
For the most part I’d call these signings a success: Chopra is the most obvious, with a game winner at the death (Spurs) and an equalizer (Brum) already in the young season; McShane was given Man of the Match honors for the 1-0 win over Spurs and is set to resume his Republic of Ireland career today in a Euro08 qualifier vs Slovakia; and Etuhu has been solid in the middle. O’Donovan was set to be loaned to Scottish side Dundee Utd, but was prevented due to FIFA regulations. There have been a couple of big names that weren’t signed by Sunderland, namely Tottenham’s Egyptian striker Mido (who went to Middlesbrough), and Wigan defender Leighton Baines (gone to boyhood team Everton).
Prognosis. I’d say things are looking OK. Not great, not horrible. OK. I don’t think Sunderland will challenge for a spot in Europe or even a top-10 finish in the EPL; but neither do I think they’ll shit the bed like they have in their previous two Premiership campaigns. I believe Roy Keane will further prove himself as a top class manager, and I look for Sunderland to stick around a while.
Category: Team News
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