Sunderland: Stadium of Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

2012/2013: 17th

Transfer(s) In: Modibo Diakite (Lazio, Free), Emmanuele Giaccharini (Juventus, £6.5 Million), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, £5 Million), Vito Mannone (Arsenal, £2 Million), Valentin Roberge (Maritimo, Free), Ondrej Celustka (Trabzonspor, Loan), El-Hadji-Ba (Le Havre, Free), David Moberg Karlsson (Free Agent, Free), Cabral (Free Agent, Free), Duncan Watmore (Altrincham, Free), Charis Mavrias (Panathinaikos, £3 Million), Ki-Sung Yeung (Swansea City, Loan), Fabio Borini (Liverpool, Loan), Andrea Dossena (Napoli, Free)

Transfer(s) Out: Danny Graham (Hull, Loan), Ahmed Elmohamedy (Hull, £2 Million), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool, £9 Million), James McClean (Wigan, Loan), Connor Wickham (Sheffield Wednesday, Loan), Matthew Killgallon, Titus Bramble, James McFadden (Released)

Transfers Review:

                                        Without a shadow of a doubt, the Wearside team have been one of the most active in this transfer window, strengthening with no fewer than 14 players, and letting go, either permanently or temporarily, of another 8. Paolo Di Canio is clearly stamping his authority on the club, re-shaping it into the image that he finds most suitable to achieve his objectives. The eccentric Italian has made several key, and very impressive signings. Most notably, the capture of Juventus winger Emmanuele Giaccherini is quite a find for a team struggling against relegation last campaign. His Italian connections also snared the Lazio defender Modibo Diakite on a free transfer, again a highly impressive signing. The ex-West Ham star has made additions all over the field, from Vito Mannone to replace the departed Simon Mignolet, Valentin Roberge to give a bit more width to the defence, Giaccharini and El-Hadji Ba to strengthen the midfield, and American Jozy Altidore to add some goals and firepower up front. Though these signings will take time to gel, I am positive that with their collective experience, we will see a vast improvement from Sunderland this campaign.

                                          In order to recoup some of the money outlayed on transfer fees, di Canio has also shifted some of the dead weight. The underperforming Graham and Elmohamedy both went to newly promoted Hull, lowering the wage outlay and bringing in £2 Million, both McClean and Wickham went out on loan to gain valuable experience of the league below and the big money mover was Mignolet, with the Belgian leaving for Liverpool for a reported fee of £9 Million in an attempt to balance the books.

Pre-Season:

                                            Sunderland's pre-season consisted entirely of a tour of the UK and taking part in the Barclays Asia Trophy. During the tour of the UK, di Canio used mostly youth players, as he was seemingly too busy signing players to take part in exhibition matches! The most useful part of their pre-season was travelling to Hong Kong to take part in the Barclays Asia Trophy. In the semi-final, the Mackems were drawn against Tottenham. On an atrocious playing surface, Sunderland were dominant during the first half, taking a 2-1 lead into the break. After half time, Tottenham fought back. But Di Canio will be glad to see them weather the storm, and they sealed the win late on, with a breakaway goal. Bearing in mind that Spurs are expected to be challenging for the top 4 this season, and they are the same amount of time along in their preparations for the new season, this result was particularly impressive.

                                            In the final, Sunderland met Manchester City. In a tight game, City stuck early through a fabulous volley from Edin Dzeko. As time went on, Sunderland managed to retain the ball better, but they lacked that killer ball to split open the City defence. On the one or two occasions when they did have a good sight of goal, the accuracy of their strikers was ever so slightly off. Nevertheless, a successful tournament for the Mackems, especially when they entered it as the 3rd best team in the competition of 4.

Key Players:

                                               With Giaccherini on the opposite wing, I think that this will be the season that makes or breaks Adam Johnson. After his big money move from Manchester City last season, the England winger was fairly ineffective at The Stadium of Light, with his highlight being a goal in the Tyne Wear derby at St James' Park. He will need to rediscover the form that took him to the cusp of an England call up for the 2010 World Cup if he wants to hold down a regular place. I think that he is more than capable of producing good performances, and I would be surprised if he didn't return to his best this campaign.

                                                  This season is also an opportunity to right a few wrongs in English football for Jozy Altidore. The American striker previously had a brief spell in the Premier League with Hull a few seasons back, only to score once in 22 appearances. Form certainly not good enough for the top flight. However, since that disappointment the US international has been on fire in Holland, finishing last season with close to a goal a game average. He will want to dethrone Steven Fletcher at Sunderland as top goalscorer for his first objective.

Key Fixture Dates:

17/08/2013: Sunderland vs Fulham
24/08/2013: Southampton vs Sunderland
27/10/2013: Sunderland vs Newcastle
30/11/2013: Aston Villa vs Sunderland
14/12/2013: West Ham United vs Sunderland
01/01/2014: Sunderland vs Aston Villa
11/01/2014: Fulham vs Sunderland
18/01/2014: Sunderland vs Southampton
01/02/2014: Newcastle vs Sunderland
29/03/2014: Sunderland vs West Ham United

Top Goalscorer:

                                                    Though I do think that Altidore will be a success at Sunderland, I am still expecting Steven Fletcher to retain his top goalscorer status. It will inevitably take time for the American to re-acclimatize to life in the Premier League, during which Fletcher may have got out of sight, especially if he starts like last season! The Scot is deadly either in the air or on the ground, and it is even more impressive that he is achieving this with mid to lower table teams in Sunderland and Wolves before that.

Prediction:

                                                       Paolo di Canio showed us enough tactical ability last season to convince me that Sunderland will improve this season. The calibre of his signings have reinforced that opinion for me. Though they will take time to bed into the squad and get used to the English game, I feel like there will be one or two standout performers over the course of the season, propelling Sunderland up the table. I think they will finish well above last year's aberration, and they may even nip infront of their hated neighbours Newcastle for that final top 10 spot.

Sunderland 2013/2014: 10th

Sunderland: Nutty Professor Helps Mackems Beat The Drop

2012/2013 Season Review:

                Martin O’Neill, after a strong start to his Sunderland career, saw his side tail off towards the latter end of last season. In order to rectify that, he spent big in the summer. A reported £15 million spent on proven goalscorer Steven Fletcher, and a further £12 million on disgruntled Manchester City winger Adam Johnson, for whom Sunderland were his boyhood club. These high-profile signings were intended to push Sunderland up the table, into the top half and potentially even challenging for a European berth. Sunderland started the season well, remaining unbeaten throughout August and September and progressing to the Fourth Round of the Capital One Cup. Steven Fletcher appeared to be an inspired signing, scoring all of Sunderland’s first 5 league goals.

                Their first defeat came at the hands of the champions Manchester City at the Etihad, ironically a game the Mackems drew the previous season, breaking the Citizens 100% home record. Not the ideal preparation for the Tyne-Wear derby, where Sunderland were largely outplayed, but managed to salvage a late draw through Demba Ba’s own goal, a moment Sunderland fans remember with glee. A disappointing exit of the Capital One Cup in a Tees-Wear derby at the Stadium of Light, followed by two defeats in the league, checked Sunderland’s early season good form. The Mackems inconsistent form continued, with a pattern of two defeats and one win recurring several times throughout the early stage of the season. This placed Sunderland in a relatively safe mid-table position, but still some way short of their pre-season expectations.

                Two successive victories either side of Christmas gave Sunderland a bit of momentum going into the New Year, with a particularly positive result and performance at home to Manchester City. January was another month of two tales. Whilst two successive league wins further strengthened Sunderland’s league position, their FA Cup run was cut short by a defeat at home to Championship side Bolton Wanderers, leaving the league as their only source of attention. After the Wigan result, a winless run of 9 Premier League games put the Mackems perilously close to the relegation zone, and ultimately cost manager Martin O’Neill his job, after just over a year in charge.

                Martin O’Neill was replaced by the energetic Italian Paolo di Canio. After a feisty but successful spell with Swindon, in which di Canio took the Robins up from League 2, before leaving in rather acrimonious circumstances. Di Canio was instantly embroiled in considerable controversy, as revelations about his political views landed him in hot water with the press. Reports emerged that di Canio actually tended his resignation to the board just three days after his appointment, in a response to the controversy, which the board rejected. This decision was instantly vindicated as, in di Canio’s first game as Sunderland manager, he made the short journey to Newcastle, where his side comprehensively beat the Geordies 3-0. A game that will live long in the memory of any Sunderland fans, and di Canio’s celebrations on the touchlines caught the attention of the rest of the footballing world.

                 Di Canio’s momentum then saw Sunderland beat Everton at home, to move clear of danger, but a disastrous 6-1 defeat away at Aston Villa dumped the North East side right back into trouble. Two draws in the final three games, coupled with the inability of those around them to capitalise on Sunderland’s slip-ups, ensured that Sunderland’s status as a Premier League club remained secure for another year. As a season, Sunderland fans will consider their achievements this campaign as disappointing, especially considering the money that has been spent. Paolo di Canio, a divisive figure both within and away from the club, has considerable talent as a manager, but needs to reign in the controversies before he can be wholly successful. If he can do that, and show the same passion on the touchlines that endeared him to the Sunderland fans, then there is no reason why he could not lead Sunderland to a top 10 finish next year.

 

Player of the Season: Simon Mignolet – A toss-up between him and Steven Fletcher, though Fletcher’s lack in form towards the back end of the season tips the balance in favour of the Belgian. Another consistent season, in which Mignolet has once again performed exceptionally on a number of occasions, ensured that Sunderland’s predicament did not get any worse.

 

Game of the Season: Newcastle United 0-3 Sunderland – A no-brainer for any Sunderland fan, as di Canio’s opening game saw an absolute demolition of their arch-rivals. Stephane Sessegnon set Sunderland on their way, causing wild celebrations on the sidelines. More celebrations (and a knee slide) followed, as Adam Johnson curled a shot from the edge of the area past Rob Elliot to put the Mackems in control. David Vaughan wrapped things up in the 90^th minute, with a sweet strike from the corner of the box, giving the keeper no chance, and causing di Canio to do a Mourinho-esque run down the touchline to celebrate with his players.

 

Summer Transfer Targets (What I Think They Need): Their big names to perform to expectation would be a start, with both Sessegnon and Adam Johnson being singled out for particular criticism. In terms of signings, with aging defenders like John O’Shea and Wes Brown, younger blood would be handy. Another striker to chip in with a few goals would also be most important, as Connor Wickham has failed to produce the form he promised when he broke onto the scene last year. Players like Wigan’s Maynor Figueroa and Arouna Kone would both be potential targets.

 

Transfer Gossip Links:

In:

Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur, RB), Gary Hooper (Celtic, ST), Valentin Roberge (Maritimo, LB), Charlie Austin (Burnley, ST), Modibo Diakite (Lazio, CB)

Out:

Titus Bramble (Released, CB)