What next for Black Cats after brutal window?
Chris Coleman was facing an uphill battle before the January window opened, and within a fortnight the situation was critical. Lewis Grabban, gone. James Vaughan, gone. Darron Gibson, injured.
Incomings? Jake ClarkeSalter had arrived from Chelsea on a short-term deal, perfectly suited to the role on the left of Coleman’s back three. Otherwise, progress was slow and Coleman was suffering a number of setbacks, many well out of his control.
The Black Cats were battered at Cardiff, Coleman relying solely on inexperienced youth in attack.
He had virtually no options on his bench.
How keenly Grabban and Vaughan would be missed was always a subject for debate.
It became increasingly clear, as the window drew ever closer, that 12-goal top scorer Grabban would leave and while the way he himself exercised a clause in the contract to force an exit surprised, the fact that he left in itself did not.
Right or wrong, it was reiterated that Grabban’s goals had almost always come in a losing cause. Coleman publicly referred to ‘consolations and penalties’.
There were question marks over his suitability for the role Coleman demanded. Was Grabban’s reluctance to press and his aerial weakness an issue? Not necessarily.
In a side playing with all of the ball, deep in the opposition half, his movement off the shoulder and instinct in the box could make all the difference. For Sunderland, though, something different was needed.
Vaughan was a better fit in that sense, but his summer move from Bury had not worked out and he too was keen to leave.
Sunderland took the offer on the table and cut their losses. Had they delayed, would Wigan have switched targets? Would there have been any takers in the summer?
Sunderland took a gamble, boosting their budget a touch and helping Coleman with his priority, emptying the training ground of players doubting their Wearside future.
In a team that had been desperately lacking composure and poise, he was fast emerging as Coleman’s on-pitch leader.
So Coleman, working closely with assistant Kit Symons and chief executive Martin Bain, was left with gaping leaks to plug.
He had wanted three or four bodies in to begin with. He had one in Clarke-Salter, but three senior bodies disappeared.
By the end, there were four more and, while Sunderland’s fate is a long way from being determined, there were two elements in particular to applaud.
One is that Coleman held strong on his edict not to sign players moving here for the sake of it. The other is that, despite the ever increasing desperation for new blood as the window drew to a close, the players brought in were ones who fitted the system the manager wants to play.
There have not been many Januarys in recent history when you have been able to say that about Sunderland’s business.
That is not to say that each player fits neatly into the 5-3-2 we have seen in recent weeks.
Coleman will tinker with that from game to game, but what he fundamentally needed was an injection of pace and energy into his side.
Against Barnsley, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, the lack of counter-attacking threat and presence was glaringly obvious and had alarming bells ringing.
In difficult circumstances, Coleman has found players that will help him implement his ideas.
Will they make the difference? Only time will tell.
Certainly, Coleman would have liked greater experience.
Jonathan Walters was