Woeful night sees Cats’ season at a crossroads
Time for Sunderland squad to stand up and be counted – Max
Lee Johnson's default setting is to be ebullient, to look for lessons even in disappointment.
There was a little bit of that here, but not much. Sunderland's head coach was as close to flat as you will probably ever see him and that told you everything about his team's performance in the blizzard at Shrewsbury.
As a club and as a team, it was a night and a second half in particular where they fell well short of the required standard. The table may not look a great deal worse than it did 24 hours ago, but it is another game gone, another opportunity passed.
The visit of high-flying Doncaster Rovers this weekend and a Papa John's semifinal next Wednesday gives this moment a feel of make or break, for the current campaign at least.
This level of performance will leave them chasing an unlikely play-off place; another stark failure in the third tier.
Johnson said he would have to watch it back to be sure, but the eye test certainly seemed to back up the assumption that Sunderland were not just outplayed but outfought, here.
In the second half they were beaten in aerial duels, in second balls, and repeatedly exposed in the wide areas.
The Black Cats had warning of this, when the same Shrewsbury side almost rescued a result from a half-time deficit just weeks ago at the Stadium of Light.
They were meek again here as the home side found another level to their performance.
Yet again, it was another game in which only conceding a goal seemed to bring about a lift in tempo and intensity.
Take away anything else from the performance and that is the basic level that this current group of players have to solve immediately.
If the sluggish start was understand able given the severity of injury that Jordan Willis suffered just minutes into the game, then there was no cave at for the one-paced display that followed Aiden O'Brien's welltaken goal.
The game did undoubtedly
turn on an error. Sunderland had not done enough to make the most of that early advantagebut it would also be unfair to say that at this point they had been unduly threatened by Shrewsbury.
Remi Matthews' rash decision to try and claim a cross allowed Ethan Ebanks-Landell the simplest of finishes and changed the trajectory of the contest. Johnson's decision to change goalkeeper was a curious one, and one that ultimately cost the Black Cats.
Another handling error almost put Sunderland 3-1 behind and out of the contest entirely shortly after, Matthews saved only by the linesman's flag. Matthews had done well at MK Dons a week previous but over the course of the campaign, Lee Burge has looked the steadier and more comfortable presence.
Afterwards, Johnson conceded that he now has a very difficult decision to make. He has backed Matthews, but it would be a big call not to bring back Burge.
That the head coach is in this position to begin with, though, reflects issues that predate his arrival and go above his head.
It started with the poor contract management all too familiar with the Madrox regime, leading to the eventual departure of Jon McLaughlin
on a free. McLaughlin was a calibre of goalkeeper not easy to replace in League One but equally, his departure was clearly on the cards for the best part of a year.
Parkinson's call was to bring in a player he knew well and trusted, a reflection to an extent of the threadbare recruitment operation that existed at the time. Even if Sunderland's clean sheet tally for the campaign is good, the changing of the goal keeper speaks to a lack of confidence that risks under mining the solidity of the team.
The failure of the Madrox regime does not excuse the performance of the side, and there will certainly be plenty for Johnson to reflect on when it comes to the balance of his
side in the days ahead.
Yet it is undoubtedly true that this is a club in need of a quick resolution to the takeover question. That Kyril-Louis Drefyus attended this game spoke to the promise of steps forward, and Johnson spoke effusively about his dialogue with the prospective chairman so far afterwards.
The night had started in confusion, Sunderland incorrectly naming Conor McLaughlin and Luke O'Nien on their team sheet.
It was obvious that there was no disruption to the firstteam group itself, with Max Power joining in the defensive drills from early on to show that he would in fact be starting. It was slack, though, and Johnson to his credit made no attempt to shy away from that. When a similar error almost saw Dion Sanderson play in the Papa John's Trophy while ineligible, the head coach spoke of standards that need to be raised.
He has been willing to push and speak candidly on these matters, calling for better investment to help ground staff when poor weather almost rendered the Stadium of Light pitch unplayable in defeat to Plymouth Argyle.
This was another of those nights where the short-termism and lack of attention to detail at the very top of the club was highlighted.
There has never been any doubt that new ownership would be needed to bring fresh impetus and investment to a club that has been left woefully underpowered and short of its potential.
Johnson and Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman have nevertheless been clear that promotion remains the absolute aim this season.
That leaves little time for more disappointment and for all the flaws in the club they have inherited, there is no doubt that the level of performance has to be much better than what was on display in this second half.
It was, quite simply, nowhere near good enough for Sunderland.