The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Cats’ youth philosophy’s backfired
SUNDERLAND’S philosophy of turning to youth has backfired in the last few games as they look for their next Championship win.
It’s inconceivable to think the last time the North East giants won a game of football was the 3-1 success against Plymouth Argyle under Michael Beale.
It’s just not good enough from a Black Cats’ perspective and it’s difficult to blame interim head coach Mike Dodds as he can only use the players he has available.
In the 4-2 loss against Southampton, there is no doubt a lack of nous and naive defending cost the team. It was reported to be the youngest starting XI in the history of the Championship, with an average age of just 20.8 years.
That’s great in some ways but you need a blend of youth and experience and defensively Sunderland aren’t good enough at this moment in time, with costly errors being made.
For all the talent Chris Rigg has – and it should be remembered he’s only 16 – it was careless in the extreme from him when he flew into a tackle to give away a penalty on Saturday.
And while Jobe Bellingham scored a wonder goal, he will reflect on setting up Southampton’s first when he headed straight across his own sixyard box to set up the opposition for a goal.
It was a cardinal sin, heading across his own box. Prior to that, Trai Hume had simply passed the ball straight to the opposition and the penalty came as a result of that error.
Managing the game is all part of being a professional and Dodds himself said, while there is a level of responsibility on him, there is also a responsibility on the players to execute instructions.
Injuries to key men are taking their toll. There have been plusses in the past few weeks but too many negatives and the team will likely be without Dan Ballard against QPR on Saturday, while Luke O’nien serves the second game of a ban.
Much of the blame must lie with the ownership and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman on the recruitment front.
Talented youngsters have come through and done well but there have been too many who have failed to impress. Not having a striker who can score goals, and not being able to defend, has seen Sunderland go from play-off contenders to a bang-average outfit and a team others will view as a soft touch right now.
Ageism appears to have become a ‘thing’ at the club in terms of players and off-loading men such as Alex Pritchard for £100,000 appears shortsighted.
They have missed Pritchard and could dearly use some older heads in the side to strike the right balance.
Speakman and his colleagues will hopefully have heeded the lessons and sign the right type of player to make Sunderland a force again.