Why are some players at S worthy of coming off the b

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. There’s no need to sit too comfortably because we’re beginning with the positives from Saturday; so it won’t take long.

The final score was not as embarrassing as was feared when Stoke went three up after 34 minutes.

Of Sunderland’s 11 we can exonerate Jermain Defoe, who did what he could with what we shall politely refer to as limited service. Seb Larsson at least showed some will and professional pride when other heads dropped.

But man-of-the-match goes to any Sunderland supporter who stayed until the final whistle.

I don’t suppose many of them will have had their mood significantly altered by last night’s result at Turf Moor. Rarely have Sunderland fans been less interested in the FA Cup. A cup run is all very jolly, but ...

Space considerations prevent a composite list of the negatives, so we shall confine ourselves to one.

This column mused last week on the oddball and distinctly unhelpful use of substitutes by Sunderland this season.

We specifically referred to the decision to bring on an extra defender in a home cup tie to secure last night’s delights at Burnley.

Usually when Sunderland are trailing they will do something like lob their third choice rightback into the midfield; then wonder why they don’t threaten much.

Against Stoke would there, yet again, be an unfathomable use of subs? Of course not. Against Stoke there was an unfathomable non-use of subs.

I’m not even going to pretend that it gives me no satisfaction to say, “I told you so.”

When you watch a game like Saturday’s you start to feel as though saying, “I told you so”, is one of life’s few remaining pleasures. So here goes. I told you so. When a side is losing for all but the first 15 minutes of a game, common procedure is to change things around at some stage. So what was the reason for not making a single change on Saturday?

David Moyes said: “We were trying to score goals and I didn’t really feel that I had the players on the bench any more capable than Fabio Borini, Jermain Defoe or Adnan Januzaj.

“We don’t really have anything to change it around. I felt the best attacking players were on the pitch already.”

This raises several issues. As Moyes mentioned him, let us look at Fabio Borini. I like Borini. He always applies himself and has presented Sunderland fans with some glorious moments.

But every footballer on earth plays badly at times and against Stoke City, Borini was ruddy awful. It is difficult therefore to imagine that any of the attackers on the bench would have retarded Sunderland’s chances of scoring even further.

At least lobbing on the third choice right-back into the midfield would have provided a fresh pair of legs.

Some feel that Moyes was sending a signal to Ellis Short; effectively saying that he hasn’t got any substitutes to use.

I don’t think so. Neither Moyes nor Short are idiots and are acutely aware that the squad is at its most threadbare in years. No one needed a reminder.

But it could be that the manager is sending out a message for more general consumption; namely that his isn’t to blame because all he has in reserve is a subs bench that resembles a kindergarten. I hope that is not what Moyes was doing, because the acquisition of a point against Stoke was of far more importance than anyone’s CV.

Another issue raised by the non-substitutions is even more uncomfortable.

Recent history tells us excite ourselves about em talent at Sunderland. Betw Jordan Pickford now and J Henderson eight years ago isn’t much to boast about.

It would have been wild timistic to expect Joel Aso have transformed the gam 20 minutes off the bench. with things as desperate a were on Saturday, shouldn at least have been tried?

The awkward question why are certain players ev the club if they aren’t cons worthy of use in circumsta such as those against Stok

Asoro is only 17. But ano er of Saturday’s unused su George Honeyman, is 22. H born in 1994, the same yea Pickford, Ndong, Watmore and Manquillo. Januzaj, M Gooch and Denayer were b in 1995.

It is unpleasant and hars really, is it in anyone’s intere Honeyman to be on the wag he is quite obviously rarely i going to play? It would be w derful to see him prove peo wrong, but this seems incre ingly unlikely despite his FA start last night and he won’t unique case.

Cheery stuff then. At le can look forward to more z substitute-related fun at W Bromwich Albion this wee