We’ve seen this film before, Johnson needs new actors for a better ending
After two-and-a-half weeks without any action, I was really looking forward to the Northampton Town game, much like the rest of you, I’m sure.
Considering the recent outbreak of COVID-19 among the squad, it was pleasing to hear Lee Johnson state before the game that everyone had seemingly recovered well, and he had most of his squad available.
Well you can hardly say it was worth the wait, can you?
It would be unfair to be totally critical of the performance, as defensively Sunderland looked organised and the team seemed to have a decent shape about it. I just felt in attacking areas, Sunderland never really looked like scoring or causing the Northampton defence any major problems during the game.
Bar a couple of long-distance shots from outside the box, there was little goalmouth action and Jonathan Mitchell in the Northampton goal had a relatively quiet afternoon.
Aiden McGeady huffed and puffed but, uncharacteristically, his touch and end-product seemed a little bit off by his standards.
Johnson has impressed me since he has come in with his positivity and presence, but he will be slightly worried after watching his team struggle to come up with any ideas to break down a well-drilled and stubborn Northampton side.
We can point to the pitch, their style of play, and even the fact there were no ball boys (something Johnson alluded to post-match) but it’s pretty obvious that Sunderland didn’t manipulate the ball anywhere near as quickly as needed in order to create chances. There was a lack of movement in the team and this meant Northampton were rarely dragged into uncomfortable positions at the back.
Moving forward, there is no doubt that there must be some new additions to the squad if the club have any chance of gaining promotion this season.
The team needs more legs in it, players who can run with speed and intention.
We all know that there are more of these games in the future, where opposing teams sit deep and wait for Johnson’s men to come up with solutions.
We have seen this film many times before and frankly the current squad do not seem to have enough of these answers on a consistent basis. This has been going on for a couple of seasons now and it really needs to be addressed properly.
If this takeover does eventually go through and Lee Johnson and Kristjaan Speakman are given the chance to flex their muscles in the transfer market, I have faith that they will make the correct additions required to create a more exciting team.
Johnson has already spoken about what is missing from his squad and if he can fix that, it may just be the difference between going up and not.
While it will be a huge challenge to take this club into the Championship from this position, with or without some new added firepower, it’s obvious that new signings are a must if that challenge is to be achievable.
This takeover had become a massive saga and a stressful one. Like the rest of you, I shall be watching very closely hoping it goes through, and there is no doubt Lee Johnson will be too.