The Sunderland end-of-season player grades continued ...
Sunderland’s long and bruising campaign ended in bitter disappointment on Saturday as the Black Cats were knocked out of the play off semi finals by Lincoln City.
A gruelling 58-game campaign featured two managers, a major takeover, a Wembley win and yet more significant upheaval in the playing squad.
A relatively sluggish start to the season left Sunderland well off the pace by the time a Covid-19 outbreak disrupted their progress even further at the start of 2021.
Despite a raft of defensive injuries under Lee Johnson the Black Cats surged to the brink of the top two, only to fall away with a desperately poor run of form at the crucial moment.
With only 12 players currently under contract for next season, and some of those facing uncertain futures, a significant summer rebuild is expected by all on Wearside.
As it stands, there are 11 players whose contract is currently set to expire at the end of June.
Here, in part two, we review the performances of each player to feature in the club’s senior squad next season, to assess how they fared and what the future might hold…
JOSH SCOWEN
After a frustrating first six months on Wearside he became a fixture in the team and Johnson’s arrival cemented that; the head coach identifying his former Barnsley player as key to implementing a high-pressing game.
Off the ball his impact is obvious, but getting the right balance in midfield is something the club have rarely been able to achieve this season. B
LUKE O’NIEN
The level of performance he reached at centre-back was absurd, really, given that is such a specialist role and not one he had played before.
When he played alongside Sanderson it was arguably the most convincing partnership of the campaign.
He’ll be better for it as a player, and the hope is that it will be as an impactful central midfielder at Sunderland. A
CARL WINCHESTER
Has all the quality required to be a success.
We have seen him show a good touch, a good passing range and the ability to get up and down the pitch.
What we need to see is him do it more often, week in, week out.
Has the ability; needs the belief and consistency. C+
DAN NEIL
One of Sunderland’s brightest prospects who on occasions showed the rich promise he has.
That Johnson compares him regularly to now Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill tells you how big a future he has.
For now, the key call is whether or not it is time for a loan move. B
JACK DIAMOND
Took a big step forward this campaign, showing the quality he has and the attributes that not many players in the league share.
Clearly has work to do on his consistency and end product, but that is to be expected of a younger winger. B+
CHRIS MAGUIRE
A frustrating campaign though in his defence, much of it was not his own making.
Not quite at last season’s levels through the early stages of the campaign and after Johnson’s arrival has game time reduced dramatically.
Still one or two important contributions along the way but his stay appears to be coming to an end. C
LYNDEN GOOCH
Another campaign packed with good contributions but another where
his versatility has perhaps counted against him.
It guarantees him minutes, but prevents him from consistently performing in one position.
At times he is a livewire winger, at times a dangerous number ten.
He’ll be a big player next season, but it’s hard to know exactly where.
It feels like his game would benefit from more clarity on that.
You suspect he’ll feel he has more than five goals in him. B
AIDEN McGEADY
That he finished the season with the most assists in the division, when playing his first game in December, tells a story remarkable in its simplicity.
He delivered, again. Sunderland are perhaps too dependent on him creatively but the challenge is to find more players with his bravery in possession.
Reaching an agreement on a contract extension would still be a real boost. A+
JORDAN JONES
When Jones produced a wonderful, deft goal at Fratton Park, he looked ready to
lead Sunderland’s surge towards the top two.
It was the worst possible time for him to pick up a minor injury, and since then his contributions have been fleeting rather than consistent.
No questioning his ability, but where once a move to sign him permanently looked a no-brainer, now there has to be some doubt.
A real talent and superb to watch when in the groove. B
JOSH HAWKES
Just one senior appearance in the Papa John’s
Trophy but his exceptional form in the U23s charge to their own play-off final meant it was a hugely significant campaign.
Johnson wants him to follow a strict physical programme over the summer before getting a chance in pre-season.
Take that, and next season could be his breakthrough. A
AIDEN O’BRIEN
The Irishman had a mixed campaign.
He started well but struggled for goals and faded from contention.
Under Johnson he initially had a real resurgence as a hard-running, lively foil to Charlie Wyke, before dropping out of favour again at the end.
Has a lot of useful attributes and clearly an excellent character, but needs to be more clinical next season. B
WILL GRIGG
Looked ready to make an impression through a good pre-season but just couldn’t find what surely would have been a crucial early goal in the opening weeks of the season.
Initially given another go by Johnson but a loan move to MK Dons ultimately made sense and it feels as if a permanent exit is nigh.
Another campaign where it just didn’t work out. D
ROSS STEWART
Though he scored on debut, that he arrived nursing a hamstring problem checked his early progress.
As such his impact over the five months was not as great as he would have liked, but the two performances he delivered from the start (Plymouth and Lincoln) towards the end of the campaign were immensely encouraging.
He looks mobile, committed and tough to deal with.
Work to do on the technical side of his game but you can see why Sunderland wanted to bring him in.
A big campaign awaits. C+
CHARLIE WYKE
Given that in pre-season his place in the side was far from certain, to end it with 31 goals across all competitions is a genuinely remarkable achievement.
Stewart’s last-season form showed why Sunderland need a greater variety of attributes in forward areas but Wyke did his job in the promotion hunt.
Should he depart, he will leave a big gap in the squad’s output. A+
DANNY GRAHAM
A big call by Phil Parkinson to bring him back to the club and in the end, perhaps a key reason why his tenure did not last the course.
Graham’s application was never in question but Sunderland needed a different profile of striker. D