Barclays Premier League Preview- Sunderland AFC



The Sunderland Debate

Tom White, editor and writer at The Sunderland Debate, previews the season ahead for Steve Bruce's Sunderland, this piece and others can be found on his website.

Premier League: 7th FA Cup: 6th Round Carling Cup: Semi Finals









With a new season just around the corner, what can Sunderland AFC expect to achieve this season: A good solid season with the consistency that will see us back in the top ten? Or maybe another strong start and yet another post-Christmas slump in form that results in us looking at the results below us in the table rather than those above?

At the end of the season all will be answered.

Onuoha has returned on loan and is a key figure of Sunderland's defence.

As for now, Bruce has been assembling a squad that could challenge the top six. This was something that the squad needed as some of our key players last season, Mensah and Onuoha, were just here on loan and have now returned to their respective parent clubs. If Mensah could stay fit he would have been a key signing for us, as for Onuoha, City’s valuation was too high for Bruce’s liking. One loan signing that has made the move permanent is Elmohammady. I like him but expect him to improve to get himself in the starting eleven with the added competition of a new signing Seb Larsson. Bruce tried and failed to get Danny Welbeck back on loan from United and after watching him play against City, he looked good. However, depending on how his United career goes we could well be back in for him in either January or at the end of the season. He did like it here.



Bruce has raided former club Manchester United to add strength to Sunderland's defence

 As for the players we’ve brought in, it was something that had to be done and the only player I am going to sit on the fence on is Wes Brown, many fans believe he may be past it. I believe he can still offer something to the squad, he has experience of winning things and he may well still have a couple of good seasons in him yet. The best signing Bruce has made this summer, for me, is John O’Shea. He is a good defender that Sir Alex still used last season and has a wealth of experience and is extremely versatile something that will help us if we get defensive injuries, unless he also gets injured of course. He can play anywhere across the back four and could possibly even play anywhere in midfield, ultimately I am actually surprised he was allowed to leave. There is the chance that this season we could have an all ex-United back four; Bardsley at right back, Brown and O’Shea in the middle and Richardson at left back.

Anyway, back to the summer signings;

Keiren Westwood – Had a good season with Coventry. Many people would suggest that he will become Sunderland’s number one. I would start him against Liverpool.
Seb Larsson – I believe is a really good signing, he is very good at set pieces and is always a danger swinging balls in from out wide and not afraid to shoot so will grab some goals from midfield, something we lacked last season.
Craig Gardner – is probably seen as the ideal replacement for Henderson. Not as creative but will get stuck in more. And will also score goals from midfield.
David Vaughan – was the unsung hero for Blackpool last season as he was overshadowed by Charlie Adam. His pass success rate was just under 90% for last season, massively underrated and will be a good signing for us; he can also play on the left.
Ji Dong-Won – I haven’t heard much about him if I’m honest. But during pre-season he looked strong on the ball, worked hard for the team and never gave up. Fans have already taken to him and have replaced ‘Steeeeed’ with ‘Jiiiiii’. Long live the King?
Connor Wickham – Personally I am very excited with the prospect of watching him develop at Sunderland this season. Watched him a few times last season and towards the end of the season he was really starting show his potential.
James McClean – A left winger signed from Derry City. Their fans highly rate him and as I have seen nothing of him apart from videos on YouTube I can’t really say how well he will do. I will say this however, he did look good on the videos.

Tactics and Formation.

We have a number of ways we could play this season but I think the most likely outcome will be with Sessegnon playing behind Gyan in a 4-4-1-1. Sessegnon has been on top form during pre-season and looks like he could be a key player for us. This is the team I would pick for the Liverpool game on Saturday;

Westwood in goal (obviously) Liverpool will be crossing the ball from every angle for Andy Carroll and ariel ability seems to be Mignolet's weakest area.
At right back it has to be Bardsley, I'm expecting another good season from him. Now at centre back I would have Brown and Bramble and at left back, wait for it, Anton Ferdinand. That's right, I would have Ferdinand at left back, the reason for this is I think he is often overlooked and I quite like him.
Now for the midfield conundrum, on the right it is definitely going be Sebastian Larsson, the link-up play between Bardsley and Larsson has been has been good and I think they will work well together this coming season. In the middle of the park it will be Gardner and Cattermole with Richardson on left, I don't think McClean will be ready to have his first game in the Premier League at Anfield.
And finally I would have Sessegnon playing off Gyan at the top.
The team would be set up for a counter attacking style of play, a solid defence with the ability to spring forward in numbers quickly to support Gyan.

We could also play a 4-4-2 formation with pretty much the same team but drop Sessegnon back into the left wing position and play either Ji or Wickham up front with Gyan.

Another possibility is to play a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation, with:
Westwood in goal, Bardlsey, Bramble, Brown, Richardson across the back, Cattermole sitting just infront of the back four with Gardner and Vaughan ahead of him. Larsson on the right and Sessegnon on the left: both supporting Gyan when we attack. This would give us a strong midfield in both defense and attack.

Expectations.

Failure to reach Europe could mean the end of Bruce's Sunderland career.

So with the new signings Bruce has made many fans and many pundits see us as an established top 10 team this season, many expect us to finish 7th or 8th. But one question remains, is Bruce actually good enough to take us up to the next level? Personally, this season is his last to prove himself. He has made some excellent signings and seems to know the transfer market very well. But occasionally his tactics were questionable, at best, last season. This season we shouldn't have another injury massacre like last, and there is no Darren Bent to leave this season. So consistency is what we need to avoid yet another post-Christmas slump. And I believe the squad is capable of challenging the top 6, but anything less than top 8 then we needs to seriously start thinking about getting a manager that will be able to take us to the next level. Is Europe out of our reach? Not quite but it would be a stretch. Perhaps we aren't even ready to reach Europe this season, but also if we don't will the likes of Gyan want a new challenge? The interest in him from Spurs was serious I think. ultimately I think we will have a good season and think Bruce will come good and we will finish 7th. This is what I think the final league table will look:

1. Manchester United
2. Manchester City
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham
7. SUNDERLAND
8. Everton
9. Stoke
10. Aston Villa
11. Bolton
12. Fulham
13. Wigan
14. Blackburn
15. Newcastle
16. West Brom
17. Q.P.R
18. Norwich
19. Wolves
20. Swansea

So Sunderland will finish 7th in league but what about the cups? Well let's be honest, we have never performed well in the cups in recent years but I do believe we should aim for a decent cup run. I mean Birmingham managed to win while going down. So I don't see why Sunderland can't win one and stay a top 10 team.

We do have a tricky away game at Brighton's new stadium and it will be a lot harder than most people think. Yes we should aim for a cup run, but it wouldn't surprise me if Brighton managed to beat us. And pundits will say 'That's the magic of the cup football' but to be honest I don't want any surprises in the cups this season. So here are my predictions:

FA Cup: 6th Round, Liverpool to win it.
Carling Cup: Semi-final, Arsenal to win it.

You can find Tom on Twitter and don't forget to see more of his ideas on Sunderland at The Sunderland Debate.