da doce： The 2015/16 campaign has certainly begun in rather precarious style for teams from the North East of England this season.
da lvbet： Both Newcastle and Sunderland have so far looked completely void of ideas in the Premier League, registering a mere two points from a total of five games and leaving their respective sets of supporters fearing the worse already.
Although the circus surrounding Mike Ashley, Steve McClaren and Newcastle United remains a strangely captivating one in the modern era, the Black Cats arguably reside in a greater state of peril than their Geordie neighbours at the minute, with a level of squad depth that arguably isn’t fit to operate successfully in the English top-flight.
So then, with a great deal of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign obviously still left to be decided, do Sunderland ultimately have what it takes to avoid the treacherous threat of relegation this season, or is the writing already clearly on the wall for Dick Advocaat’s determined Black Cats?
Well, at this stage in the game, the Stadium of Light faithful certainly have reason to be worried. Perhaps their current main man in the dug-out himself – the vastly experienced figure of Advocaat – isn’t even the right candidate to lead the club’s cause this season.
The 67-year-old Dutchman currently goes down as one of the oldest managers still operating in the Premier League. Whilst age admittedly doesn’t determine success in today’s game, Advocaat remains one of the distinct journey-men bosses of the modern era. Sunderland arguably require someone who desperately needs to prove himself in the Premier League with new ideas and a new approach to dealing with how the club is run behind the scenes. Someone like, oh I don’t know…Paolo Di Canio maybe?
Either way, Advocaat may represent a steady head who has been there and done it all before, yet his position as Sunderland manager arguably doesn’t symbolize a great deal to him personally, in comparison to the many other club’s he has successfully managed throughout his career.
Having said that however, the former Zenit, Borussia Monchengladbach, Rangers and Netherlands coach certainly doesn’t arrive as the worst of Sunderland’s problems affecting the Stadium of Light faithful this season. That particular unwanted notion seemingly belongs to the current Black Cats players above all else. Across the entire pitch, Sunderland simply have distinct problems with the majority of their starting XI.
No matter which way you look at it, the current defensive options on offer to Advocaat in no way represent a collection of assets worthy of avoiding relegation this season. The newly recruited likes of Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Coates ultimately epitomize nothing more than a backwards step for Sunderland in terms of defensive reliability, and with the calamitous likes of Wes Brown and Patrick van Aanholt still in place at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland fans certainly have strong reason for concern this season.
Coming forward, the Black Cats remain in an equally questionable state. Although the likes of Jeremain Lens, Ola Toivonen and Fabio Borini admittedly dsiplay a fair amount of potential for Sunderland on paper – at this stage in the proceedings – each of those names seemingly fail to offer much guarantee of improved performances throughout 2015/16. The level of strength in depth at the Stadium of Light also remains rather unhelpful for Dick Advocaat once one or two of his marquee signings eventually get injured later on down the line.
Perhaps Sunderland’s greatest cause for concern this season however, remains the club’s incredibly flimsy striking options for the 2015/16 campaign. Jermain Defoe was a good player in his hey-day, there’s ultimately not much doubt surrounding that particular notion – but does the former England international offer the same level of output whilst operating as 32-year-old loan striker in the modern era? Of course he doesn’t.
With Danny Graham and Steven Fletcher acting as the only out-in-out back-up for Defoe up-top this season, scoring goals is ultimately going to remain an extremely tough ask for Sunderland throughout the current campaign – and without the goals – surviving relegation just won’t be easy.
However, the loan signing of former long-term Arsenal target, Yann M’Vila, nonetheless remains a smart move from the Black Cats. The talented Frenchman has already shown his quality in picking out the through-balls in real style for his side this term, which could represent a major shining light for Sunderland throughout 2015/16.
Ultimately though, although the club simply must remain positive with only five games of the current season gone, the signs seemingly don’t look too promising for Sunderland in regards to successfully avoiding relegation this term. Stranger things have certainly happened however, and as several other Premier League sides appear relatively weak this season, Dick Advocaat and co. may yet be able to turn things around before it’s too late.
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