Gary Rowell: 'I've got my eye on the perfect pair'
The Danny Collins-Anton Ferdinand partnership has really caught my eye in recent weeks.
It's a pairing which seems to be working really well and I like the understanding I see when I watch them in action.
When one goes forward, the other drops off, they're always aware of each other and they work very hard to back each other up.
On top of that, they both seem to read the game very well and snuff out dangers before they begin.
Relationships in football are an unpredictable thing.
Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
But these two seem to be on the same wavelength and they've played such an important part in Sunderland's very impressive defensive record of late.
The further back you go in a team, the more important partnerships and understandings are.
You can have maverick strikers but you can't really afford maverick defenders.
Those positions are more about team-work and organisation and I think in Danny and Anton we've got one of those partnerships which has just clicked.
Behind them though, Marton Fulop has grown in stature and given them help.
The three of them seem to be very much in tune and what impressed me about Fulop's performance at Arsenal on Saturday, as much as his shot stopping, was the confidence he spread when he came for crosses and collected them.
He's emerging as a commanding presence in the penalty area and I'm sure Danny and Anton would acknowledge that has been a help to them.
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Print this page- Sunderland’s astonishing rise even surprising Martin O’Neill
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Weather for Sunderland
Thursday 09 February 2012
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