Assessing Sunderland's season so far against the club's short and long-term goals - this is how they're faring

He has to develop players, develop a sustainable and attractive playing style, and along the way he has to deliver the results that will drive the club forward.

So at the halfway stage of Sunderland’s first season back in the Championship - how are they performing against those key metrics?

We took a closer look and added a category of our own, because Mowbray would be the first to tell you without a feelgood factor amongst the fanbase, none of the other stuff counts for very much at all.

RESULTS

Perhaps the easiest category to assess. At the midpoint of the season Sunderland sit thirteenth in the table, with 31 points. The message from the hierarchy from day one has been that the goal this season is to consolidate in the division, and if a good run of form can carry the team up towards the top six then all the better.

It follows then, that being within striking distance of the play-offs and reasonably clear of the bottom three represents a solid start.

Replicate their form between now and May and it will be one of the best seasons a team newly-promoted from League One has produced. Sunderland will of course hope for more, that a couple of targeted improvements in the January window and the influence of players returning from injury can lead to some strong runs of form. Against the club’s own goals, though, it is so far so largely good.

MID-SEASON REVIEW PART ONE – Every player’s season so far graded

MID-SEASON REVIEW PART TWO – What the data says about how good Sunderland actually are

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

Alex Neil started the season by handing key roles to players such as Dennis Cirkin, Daniel Ballard and Dan Neil. Ballard suffered an unfortunate injury around a fortnight later but Cirkin and Neil have both been able to hold down a regular place in the side ever since.

Understandably there have been highs and lows along the way for both as they adapt to a new league, but in terms of developing assets both are making excellent progress. Anthony Patterson has arguably been the most impressive of all while Elliot Embleton made progress before his major recent injury.

It’s a process that has ultimately accelerated under Tony Mowbray - he has brought Aji Alese into the fold with superb results and though they may well be players who need loan moves in January, Trai Hume and Jay Matete have also dipped in and out with some promising signs.

The next phase for Mowbray is to try and increase the playing time for Abdoullah Ba, Jewison Bennette, who Sunderland have made big long-term investments in. All have shown flashes of serious ability but have also been very inconsistent. Giving them the exposure they need while keeping the balance of the side is a key challenge, and Sunderland will also hope to give Edouard Michut the time they need to make an assessment as to whether he is a viable long-term investment.

The biggest success, injury aside, has of course been Ross Stewart - the Scot continues to impress with his all-round excellence and professionalism. What happens next will be the source of much debate but there can be little argument that it has so far been a spectacularly productive partnership for all parties.

Of all the categories this is probably the won where Sunderland have been most successful, a number of players have shown they can either be long-term players at this level for the club or can move on to build that increased budget for future windows.

The key now, of course, is to maintain that level and kick on further.

PLAYING STYLE

Well, Sunderland scored a genuine Puskás award contender at Reading and then followed it up with their own mini-tribute to it just a couple of months later.

There have been flashes where Sunderland have played with a technical quality and speed not seen for a long while.

Have they done it consistently? You’d have to say not quite. There are mitigating factors for that, one being the obvious step up in quality and another being the transition from one head coach to another.

Both to their immense credit approached this season with serious attacking intent, but have gone down slightly different routes. Alex Neil was fairly direct in playing up to Ellis Simms and Ross Stewart, producing a style that was low on possession for Sunderland but very high on chances at both ends - some of the games were superb. Mowbray has tried to get Sunderland to control the game through possession more, and has returned to playing wingers who want to get on the ball and create chances that way. Mowbray of course hasn’t really had the chance to play with strikers and certainly not with two.

The lowest moments of the season so far have undoubtedly been in the games where that local of a focal point has left Sunderland struggling to impose themselves. Combined with some key defensive injuries, it made for some games where the Black Cats were weak in both boxes and unconvincing as a result (think Blackpool, Preston and Cardiff at home). Mowbray has spoken openly of being excited at the prospect of being able to mix it up more when he has the strikers back, hoping that he will be able to find something of a happy medium.

The point here is that there is definite mitigation for inconsistency in performance level, over and above the fact that these things take time to develop. All the same it’s one area where you would want to see progress in the second half of the season.

WEARSIDE MOOD

Broadly speaking the mood seems to be that the first half of the season has been a decent one, particularly in the context of Alex Neil’s departure and the major injury issues (though, many would fairly say there should have been more cover recruited in key areas).

Sitting in mid-table is an unusual phenomenon for anyone associated with Sunderland, and as such you can look at their progress two ways. One is that good progress has been made but also that some key opportunities have been missed to really get in that play-off mix. Or, you could view it that Sunderland, while rarely totally dominant, have competed in just about every single game and have shown they can succeed at the level. The truth, as ever, lies somewhere in the middle and the prevailing mood seems to be one of cautious optimism with perhaps a touch of scepticism.

What hasn’t helped, and has very obviously been a factor in the real feel-good factor of the early weeks ebbing just a touch, is that Sunderland’s form on home turf has not been good enough. Part of that is a reflection of the respect Sunderland’s attacking threats have quickly earned; teams are far more cautious now than they were in August and particularly when they travel to Wearside.

This really is the challenge for Mowbray now, to develop the consistency within the side that can really indicate exciting days ahead.

And then it is up to the club hierarchy, to show that they can execute the recruitment strategy that will drive Sunderland forward. At the moment it feels as if all roads lead back to this. What everyone can see is that this structure can identify good players capable of playing a positive brand of football, and that the club can compete at this level. The question no one has the answer to yet is how it will respond to the first major test: the departure of currently key players.

Sunderland are on the brink of moving into the next phase of this project and the success of that will likely define how fans feel about it.