Season drifting as shortcomings and poor decisions laid bare: Phil Smith's Sunderland AFC conclusions

Sunderland drifted to nine points from the play-off places with their fourth Championship defeat on the bounce at Norwich City. 

Here, Phil draws five conclusions from another disappointing afternoon...

SUNDERLAND’S RAPID ATTACKING DECLINE CONTINUES

Mike Dodds rued the defensive lapse that gifted Norwich City their late winner here but said he would not point fingers, a reflection of the fact that Sunderland’s fundamental issue is at the other end of the pitch. When you so consistently struggle to create chances, you will always be vulnerable to defeat.

There were elements of Dodds’ game plan that worked here, Norwich had scored eight goals in their two previous home matches and at half time many local observers noted how well Sunderland had done to stifle their attacking threats. Sunderland were organised and worked hard, and at the time of Norwich’s winner were just beginning to work their way into the ascendancy. What they didn’t really muster at any stage was a prolonged spell of pressure or a string of genuinely clear openings. It has become a worryingly recurring theme - even in dominating the second half against Swansea City last week they created next to nothing away from set piece situations.

Expected goals statistics may not always tell the full story of a game but they do illustrate the remarkable collapse in Sunderland’s attacking play since Tony Mowbray’s departure. At the moment he left the club, Sunderland averaged 1.68 XG per Championship fixture. Since then, it has fallen to 1. In the nineteen games Mowbray took charge of this season, Sunderland posted an inferior XG to their opponent on four occasions - it has already happened six times in the games since.

While no one would pretend that Sunderland were in a perfect place at the time of Mowbray’s departure, the evidence now clearly suggests that he was getting more out of the squad going forward. Given the regime’s dedication to an ‘evidenced-based approach’, what has happened is a damning indictment of the footballing decisions that have been made in recent months. Sunderland are going backwards at an alarming rate, and football has become far less enjoyable to watch. The desire for progression and improvement on the training pitches alluded to when Mowbray left have not materialised. 

INJURIES LAY BARE SQUAD DEPTH ISSUES AND RAISE RECRUITMENT QUESTIONS

Dodds not unreasonably said afterwards that any head coach in the game would find the absence of so many key players challenging and that’s undoubtedly true in that final third, where Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts would make a real difference. You could add Alex Pritchard, who left the club amid a contract dispute in January, to that mix. 

Injuries are most definitely a part of the story of Sunderland’s decline in recent weeks, but that in turn has underlined the shortcomings in the recruitment strategy of the ownership across the last two transfer windows in particular. 

The depth in the squad required to maintain a top-six push is simply not there at this moment, with too many players still in that process of adjusting to a new division and a very new environment. In the summer window Sunderland simply have to find a better balance, particularly if Clarke does depart as now appears increasingly likely. To find the consistency required to maintain a top-six position, the Black Cats need more players in a position to hit the ground running. Of course, that will likely mean a bigger budget is required in time.

There wasn’t a great deal between the two teams and in truth there wasn’t a great deal between the performance Sunderland produced on this occasion and the one they produced last year, but the difference in result was no fluke. The Black Cats just don’t have the quality going forward that they had then.

CHRIS RIGG STATES HIS CASE

Rigg’s introduction immediately brought some extra energy to Sunderland’s play and he played some excellent passes out to the left flank as Norwich were finally pushed back towards their own box on a regular basis.

With the campaign drifting and Sunderland struggling for attacking impetus, the time has surely come for Rigg to get more minutes and his first run of Championship starts. In fairness, Dodds said both before and after this game that the 16-year-old is ‘very close’ to the team, so supporters shouldn’t have to wait long. This was probably the one real positive of another disappointing day.

ADIL AOUCHICHE’S ONGOING LACK OF MINUTES HARD TO UNDERSTAND

With Sunderland lacking guile in the final third, the continued omission of Adil Aouchiche is increasingly difficult to understand. While it’s fair to say the attacking midfielder hasn’t made the most of his opportunities from the start this season, he often brings energy from the bench and gets into decent positions - only his finishing letting him down at times.

Since being brought on out of position and criticised by Michael Beale at Ipswich Town, he has made just two appearances from the bench and both only for a matter of minutes. Perhaps the 21-year-old isn’t hitting the required level in training but it hasn’t felt like great management of a young player of late. 

APATHY BEGINS TO CREEP IN ON WEARSIDE

Four defeats in a row means the feelgood factor that underpinned much of Sunderland’s progress over the last two years is beginning to evaporate.

Dodds remained upbeat afterwards and insisted that his side could impact the play-off race, but the reality of their attacking shortcomings makes that a hard sentiment for many supporters to share. With eleven games to go the mood on Wearside is moving dangerously close to apathy, and in truth much of it feels self inflicted on the club’s part. On the pitch and off it, Sunderland have turned a decent if far from perfect position into one in which many wonder where the next win is coming from. It should prompt some significant reflection in the hierarchy and rebuilding the trust and enthusiasm will take some doing.