Inside Sunderland's chastening afternoon and what it told us about what has to happen in the future

By now the game had ground almost entirely to a halt, stoppage after stoppage played out in front of a sparse and despairing crowd. An act of mercy, bringing Sunderland's most chastening of afternoons to an end.

An afternoon that no one saw coming and yet that also made sense when you watched it unfold. An afternoon that felt like a horror movie you were being forced to watch in slow motion, and yet one that was defined by the speed of Stoke City's counterattacks.

Even in defeat this season, this has been a Sunderland side with a spirit and ferocious competitiveness that belies their youth and inexperience - and that serves as some necessary perspective to this implosion.

This felt less a reflection of their character or even their individual ability (though the four and fifth goals were gifted up with a woeful lack of resistance), and more a reflection of some of the key deficiencies in this squad that have been much discussed since the moment the January window closed without further reinforcements.

Which is why even amid the shock of the scale of the defeat, the manner of how it came about was no great surprise. Even less of a surprise that its architect would be Alex Neil.

Neil stressed after the game that he had nothing but fondness for Sunderland, both the club itself and the opportunity it had given him to breathe new life into his managerial career, but the way in which his reputation on Wearside has shifted since his departure has clearly hurt. With a point to prove and an opponent vulnerable to the right defensive gameplan - it was the perfect environment for him to unlock his inner-Mourinho.

Sunderland right now lack a natural number nine and a natural holding midfielder, and Neil ruthlessly exposed both. Stoke City didn't press overly aggressively but they also didn't allow the Black Cats to play into their half, happy for the centre-halves to have it but no further than that. When they stepped in to steal possession, runners then broke in numbers and with purpose.

Sunderland had no response, unable to go long or more specifically into the channel, and unable to withstand the athleticism of the opposition when they broke towards goal. Tony Mowbray's side have become too predictable and too easy to play against. Stoke's strengths are clear and so too are their weaknesses, and yet not once in the game were Sunderland able to isolate their centre-halves and expose their lack of pace. Just as had it been at Rotherham, just as it had been at Coventry City.

READ MORE: Tony Mowbray and Alex Neil deliver their verdict on Stoke City's controversial opener in Sunderland win

As Mowbray had said after that game, right now he doesn't have the tools to go and win Championship games. A week on, nothing has changed.Mowbray's approach to this game inevitably came under scrutiny and afterwards he made clear he had no problem with that, his team had lost 5-1 and so some of the responsibility has to be his. The gamble had been his selection in midfield, Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts operating as eights in front of Dan Neil. Sunderland knew they were going to be giving up some physicality in midfield regardless and so Mowbray almost doubled down, hoping that his team could play through as a result of their technical quality. You could see the logic and the idea in one sweeping move as they beat the press and found Jack Clarke in space on the left, his low cross finding Gelhardt and only a strong block preventing Sunderland from taking the lead. Those moments were too rare, though, and off the ball Sunderland were so exposed. Neil will play top-tier football one day and he will expect better of himself than the error that led to the second goal, but experienced, top-level, natural holding midfielders would have struggled with this brief.

Mowbray said he had considered going with a more physical midfield and a more direct style to combat Stoke, but here really is the heart of the issue. Luke O'Nien could have come in, but in the long run Mowbray has made clear he sees him as a defender. He could also have turned to Pierre Ekwah, but he arrived having played most of his football as an eight and though his stature is obvious, Mowbray has already warned that with so little experience in senior football he hasn't yet really learned how to make the most of it.

Up front, he doesn't have the options to play a more direct style and it was a combination of all of this that led to that kind of game plan unravelling at Rotherham. In all likelihood Mowbray will have to switch things up and try something new, now, but it would be remiss to suggest that there are silver bullets waiting in the wings.

It will be a major test for Mowbray now to keep Sunderland's season alive until the end, with a daunting fixture list ahead. If there is one positive, it may be that a shift to facing more possession-focused opponents might suit this group.

None of what happened here changes what has broadly been an unexpectedly enjoyable and successful return to the Championship, with an exciting group of young players showing they belong and then some. And as Mowbray alluded to afterwards, for the enthralling afternoons where the football sparkles and delights, there will inevitably be ones like this along the way. Whatever happens from here on in, it's a season that will end with Sunderland firmly in credit. The curve is upward and the plan to do it through recruiting young talent and recouping money to invest one that makes sense for any club not wanting to build success on unsustainable owner-funding.

These few weeks, though, have perhaps served as something of a welcome reality check. Bristol City, Coventry City, Stoke City: These are teams who have laboured in the early part of the campaign but who have found a footing and begun to bring their quality and their experience to bear.

The first phase of filling Sunderland's squad with young talent that can grow has worked well and offers genuine hope for bright days ahead – contending properly for the top positions consistently will require more balance in the squad and undoubtedly a level of investment.

Contending, reasonably, was never the expectation or the goal this time around as Mowbray said, this team has built an expectation that was never initially there through their own determination and quality. But it will have to be the expectation some day, when over 40,000 continue to pour through the gates in the hope of seeing this club take the last step back to where it belongs.

For now, Mowbray has to find a way of rebuilding some confidence and some fluency, and along the way find the right moments to get more experience and more playing time for the youngsters who are going to be key next season.

This campaign isn't over yet and far from it, Mowbray has long predicted dips in form followed by an upturn - that's Championship life and he knows it as well as anyone. It is fair to say, though, that we have seen clearly now the help he'll need to turn his vision for this team into a consistent reality.