Rooney, Carrick, Farke: What rival managers have said about Championship leaders Sunderland this season
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The second international break of the season is here and it gives Sunderland a chance to reflect on a fine start to life under new head coach Regis Le Bris.
There was more than an air of mystery about the former Lorient boss when he was appointed ahead of the new Championship season - but any doubts have been cast aside as he led his side to the top of the table after putting together an impressive run of form. From the opening day win at Cardiff City to Friday night’s dramatic draw against Leeds United, there have been some memorable moments for the Black Cats faithful and even the staunchest Sunderland supporter would admit the season has already surpassed any expectations held ahead of the campaign.
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Hide AdA whole host of pundits have praised Le Bris and his players for their style and swagger they have shown throughout the season so far - but there has also been a wave of positive assessments directed towards the Black Cats from opposing managers. We take a look at what Championship bosses have said after meeting Sunderland in the league this season.
Erol Bulut - Cardiff City 0-2 Sunderland
“We tried to have as much of the ball as possible. Today against Sunderland, who are a tough team, all that we were missing was the goal. We trained for this possession, sometimes the concentration isn’t where it needs to be, but we can learn from that. How you saw today against Sunderland is that we managed to have more of the ball than the opponent and this is what we are trying to do this season. We also have to make sure we score the goals, but this will come. I see positives; today we didn’t score, but we created chances and in the coming weeks, we will be on the positive side."
Danny Rohl - Sunderland 4-0 Sheffield Wednesday
“In the last game Sunderland were in no man's land. When I saw today the performance from Clarke and performed it with the last game here, it's a huge difference. I told him this after the game, it was a great performance, we saw your quality, if you play like this always you'll go to the next level. It's not my job to tell him this but I did. Today, we didn't really get into the game. After 10 minutes you have a feeling as a manager, if you are making the runs, if you are sharp enough, today it was a bit off. I take responsibility and hopefully, I'll take the right things from this game and prepare my team for a strong fight against Leeds.”
Scott Parker - Sunderland 1-0 Burnley


"I think we're disappointed with the result, we came here today to get a result first and foremost. We were playing against a very good side with the same record as us coming into it. I just think for large parts we lacked a little something today, in both phases of the game. We didn't really create. We knew what the place would be like here, that it'd be rocking and we struggled with that early days. When we did get control, we just lacked an intensity about us. We weren’t the team I want us to be, we lacked aggression.”
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Hide AdJohn Mousinho - Portsmouth 1-3 Sunderland
"It’s disappointing to lose the game, but Sunderland deserved to win and were better than us in a lot of areas for the majority of the match. I thought we were okay up until half-time and two moments of quality, two moments where we didn’t deal with the threat particularly well, and we were punished. We look at the Sunderland side and what they’ve done over the past few weeks and they’ve really put sides to the sword and been excellent.They were excellent against us in a different way, much more clinical. They probably sat in a bit deeper and caught us on the counter and put the chances in the back of the net.”
Wayne Rooney - Plymouth Argyle 3-2 Sunderland
“In the last 15 minutes of the first half, I think we got control of the game, and we just weren't hurting them enough. The second half started the same way, but with a little bit more tempo, and then we were putting crosses in, getting shots off and that's what the crowd want to see. Then you feel like then Sunderland being a young team, that can affect them. I thought in the second half we were outstanding; over the course of the game, I think we deserved to win.”
Michael Carrick - Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough


"The goal is a break, it has fallen to them. Other than that I thought we limited them to a few individual moments. They have individual quality, especially in wide areas. A couple of incidents in the first half. We had the first big chance with Tommy and then a 100 per cent red card on Manu really. I don’t get why it’s not been given. Two big moments and then the longer it goes is what we are finding against teams, when they have the lead or are in the game against us they are defending with a lot of numbers and we’ve got to face that challenge, adapt and find ways to break teams down.”
Tom Cleverley - Watford 2-1 Sunderland
“You always want to kick on and be as assertive as we were against Stoke, but Sunderland are a good side. They’re one of the best pass-and-move sides I’ve seen, with rotations and with young players who can take the ball. We saw that at the end of last season, and it was a similar sort of performance from them today, particularly the way they dominated the ball in the second half. I think we limited them to far less clear-cut chances today.”
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Hide AdPaul Warne - Sunderland 2-0 Derby County
"Out of possession we were OK, in possession we weren't very good and Sunderland were better than us. The 30-yard screamer that nearly took the net off was disappointing, we've given the ball away in our own half which is disappointing. Mistakes happen in games and we got truly punished. After the second goal we were really good, and if we got a goal when it was bouncing around the six-yard box a couple of times... we changed our shape and I thought we were in the ascendancy a bit and our substitutions had a really good effect. In fairness to Sunderland, they defended what they had to well. There's some good things in our play but obviously things we need to work on.”
Daniel Farke - Sunderland 2-2 Leeds United


“We played against an excellent side who were there just with wins here at home. Not one other team has scored a goal so far against them and to deliver such a performance, we would have definitely deserved to win all three points. Yes, and then to lose two points in the last moment of the game in this way is heartbreaking and again, it's tough to take and it feels a bit like a loss. Before the game we would have said a draw or something like that is a really, really good result. But I also have to say, as much as it hurts also myself, it’s probably the proudest day of the season, because of how the lads have delivered today under such difficult circumstances was excellent.”
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