The verdict on Sunderland's Championship return so far and their key strengths - in the eyes of their opposition

It has been a turbulent but encouraging start to the season for Sunderland, who sit within striking distance of the play-off positions after eight games.
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The Black Cats are in another period of transition, with Alex Neil’s departure followed now by a key injury to Ross Stewart.

But what have their opposition made of their Championship return so far – and what do they see as the team’s key strengths? We run you through every manager’s verdict and find some key themes...

COVENTRY CITY

Ross Stewart and Sunderland's attacking approach have won praise early in the seasonRoss Stewart and Sunderland's attacking approach have won praise early in the season
Ross Stewart and Sunderland's attacking approach have won praise early in the season
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Sunderland began the season with a 1-1 draw against Coventry City. It was a game the Black Cats arguably should of won, denied only by a superb late goal from Viktor Gyokeres. But in what has been a theme of the season so far, the opposition were able to utilise a strong bench to grow into the game late on.

Boss Mark Robins said…

“They've got good wide players, whoever players in that front four.

"Ross Stewart I think is a real handful, it was his first game at this level but he's got a lot of confidence from last year. They can do that to you, get to the byline and cross it.

"I thought we gave the ball away too often, there were too many turnovers in the first half," Robins said.

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"When you come to a place like this, riding the crest of a wave after promotion, how noisy it can get, you try to diffuse that by keeping the ball and building some pressure. We didn't do that.

"We gave it away, partly because of them and how they are drilled and partly because of us.

"We didn't create enough and they built some confidence. We knew we needed to stay in the game, our goalkeeper made a good save and they missed a couple of other opportunities.

"Coming into the second half you've got to try and do something different. They managed to break off our lines too often but the changes gave us a bit of impetus in the game, a bit of pace and we managed to create one or two things.

BRISTOL CITY

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Sunderland’s 3-2 win at Ashton Gate looks even better given the superb form Bristol City have been in since.

Nigel Pearson was left bitterly frustrated with his side’s defending, but significantly it was the first game in which Ellis Simms and Ross Stewart started together up front.

Pearson said…

"Credit to them they put us under pressure. Their front two were quite lively but we still made basic errors which we've been punished for and that is a big frustration.

"We've dominated possession today and we're not really a possession-based side. But we've had around 60 per cent possession but not been able to do enough with it.

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"I still think we created enough opportunities to get something out of the game but unfortunately we've scored two goals at home and still haven't got anything and the big thing for us is our defensive frailty and that's the problem.”

Read More
Tony Mowbray's plans for managing Sunderland's Ross Stewart setback explained - ...

QPR

Another game in which Sunderland impressed but dropped points as opposition substitutions changed the flow of the game. This was a remarkable comeback, though, with a stunning free kick and a goal from the visiting goalkeeper rescuing the point.

Boss Mick Beale said…

"Alex will have been pleased with his team, I thought they were direct into the two centre-forwards and you can see what a handful they are going to be. They were for Bristol City last weekend and they were again for us.

"We had some honest words at half time, came out in the second half and played on the front foot. We lived a little bit dangerously but Ilias [Chair] produces a little bit of quality and then we have a massive moment when Armstrong runs through and I thought that was the chance gone. Thankfully Seny had other plans, at both ends of the pitch.

"He scores a great goal, and then makes a great save.

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"In terms of the first half, it's the same story for us. I want to be super positive because it's a really positive point for us when you look at the players we are missing through injury. And Sunderland are on the up, and it is great to see them on the up again.

"But we're dropping too deep [defensively]. We spoke about it all week, holding the line, not dropping. We do it for both goals and it needs to stop.

"I think a lot of teams will come here and struggle, so it's a really big point for us. It's onwards and upwards.

"It was a crazy game, credit to Alex and Sunderland, you can see why they have such a good record of late. They're aggressive, they go for you, they attack and it's entertaining. We're the same, I think we had every striker registered at the club on the pitch at one stage."

SHEFFIELD UNITED

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Sunderland impressed against a very strong Sheffield United, but their task was made almost impossible by a red card shown to Dan Neil before the game.

Boss Paul Heckingbottom said…

“I thought in the first half we weren't [at our best], a bit down to us, we weren't as composed on the ball as we wanted to be and credit to Sunderland - they stepped onto us and took risks, fair play to them," he said.

"Some do that to us here but a lot don't.

"I thought we settled down a bit as the game went on.

"The problem was, we did have a spare midfielder most of the time - Macca [James McAtee] or Sander [Berge] generally but we weren't finding them. Then when we did find him towards the end [of the half] he was turning back and giving Sunderland that chance to press.

"They just didn't give [Berge] the time. You have to give big credit to what they did. If we'd got the ball to Macca earlier and they jumped, we were through.

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"We needed to be better second half and we were. The problem is when you give a goal away like that it just changes the dynamic.

"I know when I watch it back I'll see no chances against but it didn't feel like that when I was on the side and there's just a goal in it.

"At the start of the second half we showed a lot more composure on the ball and before you know it you've got bodies up the pitch and you can start to score goals like that.”

STOKE CITY

Alex Neil’s final game at what would transpire to be his next club saw Sunderland’s worst performance of the season in the first half, but a clever one in the second got them over the line.

Boss Michael O’Neill, who would be sacked days later, said…

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"We could have done more with the opportunities we had, and some opportunities that were brought to an end by good technical fouls, if you want to call it that.

"But ultimately to lose the goal and the timing of it, it changes the whole outlook of the game and the second half.

"We lose the ball in the left back area, Jack Clarke comes infield and we should be able to deal with that ball. The shot then should obviously not end up in the back of your net.

"That puts you in a difficult position and you could see the frustration in our play, it was stop-start with a lot of free kicks which always suits the team that is ahead.

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"It allowed Sunderland to sit back which they did well, and they had that bit of threat with the front two who they knocked the ball long to.

"We had one or two opportunities in the second half, and it was just one of those days where we made things difficult for ourselves despite a really good first half."

NORWICH CITY

Despite the shock of Neil’s impending move, Sunderland impressed against the promotion favourites, undone late on in the game after the visitors made some key changes.

Boss Dean Smith said…

"What pleased me the most was the resilience. We got some really good blocks, we put our bodies on the line to keep the ball out of our net.

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"Sometimes you have to do that. Yes, we had to withstand some pressure at times. I expected it. I thought their fans did really well to get the team up.

"They pressed and harried us well in that first half. But when we passed it well and took less touches we created some good opportunities."

ROTHERHAM UNITED

Tony Mowbray’s first night in charge could not have gone any better.

Boss Paul Warne said…

"It's always tough to face a team that's changed manager even if they're in a terrible run, and Sunderland have been playing really well.

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"I thought in the first half we rode a bit of a storm, created a couple of half decent chances and on another day we might have nicked a goal. By the end of the half I thought it was pretty even, but we weren't as good as we normally are out of possession.

"They switched the play too much, we let them out of throw ins too much, and we need to look at that because we ended up doing too much running.

"In the second half they played the game that we wanted to, they got the ball wide, had 1-v-1s, their attacking players had a good night.

MIDDLESBROUGH

Sunderland lost Ross Stewart moments before kick off to injury and the impact was clear throughout, though the Black Cats did dominate late on.

Boss Chris Wilder said…

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"You have to give credit to the opposition. I've been in that position before when you are a promoted side and you do play with that fearlessness and freedom when you get promoted. They played like that. It was maybe not one of our best performances.

“It wasn’t our best performance box to box, we turned over possession too easily, but we did what we needed to do to keep the ball out of the net. We had to show different qualities and characteristics. From our point of view, it wasn’t a fabulous performance, but the amount of times we’ve played well and not got the result. We weren’t at our best, but we got what we needed to get out of the game.”