Connor Wickham talks Sunderland fans after MK Dons winner as football finance expert predicts long recovery

The Black Cats have only won one game in their last nine in League One.

Sunderland were defeated by MK Dons at the Stadium of Light on Saturday leaving Alex Neil searching for his first win as head coach.

Here, though, we take a look at some of the more interesting stories from around the web regarding Sunderland:

Connor Wickham talks Sunderland

Former Black Cats striker Connor Wickham netted MK Dons’ winning goal on his return to the Stadium of Light yesterday.

Wickham enjoyed a four campaign stint at the Stadium of Light – with loans at Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday in between – following an £8m move from Ipswich Town back in 2011.

The fee broke Ipswich's record for transfer fees recouped, and broke the transfer record for an EFL player moving to a Premier League club at the time.

Speaking after the game against Sunderland on Saturday, however, Wickham had this to say.

He told MK Dons' website: "I've had two games back-to-back of playing teams who have played a massive part in my career, but as I said in my presser before the weekend, it was about getting three points

"It was nice to get a good reception from the fans, but ultimately we're on track for a good end to the season, so it's a massive three points to us and I'm buzzing."

Finance expert delivers Sunderland verdict

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has delivered his verdict on the recent shareholding developments at Sunderland – and has predicted it may take the Wearsiders’ ownership some time to recover.

It was recently revealed that a majority of shares was owned by three former members of Madrox: Juan Sartori, Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven.

“The evasiveness and the lack of transparency have left a sour taste,” Maguire told Football Insider.

“There has been no attempt to be proactive in expressing the nature of the shareholdings. It will take some time to recover from that.

“But if they get promoted this season, success is s very good form of disinfectant.

“If you are performing poorly, as they have been, the bad vibes spread like bacteria very quickly.”

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