Sunderland next host Slaven Bilic’s West Ham at the Stadium of Light next Saturday before the worldwide break kicks in.
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Defensive deficiencies have been Sunderland’s Achilles heel all season, and there is no sign of that situation improving.
But one strike against the name of boss Dick Advocaat – and another strike against the Sunderland board that sanctioned the deal – is the fact the Black Cats have taken a huge risk bringing yet another struggling defender into the fold.
Barring the success of Manchester’s two financial juggernauts, the demise of football in the north of England is concerning the former Manchester United man.
Sunderland were not shambolic, but all three goals were avoidable.
Results this season have been very poor though, with the Black Cats yet to win a game this season, and the manager is under pressure to turn things around.
It is as simple as that.
Lee Cattermole returned to the Sunderland starting line-up for today’s Premeir League trip to Manchester United.
The Sunderland centre-back was atrocious once again, this time at Old Trafford. His form to date suggests no different.
For all Sunderland’s problems in defence, they have looked more of a threat this season going forward.
In their last league game, the Red Devils defeated Southampton 3-2 at St Mary’s, with Martial grabbing two and, most importantly, David De Gea back in between the sticks.
Sometimes bad refereeing decisions are to blame, such as when Jeremain Lens” “goal’ was incorrectly disallowed at Bournemouth last weekend, or when Fabio Borini saw a goal harshly ruled out for a highly dubious foul against Man City on Tuesday.
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But, the coach still found some positives from the bewildering darkness as the team produced a spirited second half display to keep the scoreline at four and to even grab a goal for themselves, as Ola Toivonen, one of the better performers on the night, grabbed his first goal for the club with a well taken header.
