Read Sunderland caught up with Michael Graham (@Capt_Fishpaste ), a local Sunderland fan and football writer who has written for the likes of TeamTalk and Footy Place. We spoke to Michael in depth about all things SAFC, take a look:
What do you make of Sunderland’s start to the season? Has it gone as you expected?
It’s gone a lot worse than I expected, but that’s probably more reflective of my daft optimism on all things Sunderland than it is anything else.
I’ve actually been more frustrated than angry this season. There is a team in there somewhere. Quite a good one I think, but it was just the neglect of the basics that has been holding it back. Sam Allardyce said the team were unfit prior to his arrival and I think it should be obvious to anyone that he’s right. There really is no excuse for that. A club like Sunderland can’t control whether they have the best team in the Premier League, but they can make sure they are one of the fittest. There is no excuse for that.
Sunderland were very active in the transfer market this summer, what do you think was the club’s best piece of business both short-term and long-term?
Short-term it was definitely Yann M’Vila. Whether we can keep hold of him beyond this season or not I have no idea, but he’s a central midfield player of genuine quality. We don’t get to see those often at this club. As a fan, you trust him on the ball, and so will his team-mates. That’s all it takes to inspire a bit of forward movement in players. We need more like him, definitely.
Long-term I still think Fabio Borini has a big Sunderland future if he can over his stuttering start. Some players just fit a club, and I think Sunderland and Fabio can be really good for each other. The Sunderland crowd will feed off his passion on the pitch and in turn he will feed off the Sunderland crowd. We’ve seen it before and, hopefully, we’ll see a lot more of it to come too.
Sam Allardyce replaced Dick Advocaat in early October. Do you feel that big Sam is the man to change Sunderland’s fortunes both short-term and perhaps more importantly, for the future too?
It’s something I’ve said before elsewhere, but it’s time for Sunderland to ditch a bit of pride and ego. We have been in the Premier League nearly ten years now and we all know we should be very firmly established.
The fact is, though, we are not. You’ve got to play the hand you’ve got, not the one you want, and it’s no good looking at the likes of Leicester and Southampton and feeling like we should be competing with them right now in terms of asserting ourselves and style. As fans too, the temptation is to look at clubs like that and feel almost cheated and let down by our own club. I’m not sure that is really helpful either though I completely understand it.
In that sense, I think Allardyce is perfect for the club right now. He will play the hand he’s got better than probably anyone else around. It won’t be pretty, I’m sure, but he’ll strip everything else away and, hopefully, get us up the table. Annoying as it may be, we aren’t going to be competing with the best of the rest until we take that first step, and it’s been a step that has been elusive for far too long.
What do you think Allardyce needs to do to turn Sunderland’s season around?
I remember years ago, possibly in the Mick McCarthy era, Allardyce was a pundit on Sky Sports covering a live Super Sunday Sunderland defeat. He was talking about how Sunderland could possibly save their season and he said: “it all starts with clean sheets”.
It’s a mantra he has repeated an awful lot since arriving here, and he is absolutely spot on. Defend right and you get enough points to survive, it’s as simple as that. I’ve thought all season that there are enough goals in this squad to fancy our chances of scoring against anyone. With Jeremain Lens and Duncan Watmore, there is some raw pace and carriers of the ball, Steven Fletcher and Jermain Defoe are both goalscorers, and Adam Johnson can provide some finesse and style.
The key is, and always has been, keeping the game alive long enough to give them a chance to win it.
Sunderland will most likely need to strengthen in the January transfer window. Is there any player you would like to see arrive at the Stadium of Light?
I think we need a physically imposing centre-forward without question. I’m loving the Fletcher/Defoe partnership, but I worry about what would happen if Fletcher’s habit for getting injured cropped up again. I’d fancy Lens or Borini or Watmore to step into Defoe’s shoes and offer a threat in behind, but not sure about who’d replace Fletcher.
I think we obviously need another centre-back too, as Wes Brown looked a spent force even before he extended his deal. I’d also like a central midfield player who can turn defence into attack quickly, whether that’s a good long passer or a strong ball-carrier.
Just strengthen the spine, basically.
Finally, Sunderland host Stoke City this weekend. With the tricky set of fixtures this festive period, do you feel that the next few games prior to the difficult end to December will make or break Sunderland’s season?
I don’t think it will necessarily do either. You can’t write off any games and the festive period is when you are perhaps most likely to see a few shocks too. Whatever happens over the next six games, it’s all about taking it a game at a time really.
Looking at the table always looks daunting when you’re at the bottom, and the 36-40 points always looks a long way off. But a far less scary target is to say something like ‘let’s take 17 points from the next 15 games’. Do that and you’re suddenly looking at a point per game or slightly more from the last 10, which you’d back yourself to get. Relegation mathematics – the one thing all us Sunderland fans are annoyingly accomplished at!
The other way I look at it is this: Take team names, and, therefore, the ‘Sunderland factor’, out of the current table and look at it like this –
16 Alex Neil 12pts
17 Steve McClaren 10pts
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18 Sam Allardyce 9pts
19 Eddie Howe 9pts
20 Remi Garde 5pts
Would you back Allardyce to get a team safe from that position with 25 games to go? I know I would. There is every reason to be positive. It’s just annoying that it’s come to this – again.
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