As the Sunderland crowd left the Stadium of Light on Saturday after they saw their side earn a point against Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth. The talking point was had every member of our starting Xl lived up to their full potential and really showed that they had a point to prove. One of those players which you thought would have the attitude and commitment to turn his performances around after a blip over Christmas would be DeAndre Yedlin.
The USA international has not started a premier league game for the lads since the defeat to Watford in the middle of December, but now is looking to regain his place back in the starting 11 after fellow right-back Billy Jones had a nightmare afternoon at the weekend. Yedlin’s last outing was in the FA Cup defeat to arsenal earlier this month, where he had a display which didn’t go according to plan. This was started by failing to stop the cross which led to Joel Campbell’s equaliser and then failing to close down Giroud who slotted home to put the game to bed.
But over the course of the season the right back has had moments which he should get more praise for. Including been one of the final pieces to the jigsaw to the 3-5-2 formation which provided pace and a big counter-attacking threat with PVA on the other side. This paid off in the victory over Stoke last year where the 22-year-old was involved in most of Sunderland’s attacking moments on the day. Also in the last Tyne and Wear derby where Yedlin handled Wijnaldum comfortably when he drifted off to the flanks.
YouTube: DeAndre Yedlin vs Manchester City- 22/09/15 (HD)
With probably the toughest month coming up in Sunderland’s season with opponents including the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool to come, a change in Sunderland’s back line is most desperately needed to get the balance right with attacking and defending. With Younes Kaboul nearing a return to training all the positive signs in Sunderland’s defence maybe coming back quicker than people expect. All eyes will now be on Big Sam and whether a formation change from a 4-2-3-1 could be on its way with Kaboul and Yedlin both hungry to get back into the starting 11 and to get back to the clean sheet days something that the lads haven’t done for almost 2 months now.
