Hope this doesn't come back to bite us on the arsh.. SUNDERLAND are likely to wait until the summer to bring in a new long-term centre-half.The Black Cats have been mindful of the need to bolster their options in the heart of the back four, with John OâShea and Wes Brown both in their 30s, while Santiago Vergini and Sebastian Coates are only at the Stadium of Light on loan deals. Swansea rejected a £4million offer from Sunderland last June for skipper Ashley Williams before he signed a new contract at the Liberty Stadium. Sunderland then turned their attentions to Celticâs Virgil van Dijk and were keen to land the Dutchman, before ultimately deciding they couldnât meet the £10million asking price for the 23-year-old, who is untested in the Premier League. Van Dijk is still on Sunderlandâs radar, although there are a host of admirers for the highly-rated Celtic man, with Spurs the latest club to be linked with him earlier this week. But after Sunderland agreed a new two-year deal with skipper OâShea earlier this season, Gus Poyet has indicated that the Black Catsâ ongoing search for a centre-half is more likely to reach a successful conclusion in the summer than in the January transfer window. Head coach Poyet told the Echo: âI think it depends. January is difficult. âThere needs to be a lot of things coming together. âItâs difficult for everything really. âWeâll see. We did what we needed to do with John.â Poyet is not looking for a host of additions in the January window, with quality, rather than quantity, forming the clubâs strategy for new recruits. Adding to Sunderlandâs attacking threat is likely to be the priority, with the Black Cats netting just 13 times in their 15 Premier League outings so far this season. Sunderland received a major boost yesterday when Connor Wickham agreed to a new four-year deal at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats are also one of a number of Premier League clubs who have been linked with a loan move for Chelseaâs Mohamed Salah. But Poyet has warned that Sunderland will need to shrew operators next month if they are to bring in successful new recruits. He added: âSome people say to me âmaybe you can get a player on loan who changes your seasonâ. âWhere is that player? âUnless itâs someone coming from a bad injury and needs to play, itâs difficult. âNow if Man United want us to take Falcao for six months... We will do. âBut that doesnât happen a lot. âYou need to be very smart in January.â
I don't think it's a bad decision tbh, OK so our defence is a bit on the old side and Wes is a bit fragile but we have cover in Vergini and Coates, plus Bridcutt can also play in there if things got really desperate. January isn't the time imo, wait till the summer and spend big on someone decent. We need goalscorers in January and someone who can create a few chances from midfield.
We are a bit thin at the back, and should Vergini or Coates fail to step up we could try Rodwell there, he has failed to set the place alight in mid-field, and was originally a centre half I believe. It seems we are still having to patch things up at Sunderland due to our poor recruitment over the last decade, and its going to take time and some prudent buying to get us to where we need to be, ie safe from the annual relegation battle.
January is not the best time to "buy" anyone as prices are always inflated. SUmmer windows are always better price wise. I agree with Gus personally.
Bridcutt? Hes about 5 foot 6 stood on his tiptoes, I wouldn't want him anywhere near our central defence. Rodwell at 6ft1 sounds like a more likely stop gap. He played CB in his youth aswell apparently.
Seriously, put alitdore at cb. If he's any good, great. If not, he won't be any worse than a a cf. He has the physics for cb. This is not a joke.
Think if you can get some form of Full back cover then Vergini could step in and you also have Coates, so really have a potential 4 CB's at the club So nothing to really worry about, even still who would be available that would come to us? Not many names come to mind, maybe a few foreigners like Jonathon Mensah (different one) or Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik If you wanted to stay within the league, think as marcus says you could be hit with massively inflated fees Think in the league there would only be Nastasic a possible buy that would improve us
Are we allowed any more domestic loans? Would consider making inquiries to Man United about taking that young CB McNair on loan, looks like a great prospect and he hasn't been getting as much game time since their injury worries have eased. We did wonders for Jonny Evans's development, so they might take that into account.
We don't need a CB in Jan, we need a rb. then we have two for every position right across the back line. I think we need a CB in the summer when the next load of tv money comes in. This center back must be a long term investment of quality. A rb in Jan and our decent defence will have have full cover, then we can invest in the real problem area and that's creating and scoring goals.
Know what you mean mate but he filled in at the back several times before he joined us. I'm just saying we don't have to panic buy in January, we have cover and I did say Bridcutt if we got desperate.
Sorry mate but that would be suicidal. Make a mess of a scoring chance and there's not much lost, make a mess at the back and it could be us a goal down.
He was poor to be fair, that system will never work at United, it's what had us on the back foot for that entire game. The sooner LVG realises that, the better for us. Rojo was just as bad, Evans even worse, the system was awful. If we fetched in a centre half in January (Vidic back on 18 month contract please) I'd be happy to see McNair loaned out, I think he's gonna be an asset.
The role that Catts and Bridcut plays depends on them dropping back into a back three(or more holding their position to form a back three). Bridcutt has excelled at this lately and Catts looks quite the part. They may not act as center backs in the sense of defending corners and what not but they both play cb when it comes to defending breaks and stimulating play across the back line when we're in possession. Who ever is playing that role watch them closely, see how much they drop to form a back three and take on cb duties. This is why Gus won't change shape and why our defence is so organised. Because it's a the backbone of our system, he's been installing since he came and has implemented on every level. Keep an eye out for it. It's very cleaver. please log in to view this image
A covering full back is all we need in Jan - left or right given Revs flexibility. sorting the attack/ goal scoring out is critical, but bloody difficult. finding the right AM/ inside forward a real challenge.........so you can understand Borinigate re opening
I've seen it mate and agree, it's a clever system with the right players in place and he seems to like Bridcutt and Catts in that role. All we need now is some creativity and a goal scorer to complement the brilliant back 4.
I see what you mean mate, and yes both players do it excellent as a 3 with Bridcutt/Catts dropping back when the opponent is on the offensive.. Bridcutt to start as one of the main 2 centre backs wouldn't work for me though due to his size. It would be suicidal.
I like to see Giacc or Alvarez in cm to drift into that area behind the striker myself. Oh no mate, neither as out and out CBs I agree with that. Rodders can be our 5th CB