To be fair, the performance in the first game against Leicester last season was a LOT more concerning than the City game last week.
All eyes will be on David Moyes this weekend as he takes charge of his first Sunderland game at the Stadium of Light. Premier League newcomers Middlesbrough are making the short journey up the A19, fresh from their 1-1 draw with Stoke City, while Sunderland head into the Wear-Tees derby on the back of a spirited 2-1 defeat to Manchester City. Jeremain Lens Moyes has been busy on the training pitches at the Academy of Light this week, while glued to his phone in the hope of another transfer breakthrough. But what are the burning issues facing the new Cats boss ahead of the Sunday lunchtime visit of Boro? 1) Stick or twist with team selection? Moyes put his faith in the club’s younger players at the Etihad Stadium – and they almost repaid him with a fine point. Sub Paddy McNair’s luckless, late own goal dented those hopes, but there was plenty to be positive about. Lynden Gooch, in particular, was a real shining light. Positive, pacy, creative; the 20-year-old was a real thorn in the side of Bacary Sagna in the first half. He is set to keep his place in the side – there is no reason to drop him. But should Moyes stick or twist with the rest of the team? Jeremain Lens, Wahbi Khazri and Adnan Januzaj all started on the bench, but the Manchester United loanee is the only one of that trio likely to start against Boro . 2) Keep John O’Shea in the starting line-up? David Moyes said it himself. “I’d like to say it’s a one-off because for me to take the club forward it can’t be with John O’Shea as a central midfield player.” Moyes had no other option other than to start O’Shea alongside Jack Rodwell in a patched-up central midfield against City. And the Sunderland skipper looks set to keep his place, unless there is a transfer breakthrough in the next 48-hours. Sunderland have few central midfield options. Lee Cattermole is out with a hernia, while Jan Kirchhoff missed the City game after not recovering fully from a hamstring strain picked up in France. Newcomer McNair can play in the holding midfield role, but it would mean playing another inexperienced player in what is likely to be a hotly contested derby match. 3) Offer Steven Pienaar a contract? The former Everton midfielder has been training with the club at the Academy of Light for three weeks now. Moyes thought about starting him for the Under-23s against Chelsea last Sunday, but he opted against it, with Pienaar enjoying another week of training with the rest of the squad instead. The Orlando Pirates target has a wealth of experience in the Premier League and, with Sunderland short on midfield options, the 34-year-old would be an option. There wouldn’t be much harm in offering him a short-term deal for six or 12 months. Either way, he wouldn’t start against Boro though. 4) Unleash Adnan Januzaj from the start against Middlesbrough? The Manchester United loanee played a key role in Jermain Defoe’s equaliser against Manchester City. His smart footwork created enough space to lay the ball off to Fabio Borini, who then squared to Jack Rodwell before slipping in Defoe. A well-worked team goal, with Sunderland on course for a point until the final stages of the game. Moyes went with the younger players against City because he wanted the workrate and energy they provided. At home, does Moyes stick with a similar game plan or throw Januzaj in from the start? The Belgian international had only met his new team-mates the day before the City game. Seven days on, he has been training all week. Gooch looks set to keep his place, but Januzaj could come in for Duncan Watmore, with Sunderland needing to be more offensive from the off against Boro. 5) Does Jeremain Lens have a future under Moyes? The winger started the pre-season games against Dijon, Montpellier and Borussia Dortmund, but he was dropped to the bench for the opening game against Manchester City. Lens is wanted by former Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat at new club Fenerbahce, with a season-long loan a possibility. Sunderland spent an initial £8million on the winger, but he struggled to hold down a regular place under Sam Allardyce, with question marks over his attitude and workrate. Undoubtedly talented but one of the few players that Sunderland could command a reasonable fee for, to reinvest back in the squad. He looks set to be named among the subs again at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Read more at: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...ahead-of-sunderland-v-middlesbrough-1-8074950
The thought of having OShea in midfield against Boro strikes me with fear. Catts, Kirchoff and Mvilla were solid for us and were a big reason we stayed up. We now have neither available. As much as im looking forward for the game i wish we werent playing Boro so early.
He will. Like i said im more concerned of Ramirez and Friend though. They havent got a bad team, id be more than confident in winning if we were fully fit but OShea could get ran ragged in midfield off Clayton. I just hope Moyes has a plan in place. Im not giving up on Kirchoff being fit until its officially announced.
Ive heard off a few lads alot of Boros older hooligans are coming up for this game. Its getting treat as a big derby down here fuelled with the fact we havent played against eachother in the league for so long.
Its his record before signing for us im worried about. This is the reason he was only put on a short deal for us.
John O’Shea is happy to fill the void in central midfield – but admits he is only a short-term fix. With David Moyes’s central midfield options decimated through injury, the Sunderland boss turned to his skipper to play holding midfield against Manchester City on the opening day of the Premier League season. O’Shea was deployed alongside Jack Rodwell as the Black Cats almost came away with a valuable point. With Seb Larsson (knee), Jan Kirchhoff (hamstring) and Lee Cattermole (hernia) all missing, Moyes had few other options other than to draft in experienced O’Shea. “At different stages at Man United, there were spells when I played in the holding role in the Champions League – I’ve played maybe 20-25 games there,” said O’Shea. “I am used to it, but I haven’t played there for a few years – I have more been in central defence. “But it needed to be done and it’s always been the case that I know the manager trusts me to fill in if needed. I can’t see it being a permanent fixture, though!” O’Shea is, though, set to start the Wear-Tees derby against Middlesbrough in central midfield on Sunday lunchtime. He added: “I’m not going to second-guess the manager, but I think centrally will be the main area. But if the manager needs me to play anywhere, I will always help out. “Hopefully we will get the bodies back as quickly as possibly, because we saw last season, when we had a healthy squad, the competition kept everyone on their toes and that was reflected in performances.” The Sunderland squad took a lot of positives from the 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium. “I think it must have crossed a lot of the fans’ minds and the players minds that this could be a very long evening,” added O’Shea. “But we stuck at it, kept our shape well, frustrated them, Vito [Mannone] didn’t have much to do. Read more at: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...m-fix-to-sunderland-s-midfield-woes-1-8077547
Yep here we go again without a win till mid November, you could write the script for this club, why could we not keep Kabul until the 31 Aug ?, we might have got a bigger offer as well, looks like Kone will bugger off, so the 3 untried defenders have to get it right now, but I fear the worst. Just as we were turning the corner this happens.
