HE has been one of Sunderland’s forgotten men this season, but Jack Rodwell will still turn out to be a success at the Stadium of Light according to his skipper, John O’Shea. Rodwell was the Black Cats’ marquee summer signing as he completed a £10m move from Manchester City, but his Wearside career has hardly gone to plan as he has been forced to battle against a succession of injuries and a damaging loss of form. Tuesday’s appearance at Hull was only his 16th Premier League outing of the campaign, and represented just his third league start since the middle of December. He has failed to hold down a position at the heart of the Sunderland midfield, with his performances failing to live up to the promise he displayed in the early days of his career at Everton, but his team-mates remain confident he will develop into an integral member of the side. O’Shea has been impressed with Rodwell’s performances on the training ground, and feels an injury-free summer could be the key to getting the best out of the 23-year-old next season. “There’s a lot to look forward to with the ability Jack has,” said the Sunderland captain. “It’s just a case of managing to keep him fit. “If we can have a good pre-season with him in the summer, he can be a very talented player for us. He’s definitely got the ability to be a double-figure goalscorer for us because he can finish with left foot, right foot and his head. The more experience he gets, I think you will start to see the best of him.” One of Rodwell’s problems throughout his career has been the lack of an obvious position for him to call his own. Having started as a centre-half in Everton’s academy, he made his name as a box-to-box midfielder, capable of plugging gaps in front of the back four as well as getting forward to make an impression in the opposition’s box. At Manchester City, he was predominantly played in a deep-lying role, but with Lee Cattermole and Liam Bridcutt already on their books, Sunderland could do with the England international being more dynamic and creative in the final third. On Tuesday, he was played in a left-midfield role, and while the presence of Seb Larsson on the opposite flank narrowed the Black Cats’ midfield, Rodwell successfully stole in at the back post to head home his third goal of the season and earn Gus Poyet’s side a valuable point. “Time will tell what his best position is,” said O’Shea. “I’m sure he likes the centre of midfield, but he was asked to do a job for us on the left of midfield at Hull the other night and I thought he grew into the game. “He also played at centre-back when he was a kid. I know what it’s like myself when you can play in a few different positions as a young player. You’ve got to hopefully nail down a spot - it (being versatile) can help in some ways and hinder in others. “I think the attacking-midfield role is the one he enjoys most at the moment. Over time, he could develop into a holding-midfield player, but right now we need to get as many goals as we can, and he can help that. “If he’s scoring goals from midfield he will be catching the eyes of a few people, including the national team, I’m sure.” Ricky Alvarez is another Sunderland midfielder to have failed to do himself justice this season, and like Rodwell, O’Shea feels the Argentinian has been hampered by some untimely injury problems. “The issue has been with Ricky’s knee since he came back,” he said. “We’ve had to manage that carefully and having to play on some of the pitches we have – like the one at Bradford – hasn’t done his knee any favours. “You don’t always know how his knee is going to react, so it’s a difficult one for the manager, but we need to get goals and he can be a big part of that.” Hope so
If Gus sticks with a 4-3-3 then Rodwell playing slightly advanced of Cattermole and Larsson should be a decent 3. Needs pacey wingers either side of Defoe though. We need 2 wingers now in the summer.
PVA could be the answer on the left, with Alonso, hopefully behind him, some left side that would be. On the right side we now have no one good enough to play in front of Rev except perhaps Lars, we defo need a new threat down this side, I cant see AJ playing for us again to be honest and I am not convinced he is the answer anyway.
More talk but no substance. Everyone and everything is all about tomorrow, tomorrow. How about now!!??? NOW!!!
That is why Gus should have signed Lennon and Rodellago in January. He should have a go for Rod in the summer.
