I dont think this has been posted yet..... Finally, Sunderlandsâ season has taken off and things are starting to look rosy again on Wearside. Now sitting in 10th position in the league after an emphatic win at the DW Stadium on Tuesday, quite how Martin OâNeill has transformed a club in such a short space of time is anyoneâs guess. The secret may well lie in what Steve Bruce might like to think of as a parting gift in the shape of David Vaughan. The diminutive midfielder, Blackpoolsâ Player of the Season last term, has played a heavy part in OâNeillsâ breath taking opening scene. So why did Bruce deny the midfielder a run in the first team? The best run of games Vaughan got under Brucesâ stewardship was 3 consecutive games. A more alarming fact is that Bruce did not seem to realise the solitary two wins that Sunderland mustered under him, Vaughan was starting in midfield. The answer to Sunderlandsâ complicated enigma was right in front of him, Brucesâ failure has been OâNeillsâ triumph. festive season form table 150x145 Cattermole & Vaughan | Winning Formula SkySports Festive Form The last 4 games Sunderland have opted for a Cattermole â Vaughan partnership in centre midfield and it has worked, Sunderland now unbeaten in 4 and top of the form league over the festive season. It is the first time this season that Sunderland have had anything close to a settled side, especially in midfield. If you look at the featured table you will see that there has been no consistent partnership in midfield prior to OâNeillâs appointment, Bruce changed his team after every loss â which letâs be honest Sunderland fans, has been pretty regular! The only time this hasnât happened was after the 1-0 loss to Man Utd, where Steve Bruce claimed the team had put in âa terrific performanceâ. OâNeillsâ only loss to date was away to Spurs in his second game and the midfield duo was changed for the following game with QPR. Lee Cattermole had been suspended for OâNeillsâ debut and Jack Colbacksâ performance alongside Vaughan in the Blackburn game had obviously merited another start. Between them they averaged 85% pass completion. Sunderland have achieved an 85% pass completion rate between their centre midfielders just 7 times from a possible 20 this season, they have only lost twice when this happens (both away games to heavyweights Manchester Utd and Spurs). Considering their record in the Premier League this season, achieving an 85% pass completion rate between your men in the middle has been an indicative factor in how the match result will end. The most successful midfield partnership is what OâNeill prefers at the moment, Cattermole and Vaughan; they have achieved 3 wins together. The second most successful partnership is Colback and Vaughan, with 2 wins. The other win came with Gardner and Vaughan up against European debutants Stoke City as fresh as a John Terryâs bed sheets after their midweek tour. One thing OâNeill has had complimented to him in recent weeks is his ability to get more from his players. Robbie Savage hailed him this week âthe best there is in man managementâ. OâNeill has claimed his players now feel âunbeatableâ, none more so than his captain, a study of Cattermoleâs statistics show a real upturn in performance since the overhaul in management. Cattermole claimed the Man of the Match award in Sunderlandsâ New Years Day victory over Manchester City, deservedly so. His possession duels win ratio has bumped from 45% to 56%, so he is winning the ball back more often for his team. Cattermole plays a pass on average once every 138 seconds, Vaughan passes every 113. So with Cattermolesâ endeavour to pressure the opposition, it makes sense to put Vaughan in next to him who can be composed and dictate where Sunderland keep possession. Under Bruce this season, Cattermole averaged 40 passes per game, however he is averaging 35 at the moment with OâNeill in charge and playing alongside Vaughan. Basically, Cattermole is being coached to concentrate more on winning the ball back for Sunderland and leaving it to other creative players such as Vaughan, Sessegnon, McClean et al to do the attacking, which is playing to his strengths. Vaughan with Cattermole in back 300x207 Cattermole & Vaughan | Winning Formula David Vaughan: Sidekick So the Premier Leagues newest Manager of the Monthsâ secret is playing players in their position and in a role they are familiar with. This is where Sunderland fans lamented Steve Bruceâs tactics, insisting on playing Kieran Richardson for example, a pacey winger at left back. OâNeill is back with a bang in the Premier League, Sunderland have rediscovered their mojo. Chelsea are next up for the Black Cats at Stamford Bridge and with players now believing anything possible under OâNeill, who would bet against the Black Cats and their Midfield winning formula http://www.eplindex.com/cattermole-and-vaughan-winning-forumula/
Enjoyed that, Vaughan is a superb player, I thank Bruce for signing him, I also thank Bruce for not playing him as its probably the reason we got MON. Well done Brucie
Good good read that like.... Charlie Adam may have took the glory and made the scousers part with a large sum of money, but seems Bruce had done his home work properly (again) and gotta bargain...
lets be honest bruce was very good at finding good players at cheap prices i dont think there is a player that bruce signed which cant be sold for more then he paid
This is the nail on the head stuff though and should not be any surprise to any of us. Back in the summer, we all thought that the likes of Larsson, Gardener, Vaughan, Wickham, O Shea, Bendtner and Brown were excellent signings for the club but the former managers inability to manage them was always a mute point in question. There were no doubts about the recruitment campaign but massive ones about the then manager. Even total unknowns like Ji and McClean came with much praise form many sources, so we waited with baited breath as it were. As the season dragged out almost from day one, those doubts were well founded and Bruce just didn't, or more likely couldn't, find a decent formation and way to use his new charges. Within minutes of coming to the club, we have seen Vaughan (we all knew the lad was a good player) as a central figure, McClean given an opportunity and Sessegnon has been re-born. Cattermole, so often a liability under Bruce, now looks like the captain and ball winning midfielder that made him the under 21 England captain as well. O'shea, maybe through injury, has been found his proper place at central defence but even as aright back, he improved considerably imo and the likes of Killgallon, wasted by Bruce, has been brought back \and looks a canny player. The job was just too big for Bruce but it has been taken in his stride by O Neill. I thank the Gods each day for delivering us a manager who is evidently qualified to manage both our modest expectations and the clubs undoubted potential simultaneously and in equal measure. This article merely reflects that fact in words.