It has been all change at the Stadium of Light this summer and not the first time in recent years the team has had a makeover.
Sunderland fans have become accustomed to periods of upheaval that started when Roy Keane took charge.
That tradition has been continued by Steve Bruce who has seen nearly 60 players join the club since 2006.
But whereas Keane was building a squad fit for a purpose (promotion and, latterly, Premier League survival), Bruce now appears to be building a balanced, settled squad that can be built upon, rather than rebuilt next summer.
Ellis Short hasn't handed out cash readily in 2011, Bruce has had to earn it.
Indeed it's a new age of relative prudence at the Stadium of Light - reducing the wage bill and profiting from player sales all in the name of balancing the books is the priority.
Expect players such as Nyron Nosworthy, Matthew Killgallon and George McCartney to move on. Marcos Angeleri has done little to get into Bruce's good books and may also find himself leaving.
The sale of Darren Bent in January caused upset among fans but the money raised from the sale - and Bent's salary being taken off the wage bill - has allowed Bruce to move quickly and decisively in the transfer market.
Jordan Henderson soon followed Bent out of Wearside as he headed to Anfield in a sale which made the club a huge profit on a player who came up from the youth team.
Henderson's exit led to people questioning the vision and ambition of the club - selling two prized assets leaving behind a rather thin squad, they said, didn't seem like the actions of a club wanting to grow.
Bruce was quick to rectify that.
His first move was to make Ahmed Elmohammedy's loan deal permanent while Kieran Westwood was signed in a move that seemingly pushes Craig Gordon, who has one year left on his contract, towards the exit.
Craig Gardner signed for £6 million with Sebastian Larsson and David Vaughan both joining on free transfers.
All rather solid signings so far, but the real star attractions were still to come.
Sunderland beat Liverpool to the signing of starlet Connor Wickham from Ipswich, who joins South Korean Dong-Won Ji in the new-look attack and at the back, John O'Shea and Wes Brown were persuaded to swap Manchester for Wearside.
Along with the influx of new signings, the emergence of academy talent has caused excitement in the club.
Jack Colback impressed in midfield towards the end of last season, while centre-back Louis Laing has caught the eye during the team's pre-season tour of Germany.
Sunderland had one of the youngest squads in the Premier League last season, and they've now added experience.
A nice blend of flair and steel should see them improve on last season's 10th place finish.
Avoiding the perennial disastrous mid-season losing streak will also be high on their wish list.
Prediction: Seventh - this team should be good enough to better recent finishes of 13th and 10th, with added steel to their spine in Gardner, Vaughan, Brown and O'Shea, a finish of seventh should be achievable.
Key man: Stephane Sessegnon. Linking midfield and attack, the Benin international could help take the pressure off the Sunderland forwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment