Sunderland AFC Season Preview 2012/13
The last few seasons has seen the fans of Sunderland been used to the club being very active in the transfer market with last summer seeing 11 new players coming through the door at the Stadium of Light. This summer has marked a different approach towards the transfer window and only Carlos Cuellar has so far walked through the doors.
Clearing the deadwood in the club has been Martin O’Neill’s main aim so far this summer and he has had some success with 18 playing staff so far leaving the club with notable names including £9 million goalkeeper Craig Gordon and Ghanaian international Asamoah Gyan who completed a permanent transfer to UAE club Al-Ain. Trimming the squad was a must, the wage bill at the club was way to high with players such as George McCarthy and Marcos Angeleri all commanding high wages at the club despite not playing one game for the club last season.
The main problem Sunderland must address if they want to succeed in their target for a top half finish this coming season is to find a quality striker, too many times the club found themselves on top in games last season only to struggle to put the ball in the back of the net. This is shown by the fact that no Sunderland player reached double figures in the Premiership last season with Nicklas Bendtnar only mustering up 8 goals on front, a figure that Stephane Sessegnon and Seb Larsson matched. Martin O’Neill seems to favour Scottish international Steven Fletcher as the answer to this problem but with one bid of £10 million rejected it remains to be seen whether he will come back with a improved offer or if he will look to the continent for the answer.
With the addition of Carlos Cuellar in the Sunderland backline Martin O’Neill will be reasonably happy with the depth he has in the centre back positions although with Wes Brown’s ongoing injury concerns he may look to add another centre back or look to bring through youngsters Louis Laing or John Egan from the clubs academy. One area which has brought uncertainty in recent years is the left back position, Assuming that O’Neill plans to play Phil Bardsley in the right back position that means the club is only left with Kieran Richardson to play there but there are still a lot of fans that doubt that left back is his best position and with links to Blackburn’s Martin Olson in recent weeks it suggests that O’Neill would like to play Richardson higher up the pitch.
The midfield so far this summer has remained unchanged from last season. In the centre of the pitch Lee Cattermole, Craig Gardner, David Vaughan and Jack Colback will all be vying for places but for all the industry they offer in the middle of the pitch creativity was a problem last season with the four only offering a combined 7 goals and 3 assists between them. On the right wing Seb Larsson will be looking to build on a solid opening season where the wide man scored 8 goals and O’Neill will be hoping he will be as deadly on set pieces as he was last season.
After setting the Premier League alight last season James McClean will be hoping to keep his fine form going into the new season but this time he won’t be a unknown package and he must prove he can have the same effect in games when coming up against teams who will have a clear game plan to keep the Ireland International quiet. One thing O’Neill hinted at trying last season was playing James McClean from the right wing allowing him to cut in from the right, this suggests the rumours that O’Neill could be interested in bring Aiden McGeady from CSKA Moscow could have some truth behind it especially as he is a player O’Neill rated highly from his time as Celtic manager.
Perhaps Sunderland’s best piece of business on top of a much needed centre forward will be keeping Benin international Stephane Sessegnon at the Stadium Of Light. Last season he was the lynchpin of the attack contributing to a to total of 40.5% of Sunderland’s goals with 9 assists and 8 goals to his name. This has brought the reported interest from Tottenham and Arsenal for the player who may be interested in a move to be closer to his family who failed to settle in Wearside and moved back to Paris.
All in all most fans at the club are cautiously optimistic on the forthcoming season and although a few fans are getting inpatient with the lack of activity of players coming in the club looks seemingly in safe hands under the guidance of Martin O’Neill where the club will be hoping to secure their position in the middle reaches of the Premier League with the long term aim of getting into Europe in the coming years.
By Stuart Kirk (@Kirkie88)
Clearing the deadwood in the club has been Martin O’Neill’s main aim so far this summer and he has had some success with 18 playing staff so far leaving the club with notable names including £9 million goalkeeper Craig Gordon and Ghanaian international Asamoah Gyan who completed a permanent transfer to UAE club Al-Ain. Trimming the squad was a must, the wage bill at the club was way to high with players such as George McCarthy and Marcos Angeleri all commanding high wages at the club despite not playing one game for the club last season.
The main problem Sunderland must address if they want to succeed in their target for a top half finish this coming season is to find a quality striker, too many times the club found themselves on top in games last season only to struggle to put the ball in the back of the net. This is shown by the fact that no Sunderland player reached double figures in the Premiership last season with Nicklas Bendtnar only mustering up 8 goals on front, a figure that Stephane Sessegnon and Seb Larsson matched. Martin O’Neill seems to favour Scottish international Steven Fletcher as the answer to this problem but with one bid of £10 million rejected it remains to be seen whether he will come back with a improved offer or if he will look to the continent for the answer.
With the addition of Carlos Cuellar in the Sunderland backline Martin O’Neill will be reasonably happy with the depth he has in the centre back positions although with Wes Brown’s ongoing injury concerns he may look to add another centre back or look to bring through youngsters Louis Laing or John Egan from the clubs academy. One area which has brought uncertainty in recent years is the left back position, Assuming that O’Neill plans to play Phil Bardsley in the right back position that means the club is only left with Kieran Richardson to play there but there are still a lot of fans that doubt that left back is his best position and with links to Blackburn’s Martin Olson in recent weeks it suggests that O’Neill would like to play Richardson higher up the pitch.
The midfield so far this summer has remained unchanged from last season. In the centre of the pitch Lee Cattermole, Craig Gardner, David Vaughan and Jack Colback will all be vying for places but for all the industry they offer in the middle of the pitch creativity was a problem last season with the four only offering a combined 7 goals and 3 assists between them. On the right wing Seb Larsson will be looking to build on a solid opening season where the wide man scored 8 goals and O’Neill will be hoping he will be as deadly on set pieces as he was last season.
After setting the Premier League alight last season James McClean will be hoping to keep his fine form going into the new season but this time he won’t be a unknown package and he must prove he can have the same effect in games when coming up against teams who will have a clear game plan to keep the Ireland International quiet. One thing O’Neill hinted at trying last season was playing James McClean from the right wing allowing him to cut in from the right, this suggests the rumours that O’Neill could be interested in bring Aiden McGeady from CSKA Moscow could have some truth behind it especially as he is a player O’Neill rated highly from his time as Celtic manager.
Perhaps Sunderland’s best piece of business on top of a much needed centre forward will be keeping Benin international Stephane Sessegnon at the Stadium Of Light. Last season he was the lynchpin of the attack contributing to a to total of 40.5% of Sunderland’s goals with 9 assists and 8 goals to his name. This has brought the reported interest from Tottenham and Arsenal for the player who may be interested in a move to be closer to his family who failed to settle in Wearside and moved back to Paris.
All in all most fans at the club are cautiously optimistic on the forthcoming season and although a few fans are getting inpatient with the lack of activity of players coming in the club looks seemingly in safe hands under the guidance of Martin O’Neill where the club will be hoping to secure their position in the middle reaches of the Premier League with the long term aim of getting into Europe in the coming years.
By Stuart Kirk (@Kirkie88)