Sunderland Up Next

We’re looking for back to back victories when we face Sunderland, here’s what Vital Sunderland had to say ahead of the game.

1) The halfway point of the season has passed, are expectations the same and do you have new high and low points?

We’ve underachieved, there’s no two ways about it. I’m not the kind of Sunderland fan that felt we had some divine right to crack the top half this season following a good second half of last season, but I think there’s little doubt amongst most Sunderland supporters that we should be higher than we are right now.

That we were very much in the relegation picture until recently is indicative of our underachievement – not that we’re safe yet by a long chalk!

Highlights, highlights – they’ve been thin on the ground – put it that way! The 1-0 win over Manchester City was memorable, although we’re getting somewhat prolific when it comes to pinching points off of them in recent years!

Without sounding obsessed, the last-gasp leveller against the Mags was enjoyable too. We were poor and they deserved a result more than us, so to get a late leveller through Demba Ba was highly enjoyable.

2) Did you strengthen enough in the window to achieve your aims or do you think you have been left short?

I think we’ll be OK. Kader Mangane (centre-back) is yet to play, but we needed something there because Wes Brown and Titus Bramble are always injured and Matt Kilgallon is not up to it, leaving us with just John O’Shea and Carlos Cuellar.

Alfred N’Diaye appears to be settling in well and brings a genuine physical presence into the midfield, something that we haven’t had this season. Lee Cattermole is the closest thing to N’Diaye, but really they are worlds apart. Cattermole goes around kicking people, N’Diaye is a presence who can drive forward.

Danny Graham is an important addition too, the reliance on Steven Fletcher is all very well and good; he’s delivered so far, but when he’s injured/out of form/suspended we’re short. Fraizer Campbell, Ji Dong-Won, Louis Saha and Connor Wickham all left during January, meaning Fletcher had no deputy. Graham fills that void nicely.

3) Where do you see your current weaknesses this season? Any clues for the game will be greatly appreciated 🙂

Well, the over-reliance on Fletcher is one issue, but with Graham arriving I think that becomes less prevalent.

Tactically, we set up to counter the opposition most of the time and going away from home, the onus will be on West Brom to attack us, which will suit us because taking the game to the opposition is a real issue for us.

4) Who will be your key dangerman?

Fletcher is the threat really. There’s been talk in recent weeks that we could start with two up front with Graham partnering Fletcher, which would be an interesting ploy on the basis that they are the senior striking options at the club. It seems particularly foolish therefore to let four forwards go, one way or another, if you’re about to change from the 4-2-3-1/4-4-1 we’ve otherwise played.

Not strictly a ‘dangerman’, but Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has been in tremendous form this season (and last), and will be in direct competition with Fletcher for the ‘Player of the Season’ gong come May, no doubt.

5) Who is your star signing of the summer?

I think the answer to every question is Fletcher! Which in itself, tells a story.

Adam Johnson has yet to really show the form he has done for England and Manchester City. It’s fair to say that he has however improved significantly since the beginning of the season and is starting to look a lot more like the player who seemed a massive coup last August.

Danny Rose has excelled too to be fair. On-loan from Spurs, he’s been consistent and left-back.

6) Where do you see Albion finishing this season?

I would love to see you crack Europe, it would have been great for the competitiveness and intrigue of the Premier League, but I thin it’s pretty unlikely to happen now.

A top-10 finish beckons, but that’s a decent achievement considering everything.

7) What do you think of the appointment of Steve Clarke now he’s had six odd months?

What a six months! I’m pretty sure I said ahead of the reverse fixture I thought you’d go down after losing Roy Hodgson, but he’s done a superb job.

From the outside at least, he doesn’t appear to have changed much. That, coupled with some excellent additions – Claudio Yacob & Romelu Lukaku in particular – has been a recipe for an excellent first season. Can he continue it next season, that’s the question!

8) If you could take one of our players, who would it be and why?

I think Graham Dorrans is a fantastic creative midfielder and I read during December/January that he wanted out due to a lack of game time. I think he seems to be playing more lately, but I think he’s the kind of player that would slot into our midfield perfectly and offer more creativity centrally next to Clattermole (!)

9) Who do you see as our main threat?

Lukaku seems to be the man bang in form. Ten Premier League goals from just 11 starts? The boy can clearly finish, and you don’t need to be the most perceptive football analyst to realise that he’s going to be a bloody handful physically. A real coup for West Brom and a terrible piece of business from Chelsea letting him out on loan when they have such well-documented striking deficiencies!

10) What weaknesses in our team do you think you’ll be looking to exploit?

Honestly? I’m not sure. I think I’ve only seen Albion for 90 minutes once this season. Nine goals scored in as many games suggests that if we can strangle the game, keep it tight and limit the number of chances you can create we’ve got half a chance of keeping a clean sheet; a basis from which we can look for the win.

11) Finally, a prediction please fellow football fan…

A few weeks ago I’d have predicted an Albion win. Taking your recent run of form into consideration, I reckon a 2-1 win for Sunderland. And by ‘reckon’, I mean hope!

With thanks to safc123!

Vital West Brom on:

Vital West Brom on: