If you were one of the hardy souls that made the mammoth trip to Southampton on Saturday, then I salute you. It is some trek, and what was served up in the first half was as bad as we’ve seen this season. Individual mistakes have cost us once again.
Against Saints, we looked weak, passive and bereft of any confidence or leadership; which has become a familiar theme. It’s a young team I get it; but it doesn’t look like it takes much for heads to drop at the moment. The striker situation appears to be getting worse not better, and where was the inquest for the first goal? Between Hume and Jobe, surely they can deal with that relatively simple ball into the box? By leaving it, the ball would have harmlessly gone out for a goal kick. We gave away a needless penalty, which shouldn’t have stood but it probably wouldn’t have made any difference to the overall outcome of the game. Trai Hume is five yards deeper than the rest of our defence for goal number three, which is yet another individual mistake. We got ourselves back into the game through two long range strikes; Jobe’s is arguably our goal of the season, but ultimately, we came away with no points for the sixth game in a row, which is simply unacceptable.
This dire run of form and results has led to many supporters looking towards the bottom of the league with real concern. We sit on 47 points with only nine games to play. I’ve done a little bit of research into recent Championship 22nd place finishes, just to see exactly how many points took clubs down into the third tier in those campaigns. The stats for the past five seasons are as below:
22/23 - Reading 44 points.
21/22 - Peterborough 37 points.
20/21 - Wycombe 43 points.
19/20 - Charlton 48 points.
18/19 - Rotherham 40 points.
The last two seasons have been skewed slightly by points deductions for both Reading and Derby. The 48 points Charlton amassed in 19/20 concerns me slightly, but surely we can’t be sucked deep into the relegation mire? Only Sunderland could fight for a play-off spot, seem like finishing in mid-table and also find themselves looking over their shoulder at the relegation places, all in the same season. The 5-0 win over Southampton feels like years ago. It really is never straightforward following SAFC.
What comes next is a huge game on Saturday at home to QPR. The pressure will be on for both clubs. Rangers have long been in the relegation mire this season, but should they take all three points on Wearside, they will only be five points behind Sunderland. With a mounting injury list, including Dan Ballard being a huge doubt for the game, we are getting down to the bare bones defensively. A back four of Trai Hume, Jenson Seelt, Leo Hjelde and Callum Styles would have a huge task in front of them to keep out a QPR side that have won three of their last four away games. Styles and Patterson would become the oldest players in the XI at the age of 23, and that looks like a huge concern.
Looking at the final nine games, I would expect Sunderland to get the 4-6 points they need to ensure that the unthinkable doesn’t happen. Also, the bottom sides would have to put excellent runs together to draw us in. Rotherham are as good as gone, so two relegation places remain. I’m confident we will be more than fine.
Put simply, Sunderland need two wins, and need them fast. Two of the next three are at home, and those games are against QPR and Blackburn. Sandwiched in the middle is a trip to play-off chasing Cardiff City. If we could take four points from those three matches, we could end any fears of relegation. Six would be great. To lose all three would be incomprehensible and devastating.
MIke Dodds, his staff and the players have to find a way to win on Saturday, and end our dismal run of defeats. I read it is the first time we’ve suffered six straight league defeats since 2013, and that was in the Premier League.
A season of promise has petered out, and some of the decisions that have been made both on and off the pitch, will continue to be heavily scrutinised by our supporters, me included, but that is all for another day. Undoubtedly I’ll dissect the season in its entirety when it’s all over. At the moment, it isn’t. We are playing for points for an altogether different reason at the moment. We need to ease the growing pressure on Wearside. I think we will, and obviously, we need to do it sooner rather than later.
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