Why Sunderland Fans Should Not Panic After Heavy Defeat to Posh

Many Sunderland fans are not happy, they have not been happy for a number of seasons. Moreover, they have every right to be angry as a combination of mismanagement and poor decision making at boardroom level has seen the club plummet from the Premier League to League One via back to back delegations. One man who has had to cop much of this frustration is manager Jack Ross. Indeed the sight of him turning round to take abuse from a Sunderland fan located in the Directors’ box was as bemusing as it was funny to watch last Saturday and a quick look at Twitter further highlights the anger and frustration seeping out of Sunderland fans following the result on Saturday, with the Jack Ross out bandwagon was back in full swing among certain sections of the Sunderland fan base. Ross is not a manager without flaws, and indeed his natural conservatism is frustrating given the talent he has at his disposal, but he does not deserve most of the harsh criticism and vitriol which comes his way. To his credit he is a man who never shirks his critics and will always front up to poor performances as he did on Saturday.

Ross is also not the main culprit behind Sunderland’s rapid decline. He was not the man who burned through vast sums of Premier League money until there was nothing left to burn, nor was he the manager at any point as Sunderland slid down the divisions. In fact, despite the disappointment of failing to win promotion last season, Ross deserves credit for curbing Sunderland’s alarming slide and reaching the playoff final in his first season. Ross inherited a side plagued by systematic failings and an air of toxicity. Although Sunderland were favourites for promotion with many last season, there is precedent to suggest a 5^th placed finish is what should have been reasonably expected from a side of huge stature but struggling both on and off the pitch. Take Leeds for example. Following relegation to League One in 2007 they finished 4^th and 5^th, losing in the playoffs both times, before eventual promotion in 2010. While in 2009-10 Southampton, even had they not been deducted 10 points for entering administration, would have only finished 5^th in their first season in League One, before securing automatic promotion the following year. While Sunderland’s points total of 85 also far exceeded Leeds’s first season total (76) and pipped Southampton’s adjusted total (83 without 10 point penalty).

On top of this, there are signs to suggest that Sunderland are well placed to challenge for automatic promotion this season and it is likely the loss on Saturday will be more of a blip in the road as opposed to start of a permanent decline. Sunderland’s summer recruitment looks shrewd and they have addressed their failings at centre back last season. Moreover, the result against Posh should not undermine a fine start to the season which saw them head to London Road unbeaten and on a 5 game winning run having just achieved a very credible win away to Burnley.

Furthermore, the game at the Weston Homes Stadium was far closer than the 3-0 score line suggested, until the double sending off stripped Sunderland of any feint hope of recovery. The first half was an incredibly tight affair between two well matched and organised sides. It took a moment of supreme quality from Marcus Maddison to break the deadlock while. Sunderland, could easily have gone in level at half-time had McNally taken the best chance of the half. At half-time Sunderland were also ahead on a number of performance metrics including possession (56%-44%) time spent in attacking third (60%-40%) and passing accuracy (73%-67%). Furthermore, Posh’s second goal, which was the key turning point in the game, came on the counter as Sunderland dominated the opening exchanges of the second half and were exerting a near constant threat to the Posh box.

This is not to say that there were not tactical and mental flaws on display on Saturday. Ross’s decision to start with McCloughlin, rather than Hume, at left back was an error. Hume, a natural left footer who is keen to attack from full back, would have enabled Sunderland to overload Posh’s right back area where Mason, despite playing well, again demonstrated his shortcomings defending 1v1 as he was too easily beaten by McNally racing through for a 1v1 in the first half. The switch to a 4-4-2 formation, with two relatively immobile central midfielders at the heart of it, was also a glaring mistake as Sunderland were unable to match the energy and work rate of the Posh midfielders as the game wore on.

One can also draw worrying conclusions about the mental resilience of Sunderland’s players from their actions on Saturday. Although his red card has since been overturned, O’Nien was foolish to needlessly engage Toney on the touchline while Wyke’s reckless and unnecessary lunge on Butler could easily have resulted in a straight red on its own. Both instances smacked of players who are not used to losing heavily (this was Sunderland’s biggest defeat since slipping into League One) and unable to cope with the frustrations of a big match slipping away from them.

Despite the negatives, Sunderland demonstrated enough in the opening 60 minutes to suggest they will be there or there about at the top of the table come the end of the season. One bad result does not define a season. Sunderland, with three wins and two draws from the five other fixtures, still sit above Posh in 6^th place. Their start becomes more impressive when you consider that half their league matches thus have come against sides expected to challenge for promotion this season (Ipswich, Portsmouth and Posh). Sunderland fans are right to expect promotion this season. Both the size of the club and recent investment demands it. However, the fans need to stick by Ross, who despite his shortcomings has steadied a previously shrinking ship, and wait until the end of the season before casting judgement on their manager.