The Sundered Land

Proper Players

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

MD16 – Queen’s Park Rangers (Away) 2000 – Wednesday 21^st December 2011

23-year old Nicklas Bendtner has developed a seasoned repertoire for his narcissistic levels of confidence and self-instilled delusions of grandeur; however his developed talent is juxtaposed with great criticism, centred on his failure to adopt it into his weekly performances. So when a vandalism charge against the Dane and teammate Lee Cattermole brought Sunderland into disrepute, it fell to the new man in charge, Martin O’Neill, to provide Bendtner with the home truth that has eluded him for so long.

Following a grovelling apology to his family, club and country, a sincere Nicklas Bendtner took to Loftus Road with rare focus and commitment to Sunderland’s cause. And, after an alarming display of forward manoeuvres, the striker dominated his marker for a well-earned headed goal within twenty minutes. It was a welcomed performance; increasing Bendtner’s credibility with patient supporters while exploring the efficiency of O’Neill’s man-management skills.

The on-loan Gunner’s crisp form catalysed Sunderland’s one-sided opening half in which the reliable Stèphane Sességnon continued to shine through as the Black Cat’s star player. His blistering counter-attack from a Titus Bramble clearance out-paced surrounding stoppers; while his ‘fake shot’ finish was as humiliating for keeper Paddy Kenny was it was savvy from the Benin maestro. As for the goal-line clearance from Bramble; it was a steady indication of the defender’s newfound agility and awareness, as Bramble continues to drop his ‘powerhouse’ methods. This can only be a good thing for a player who is far from re-embraced by the Sunderland faithful. Lee Cattermole, who can learn from Bramble’s example of rehabilitating respect through commitment on-field, also revealed a more composed doppelganger of his manic self throughout his performance. Though commendable, but it will take more than this game for supporters to overlook his volatility.

A severely brief dip – rife with inconsistency and panic – hallmarked the Steve Bruce managerial era from this campaign as two successive responses from Queen’s Park Rangers reset the match. It was familiar and typical, but supporters won’t fault the current guard; this is a mentality error that will take a while to repair.

The death provided for travelling supporters as Martin O’Neill wildly flailed his body in gesture for his team to unload pressure over their hosts. Like Blackburn and Tottenham, the Black Cats became relentless with adrenaline and battered QPR until a rare Wes Brown goal sent the squad into relief. The job was done; but with Everton on the horizon – who boast a terrific record against Sunderland – Martin O’Neill will be hoping Bendtner can retain the commitment, effort, and goals his form provided at Loftus Road.

Smoke and Mirrors

2011-12-20T19:43:00.001-08:00

MD15 – Tottenham Hotspurs (Away) 1500 – Sunday 18^th December 2011

A win against Blackburn Rovers at home is to be expected of every team this campaign. Retaining a laudable goal deficit against a team with such depth and strength as Tottenham is questionable. It being his second game in charge, nobody would have condemned Martin O’Neill a loss against Premier League title contenders, operated by one of history’s greatest English managers.

It was a case therefore for Sunderland to assure supporters that the frantic buzzwords coined against Blackburn (resilience, dominance, et al) were not facades covering a weak squad still unable to replicate its potential. So it must have been comforting for O’Neill, and indeed supporters, when an opening half concluded with a 0-0 scoreline. Sunderland lack goal-scorers; this has been accepted since the start of the calendar year, so preventing Tottenham from strong-holding their opponents was paramount. Most fans could appreciate that.

However as Tottenham’s quality depleted – having started without Bale and losing Lennon – it was refreshing to see the Wearside 11 launch a persistent attack at the Spurs back line. While for the most part it was fruitless, supporters applauded under the mere fact that O’Neill’s vision of Sunderland was to make that effort. Even after a Roman Pavlyuchenko scorcher, the goal deficit failed to phase squad mentality as Sunderland’s attack made for an unsettling final 30 minutes for Tottenham. The result itself was academic but secondary to Sunderland’s effort.

A footnote of the match itself was the notary bench-warming of Nicklas Bendtner and Lee Cattermole. The guaranteed harness Steve Bruce provided both – Cattermole especially – was nonexistent as Martin O’Neill proved all players are susceptible for demotion; the pair’s disreputable acts of vandalism a fortnight prior clearly the instigation of O’Neill’s decision to start neither. It was a bold managerial decision on his part supported by Bendtner’s short performance; his concluding shot spinning disastrously wayward. He was a shambles.

The performance of Nicklas Bendtner aside it was another chance O’Neill sought to utilise his younger options, with Connor Wickham leading the Sunderland attack. Though he was short of goals the youth was not disappointing and will only improve. A more viable winning option awaits him next week at Queen’s Park Rangers where his price tag may begin to pay for itself.

Like Barcelona

2011-12-20T19:03:00.001-08:00

MD14 – Blackburn Rovers (Home) – 1500 Sunday 11^th December 2011

One could only assume what madness new boss Martin O’Neill was conjuring as he outlined plans for Sunderland to play like the current best team on the planet, as his new club entered free-fall into relegation more messy than Messi. However the explanation was in O’Neill’s light talk about his time away from management. Barcelona’s success is no secret: they aren’t demi-gods; just a disciplined bunch with a particular style of play that compliments them. In theory, there is no reason why any team can’t replicate their success with the right players, and the right manager.

Fans certainly believe they have the latter, made clear as O’Neill humbly presented himself to the Stadium of Light. His warm applause accompanied slogans and flags already regarding him as their next Peter Reid. Martin himself however made the media aware of his relationship with supporters; he knew his reputation gave him “about three games” to allow mistakes. After that, he was just another manager.

Blackburn Rovers’ early goal brought wonder as to whether it was all just another Steve Bruce, like Eric Black a week prior. Fans irresponsibly jeered players off at half-time (the most fickle claiming it was directed at the referee; it wasn’t). The majority supporting however saw beyond the scoreline and saw the match – and the Sunderland squad – for what it was already becoming under Martin O’Neill’s guidance. There was an attacking flair previously abandoned by Steve Bruce’s repetitive defensive offering. Statistics in retrospect did not lie: Sunderland bossed Blackburn around the SOL with no response, boasting near-70% possession and determined attacking flair led by the ever-present Sességnon. Pundits and supporters alike knew a Sunderland goal was coming – a Sunderland win was inevitable.

The beginning of the end exploded with an 84^th minute David Vaughan knock-out shot from afar – one of the most aesthetically-pleasing shots of the season. The Stadium of Light was buzzing with anticipation for another as Martin O’Neill sent his body into orbit with excitement. A 92^nd minute spot-kick award was just the ticket for Sebastian Larsson to redeem himself for his incident at Wolverhampton. He needed to take this chance for himself and for the club. With hearts in throats, the Swede curved an impossible shot below keeper Paul Robinson and the Stadium of Light went absolutely bananas. Larsson erupted into a shooting star pose as he blew kisses to supporters who had lost all sense of control. Not even Martin O’Neill could maintain order of his motor functions.

It was not perfect but it was entertaining. O’Neill got his victory, Larsson got his redemption, and Sunderland got the points. There were highly encouraging appearances from Wickham, Ji Dong Won and James McClean; with the Irish boy McClean being the centrepiece of Sunderland’s grand finale to a grand new start.

The Rise and Fall of Steve Bruce

2011-12-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

To Steve Bruce: the manager nobody wanted, the manager everybody needed. For Sunderland AFC, Bruce represented the constant that maintained club survival and longevity in the Premier League; where the players brought in to represent him were the variables – ever-interchanging and inconsistent.

Of these incoming variables, it was the prized champion who represented Steve Bruce’s Sunderland the most: Darren Bent – as much the manager before goal as Steve Bruce was on the touchline. Certainly the former Tottenham man was twice the household name on Wearside as the club itself and with good reason: 36 goals, 63 games. Indeed the rapid incline of Bent’s popularity and league status was a blessing, albeit in disguise. Bent’s presence and activity as a lone striker masked Steve Bruce’s campaign strategy from June 2009 to January 2011; because while Sunderland’s no.11 had blunderbuss firepower, the remaining ten players stressed inconsistency through no fault of their own.

Bruce’s first-term skipper Lorik Cana is one proven Albanian despite his aggression and he led a team with an equal mindset: Bent will score. It was certainly a grafting squad capable of squeezing out victories from the most unlikeable of fixtures, through extraordinary means on occasion. Yet every ‘magical’ moment of Steve Bruce’s inaugural term involved that man Bent again and again. So it was inevitable that the cracks would show the moment his goal storm began to calm.

But it didn’t. And maybe Steve Bruce wishes it had. After 24 goals in 36 games, Darren Bent finished the 2^nd highest English goal-scorer of the season for the 13^th position Sunderland. Hot property, no doubt, made all the worse by rumours of a Summer departure to foreign clubs. It became, if anything, apparent that a sale of Darren Bent would allow the club to pocket a lot more than the £10m paid for his services, but could the club afford to lose him? The answer was yes. Could Steve Bruce afford to lose him? That was a different story.

It’s plausible to assume that Bruce’s next champion signing of Asamoah Gyan was his response to Fabio Capello’s discerning decision to omit Darren Bent from England’s 2010 World Cup campaign. When England unceremoniously crashed out of the competition without a striker’s goal to their tally, Bent’s inclusion suddenly became inevitable. As an impending international Bent’s worth soared and Gyan – having made an impression during his World Cup campaign for Ghana – was the £13m striker Bruce believed he needed to continue the goal spree when Bent’s ended.

Despite his lacklustre consistency Gyan provided dazzling flare to Sunderland’s strike force alongside Bent and on-loan Danny Welbeck yet his inclusion sounded an underlining concern. While striker Kenwyne Jones was not only a fan-favourite but a reliable attacker, his sudden £8m sale was never justified. Whether Jones’ sale was relative to Bruce’s task of remedying the unbalanced wage bills is open to speculation; however the Trinidad forward was the proven and committed striker where £13m Gyan was not.

In the short term, Bruce’s operation proved a success; after 9 goals between August and October 2010, Bent entered an extended goal-drought and it was Asamoah Gyan who carried the responsibility. However the striker dilemma for Steve Bruce was becoming apparent; as Gyan entered a creative flurry of match-winning goals, Darren Bent was slowly fading with every goal-less fixture. Not that the Sunderland faithful cared. In their eyes, Bent had already moulded his status as a Wearside hero. But not for long.

The speculation of what occurred next can be debated for seasons to come. Bent had began a goal-scoring string of international games but could not replicate his form for Sunderland anymore. Everybody knew something was wrong but nobody could have imagined that in the hours following a 1-1 derby result their golden boy would request a transfer request. The greatest concern was in the specifics: Bent hadn’t requested just a transfer – he had a club ready to take him. Even with Steve Bruce’s questionable man-management skills, he could not have prevented the wave of deceit and greed that surrounded the controversy of Darren Bent’s transfer to Aston Villa.

Within days it was over; Bent was gone and Bruce had to rely on what he had left. The veil of Darren Bent no longer cloaked the tactics Bruce was playing and, from this, results declined in a freefall. And as poor results continued, Steve Bruce became casualty to his greatest foe during his Sunderland tenure when both Welbeck and Gyan succumbed to extended injuries. At the season’s exodus Bruce relied on ultra-talented Sességnon to see out a campaign Bruce couldn’t wait to see conclude.

It is crass of pundits to attribute Sunderland’s 10^th position finish as a reflection of other teams losing fixtures. However with a large percentage of points collected before Bent’s departure and subsequent January slump down the league table, Steve Bruce’s biggest dilemma was clear to even the most jaded supporter. Certainly without Darren Bent, this was Steve Bruce’s Sunderland. And if there was any doubt that it wasn’t, it sure was after Summer 2011.

Sebastian Larsson. Craig Gardner. John O’Shea. Wes Brown. Kieran Westwood. Ahmed Elmohammedy. Ji Dong Won. Connor Wickham. James McClean. David Vaughan.

Bruce’s 2011 campaign included a personal starting XI of summer signings; seasoned veterans, potential superstars, proven internationals and anonymous greenhorns. A liar would claim they believed this was a squad destined to fail as Sunderland prepared for a campaign amidst heavy talk that this was their season of real achievement. Bruce had balanced the books at last and finally claimed the squad he wanted. In the opening fixture against Liverpool there were positive signs of a strong Sunderland squad.

The beginning of the end then followed with Steve Bruce’s recurring nightmare: the Tyne-Wear Derby.

Echoes of the 5-1 pummelling at St. James’ Park the previous season left a tainted scar across Bruce’s successful previous campaign. Supporters wrongfully called for his head following that fixture which was, if nothing else, a small blemish against a solid start for Bruce’s squad. That was then. This was now: the first home game of the season against the fiercest rival Newcastle United; a weakened Newcastle United, one dead set for a relegation battle. And yet, before a sold out Stadium of Light, Sunderland stumbled.

For Bruce: when you fall, you fall hard. It was all more smoke and mirrors disguising the obvious flaw that his management was not working, and it never had. Within weeks the indifference of Asamoah Gyan led to his loan spell at Al Ain. Suddenly Bruce had no goal-scorer and he was found incapable of structuring a squad to remedy this woe. Supporters quickly observed the squad’s flaws more than Bruce himself; while the manager was looked down upon by the Sunderland faithful as one who couldn’t retain his star players. With every winless fixture, not only did Bruce’s reliability fall, but his credibility as a tactical manager collapsed.

It was only for Bruce’s resilient 10^th place finish in his 2^nd term that the club and its supporters held onto a lasting belief in him. Eventually however, the net snapped beneath Steve Bruce as Wigan fluked a victory against his team – at home – to a sudden hailstorm of berating. Regardless of Wigan’s credibility victory against Martinez’ squad was assured by everybody in the stadium that night. For it to collapse within a tumultuous sequence of sheer defensive f**k-ups was enough for everyone. Especially Chairman Ellis Short.

The national rumours of Steve Bruce’s imminent departure were irrelevant against the inevitable feeling on Wearside. It was a line in the sand for the club that Bruce would not see another game as manager. How cruel his departure was may not have been as sudden as reports would have people believe, however. In retrospect Steve Bruce provided the perfect assistance to Sunderland AFC in the only way he could at the ideal time.

Bruce’s legacy as a manager documents his ability to achieve with low funds and, for a club in dire need of financial stability, he provided that service to Sunderland in ways few managers could. A cut-price purchase for Darren Bent ended with his sale for double the price. He nurtured raw, young talent in Jordan Henderson within 2 seasons and sold him for £20m. That, in itself, is a successful risk for a manager. Most importantly, Steve Bruce returned Sunderland’s investors to an assured state that the club was profitable and financially stable. The selfish loan of Asamoah Gyan proves that Steve Bruce’s priority was to maintain a structured finance scheme rather than giving in to wage demands and for that he should be appreciated.

With Bruce stepping aside, Ellis Short can now appoint the manager capable of taking Sunderland to a level their predecessor couldn’t. Bruce’s purpose at Sunderland has been fulfilled and he can, in hindsight, be proud of his accomplishments. Now, with Martin O’Neill at the helm, fan expectation will no doubt call for a top 10 finish, not only for O’Neill’s promise as a manager, but for the expectations Bruce raised in his final finish. That, alone, shows the progress Steve Bruce made.