Season Preview - Sunderland
After facing relegation from the Premier League last season and with a new manager in charge, Sunderland will be hoping for an instant return to the top tier.
We spoke to Eve from A Love Supreme about the upcoming Championship season...
"Given the fact we’re in the middle of takeover and no-one is sure of how it’s going to go, I’m more than a little apprehensive. Everybody knows the Championship is a hard league to get out, you only need to look at Aston Villa and the money they spent last season and they were still no-where near the play-offs."
"I’m not convinced we’re going to be anywhere near the right end of the table, the squad we’ve got at the minute is dire and we need a huge clear out but we aren’t in the position to do so. It’s worrying times."
When asked which position Eve thinks Sunderland will finish, she said "I reckon about 16th place depending on who we bring in and when. We need to give our new manager a fair chance to build his own squad but time is quickly running out. I can’t see us challenging for play-offs after the way last season went, plus our lack of funds means that we can’t really afford that many new additions."
"Though, I’d much rather us go for quality over quantity, I’m tired of managers buying a boat load of players on the cheap rather than three or four decent players for a higher price."
Speaking about which player will be key for the Black Cats, Eve said "well... if he’s fit in time for the start of the season, I reckon Duncan Watmore will be able to do a job in the Championship so long as he’s kept his pace because even just a bit of pace has gone then so has a large part of his game."
"He got found out a bit last season before his injury but I think he’ll still be good at getting at players, even more so in a league below. We need to bring in a decent striker to Watmore can create chances for him."
"I reckon Catts will also be pretty important if he can stay fit. When he’s in the middle of the park organising things, we look in a lot better shape, we’re more disciplined and we never just collapse. Even if he’s having a bad game himself, he makes sure that no-one else is. We need his passion and leadership to get us through this league."
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Finally, when asked which fixtures Sunderland fans will be looking out for, Eve said "Leeds away definitely."
"I think it’ll be a great day out at Elland Road and it should be a feisty fixture. Villa should also be decent so we can all let Steve Bruce know that he’s got a big fat head."
