Fan Letters: Xhaka’s arrival, do ‘proper strikers’ still exist, and are pre-season concerns valid?

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

The recruitment of Granit Xhaka certainly warrants comment. The Commentariat are virtually unanimous that this is a very shrewd signing by Sunderland as they look for proven leadership of what remains a very young squad now plying their trade in the toughest league in the world.

And a lot of thought has gone into this. Xhaka certainly fits in with a potential midfield partnership with Le Fee and Diarra with the experience to be able to adapt to new styles of play.

Despite his years, he still has a great

deal to give, evidenced by his recent form.

Xhaka has reinvented himself over the past two years at Leverkusen and has achieved standout European-level statistics when it comes to passing and creating vital chances.

Jordan Henderson to Sunderland would have been a sentimental signing, but Granit Xhaka looks like very hardheaded business and entirely in keeping with the adaptive model.

This move is totemic, demonstrating the ambition of Sunderland not only to survive but to thrive in the Premiership. And what made it happen?

Clearly, he wants to prove himself again in the Premiership and has chosen Sunderland, knowing fine well that it could well be a relegation battle and very different circumstances to the German club he has just left.

But he appears up for the Project and good on him.

Finally, it is worth speculating about the role of KLD. He was on the plane with Xhaka jetting into the North East yesterday.

He’s a Swiss domicile, a point probably not lost on our newest recruit.

Ken Spours

Ed’s note [Martin]: On paper, Xhaka’s an excellent bit of business – on the field and importantly off the field too – he’s got top-level experience that will help the other players develop and grow. The owner evidently had a lot to do with it, and there’s been talk of him attracting Xhaka with a 10 year plan so who knows what that looks like and if it’s confined to SAFC. Regardless, it’s an ambitious signing that will be hugely important, and hopefully it’ll help get another couple of players of similar ilk over the line.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

Friendlies before the start of the new season help to get the players fit and ready, and it gives the Boss some idea of who to start against good opposition. It doesn’t really matter whether we win or lose in friendlies as long as we get no injuries. The man who shines out is Enzo Le Fee, so he must start when the real games begin. I think we need a good goalkeeper who knows how to keep a clean sheet, and the best at the moment, IMO, is Moore. Will the new signings be up to scratch, or a waste of money, only time will tell. I hope the “model” is working and that we avoid the Big Drop. Consectatio Excellentaia. Keep Happy

Bill Calvert

Ed’s note [Martin]: Thanks for the email Bill. Think the new signings - particularly Sadiki and Diarra, have shown up well so far and look like excellent additions. Some others may need some time. Have to disagree regarding Moore though – think he’s looked exactly what is his so far this preseason, a Championship back up keeper. If we didn’t sign anyone else, Patterson, if available, would play as he’s streets ahead of Moore. I do think we need better than Patterson anyway – I actually wouldn’t be too surprised to see two keepers come in.

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Dear Roker Report,

To all the doom merchants out there, DON’T PANIC! Preseason is for team fitness team bonding and a chance to look at new tactics and styles of play (results don’t really matter). When the lads step out to face West Ham, they will be fit, focused and we’ll up for it.

I know it will be a tough season, but we won’t be relegated, and this will be the start of something amazing for our crazy, beautiful, wonderful club.

Keep the faith

Till the end

FTM always

John Robson

Ed’s note [Martin]: Bar the usual suspects who go overboard on social media as regular as clockwork, I haven’t seen much panic in pre-season to be honest. I’m 50/50 on the importance of preseason performances and results – I think they do matter to some extent but they’re not definitive by any stretch. I love your optimism about us staying up – it will be incredibly tough and the reality is we’re among the favourites to go down. It’ll be touch and go I suspect, and this is a season that will really need us to keep our nerve as fans – we need to be less reactive to individual games and pretty resilient this season. Which, given some of the panic you’ve mentioned about preseason, is a concern!

Photo by Mark Scates/SNS Group via Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

Matthis Abline, French under-21, looks like a good buy mentioned earlier in the window. I’ve seen him play for France under-21s. He brought the game alive when he came on. He was mentioned, but it seems like we have lost interest, or were they quoted too much money for him? He is young and a centre-forward and scores goals.

Robert Shanks

Ed’s note [Martin]: We’re keeping a list of players we’ve been linked with this summer, and it’s now well into the hundreds. There’s loads of good players out there, and the club have to strike the right deal for all parties, if there’s a mutual desire to join forces. Abline could be a good addition, but he only joined Nantes last summer for big money on a long-term deal, so who knows if he’d want to move now. I do trust our recruitment at present though, and they’re certainly aware of him.

Photo by Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

I’m missing a trick here. Yes, I remember the Reidy times, and the Keane times, Quinn and Phillips’ duo, and although I never saw Clough play, my uncles made sure I knew what a forward he was. But in today’s world of football, yes, you need someone with an eye for goal, but that is surely spread across the whole forward line and anyone else who can leather a ball. The signings we have made seem to be forward-thinking, pacey attackers – surely that is what it is all about now. Or have I got it all wrong?

Harry Nixon

Ed’s note [Martin]: I think football went through this phase 5-6 years ago, thanks to Pep, when we thought we’d maybe seen the end of proper strikers. But then Haaland came along! My view – proper goalscorers are exceptionally valuable, but there aren’t that many of them round these days. Yes, other players should chip in, but that’s always been the case. In a 4-4-2, your wide midfielders and at least one centre mid were always expected to chip in, as well as the two strikers. I actually think we really need a ‘proper’ striker – as opposed to a ‘forward’ which is how I’d class Mayenda and Isidor. We could really do with someone clinical and proven up front. My view is that it’d be too much to ask of Mayenda to lead the line for the whole season – even in the friendly games in the Algarve he missed two sitters that he should be sticking away. Don’t get me wrong, I think Mayenda’s fantastic and has masses of potential, but I just feel it’d be an awful lot to ask of him to be our main striker all season.

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