Losing away at Arsenal (the soon-to-be Premier League champions) and then at home against Liverpool (the reigning trophy-holders) is not the disaster that some social media dwellers would have you believing if you took their words with anything more than a shovelful of salt.
Yes, it’s perfectly understandable that Sunderland would drop points against such weighty opponents, yet rather predictably, the inquest started during and after Wednesday’s defeat at the hands of Arne Slot’s side.
I won’t even
repeat some of the things that I saw myself, but I’m sure you, reading this, will have also seen criticism of certain players layered in hyperbole and drama.
It’s seemingly in the eyes of some people no longer acceptable to have the odd off day, or for players to go through periods of struggle. Instead, they’re just labelled as shite, treated like morons, and talked about like they’re carrying a serious contagious disease, as though we really ought not to be associated with them.
Most irritatingly for me, anyway, this stuff is levelled at lads who played for us in the Championship, and we owe a great amount of gratitude to them for even being in a position where we can lose to a team like Liverpool in a league game. They’re also young, which adds extra layers of complexity, as we know for a fact that young players read and see the words written about them online.
Am I saying you mustn’t criticise players if they haven’t played well? Absolutely not. They’re in a position where they are being judged constantly, so it’s only natural that we would.
But, whatever happened to just being sensible and rational? Some of them are only playing such a significant role, or in unfamiliar positions, because more senior and capable players aren’t available right now.
To a lesser degree, I think it’s fair to say that it’s been tough replacing the experience and creativity of Bertrand Traoré on our right-hand side, and once he does return it will be a welcome one, but I think we have enough about us in the squad to cope with not having him for what will eventually be just over two months, factoring in the time he was away at AFCON and then through injury since returning.
The far more difficult and, dare I say, impossible task is to replace Granit Xhaka. We have many great players, and I really think the future is bright when I watch Sunderland’s midfielders strut their stuff, but there really isn’t another player out there that’s attainable that could do what Granit Xhaka does for this team.
His leadership qualities alone are simply irreplaceable. He directs traffic, he demands that everyone meet the standards that he does, and he strikes fear into our opponents. Players and coaches know that when they’re facing a midfield that can call upon the skillset of Granit Xhaka, they’re in for an infinitely tougher afternoon than they would be against most other teams in the division. Then there’s what he brings on the pitch from a playing standpoint — he’s our greatest creative source, is a world-class passer of the ball, and dictates the tempo of games. These are skills that he’s honed over many years; skills you simply wouldn’t expect from your average 21-year-old just making their first big strides onto the world’s stage.
All of that said, it amazes me that people are scrabbling around looking to find difficult answers to what are simple questions. The noticeable drop-off in Sunderland’s performances recently, Burnley aside, can mostly be put down to the fact that we’re missing our best player.
The reason the manager continues to play Trai Hume out of position is that without Granit, we lack leadership, defensive cover, and bite in midfield, which is a quality that Trai provides.
Is it really that difficult to understand, or am I oversimplifying things? That doesn’t exempt Régis from criticism when he gets some of his decisions wrong, but given the fact that he got us promoted and then we’ve had such an unbelievable season, he’s built up a significant amount of credit and respect, and that should make people think more than twice about questioning his decision-making.
It’s probably difficult to do this when the games are coming thick and fast, but I really wish that people who get aggravated regardless of who we lose to — whether that be one of the best teams walking the planet, or a team fighting for their survival — would just take a breath, have a think, and put their phones down before they tweet something silly. It doesn’t help anyone, really.
We’ve already far exceeded my expectations for the season, and with survival virtually guaranteed, anything else we do from this point is a bonus. We’ll probably lose a good few more games this season, but we’ll also win games, and hopefully we can get that winning feeling back again, starting on Sunday at Oxford.
In Régis I trust… and hopefully you do, too.
