After losing 4-2 to Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium in the Championship, Sunderland has now dropped six straight games.
The Sunderland starting lineup for their Championship match against Southampton had an average age of just 21 years old, making it the youngest in the league this season. The previous low was 21.9 years old, from the Black Cats’ match against Leicester four days prior.
Despite only having been a member of the team for a year and a half and missing half of the previous season due to injury, Dan Ballard, who has emerged as one of the team’s more seasoned players, was Sunderland’s oldest player versus Southampton at 24. The team’s backline was severely stretched during a 4-2 loss against St Mary’s, and the center-back was also substituted off due to a hamstring problem in the second half.
Although interim head coach Mike Dodds, who has been in charge of four of Sunderland’s last six losses, is subject to criticism, it is undeniable that he has been given an incredibly difficult assignment. Due to the suspensions of Ballard and captain Luke O’Nien, as well as the absence of top scorer Jack Clarke, the team’s lack of depth in comparison to its rivals has been glaringly obvious.
Russell Martin, the Southampton manager, was able to activate Joe Aribo, Sekou Mara, and Kamaldeen Sulemana from the bench against Sunderland despite the fact that the three players cost a total of £36 million, not including add-ons. When the Black Cats played Leicester, the same thing happened: James Justin, Wilfred Ndidi, and Kelechi Iheanacho—who together are estimated to have cost £48 million—were substituted for players who weren’t included in the starting lineup.
You can’t help but believe Sunderland’s choice to remove veteran players and replace them with potential has left them in a difficult situation at this point of the season. White, there is the argument, if you’re good enough you’re old enough. The Black Cats seemed to have the ideal balance of youth and experience in their lineup last season, led by players like Danny Batth, Lynden Gooch, and Alex Pritchard. The balance seems to have shifted too much in one direction right now.
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