Inside Sunderland's remarkable PL push with help from Man Utd and 3 'magicians'
Tony Mowbray makes it sound simple the way he’s led Sunderland to just three games from the Premier League.
But it’s been far from that. Obstacle after obstacle, blow after blow, has been overcome. He’s guiding a team of kids and a defence crippled by injuries, including now having no fit centre-halves for the two legs against Luton.
He lost star striker Ross Stewart to injury twice and Ellis Simms was recalled by Everton, leaving no centre forward to lead the line or target-man to hit in the box, for months. Skipper Corry Evans suffered a long-term knee injury in January.
There was a nine-game winless run up to April and a slump to 12th. Yet somehow, a team packed full of ball-playing talent - most standing 5ft8 tall on their tip-toes - has passed, and moved, and jinked their way to the Championship play offs.
How? “There's a lack of fear in the team. There are a lot of young players who just want to play,” Mowbray says.
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Miniature marvels, the lot of them. Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo (13 goals, 3 assists), Jack Clarke (11 goals, 11 assists), Patrick Roberts (5 goals, 7 assists) are the magicians, mesmerising more lumpen opponents. All three could play in the top flight. Titchy playmaker Alex Pritchard has four goals and six assists.
“Maybe we go to the Premier League next season and I come back.” Amad said on Monday.
Luke O’Nein has been tenacious and versatile, plugging gaps and full of heart. Summer signing Dan Ballard and Danny Batth were the centre back anchors, but both now out injured.
Then there’s keeper and local lad Anthony Patterson, at 22 mature and safe in goal and shaping up to be the new Jordan Pickford. Home-grown Dan Neil, doing the dirty work in a 48 appearance midfield marathon.
Tony Mowbray has bounced back from several setbacks this season (Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)We’ll never know how high they’d have gone with Stewart fit. He scored five in seven games in August; then picked up a serious thigh injury. Then he netted six in eight games when fit for five weeks after December.
Mowbray explained: “Instead of a target-man we've had to find ways of filling the box with the midfield players, with the wide players and it's been more difficult.”
From mid-February to April they wobbled with one win in nine and were down in 12th, but now they’re unbeaten in nine games. The mindset and freedom Mowbray imprints is important after four miserable years in League One, a historical club low. The future is bright, with more young, value packed players scouted using data, lined up this summer.
Mowbray said: “I've got some real individual talents that can win football matches and with the organisation of the team, it doesn't surprise me that we compete in the division.
“One of the messages I constantly say to our players is keep going, keep knocking on the door. Find a way to be relentless and keep asking questions.
“I don't fill myself full of pressure and tension, I genuinely relax into the game and I try to get that across to the players in training. We don’t over-show them what the opposition do every day, or dictate, every pass, where they go, what they do. We have to go and play.
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“It's been those sort of messages all season. It's been enough to win plenty of games on the road. Be brave, play in the spaces, move the ball, move forward. You have to compete too – that's just what the game is.”
Keeper Patterson reflected: “I don't think anyone could have imagined last summer that we'd be in this situation. I think consolidation was what was on everyone's mind, even if they didn't say it out loud, but we've smashed that.
“We've scored so many great team goals. We like to get the ball down and pass it about - that's the kind of players we have, clever, technical players.”
Winning games has meant a happy, positive fan base - 40k-plus still packing the Stadium of Light. Mowbray said: “There's nothing better than winning football matches. On a Sunday, you've won, you feel comfortable, you're watching your sons play footy on a park field, the sun's shining and it's great.”
Three more games to win and Sunderland could be feeling great in the Premier League.
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