Sunderland have been criticised for playing one ‘talented’ player out of position all season.
Sunderland have signed 14 players since the summer, but still find themselves lacking in options in various positions due to their poor transfer activity.
The Black Cats signed four inexperienced strikers and have instead ended up playing Jobe Bellingham up front due to their inability in front of goal.
They offloaded Danny Batth and Nectarios Triantis and were forced to play full-backs in central defence due to injuries and suspensions.
Another consistently frustrating issue is the empty void that Corry Evans’ injury left, with the club waiting a whole 15 months for him to return to full fitness instead of just simply signing a replacement.
Sunderland slammed for poor decision-making
The Wearside outfit didn’t have another holding midfielder in the whole squad, so have instead been forcing Pierre Ekwah to play that role – and not very well.
Journalist Phil Smith has now criticised the club for their reliance on Ekwah to play out of position.
Speaking on Shots! The Roar, Smith said: “He [Ekwah] didn’t play very well yesterday. I don’t think that’s unfair. I feel like I’ve watched quite a bit of Ekwah now and I don’t think he’s going to be a holding midfielder, I just don’t think it suits his skillset.
“I think he’s a really talented player, I think he’s got a lovely passing range, I think he’s got a great left foot… and I just get frustrated, because how many times do we have to watch these games? It’s just not his game.”
Who is to blame for Pierre Ekwah’s downfall?
Pierre Ekwah has absolutely ‘amazing’ during his first season at the Stadium of Light, and he had even left many West Ham fans complaining that they had let him go on social media.
He was strong, powerful, could pick a wonderful pass and was able to worm out of any tight space. Most supporters thought we had a real talent on our hands.
So to nullify that talent, we have spent most of the campaign pushing him back, expecting him to sit just in front of the defence and limiting his abilities to move forward.
I certainly don’t think we can call him a bad player because he has shown us he is far from that, but playing him out of position is clearly having a negative impact on him and he’s going to struggle to get back to his best until he is given his freedom in the midfield.
We can’t even blame Mike Dodds for it either because he has no other options that he can play there, because Kristjaan Speakman decided against bringing in a new midfielder during the three transfer windows where he got an opportunity.
Once again it all boils down to terrible decision-making by the people higher up, but those lower down get the blame.