Former Newcastle United man John Anderson has been blown away by this ‘incredible’ Sunderland statistic from the 2023/24 season.
Sunderland capped their disappointing 2023/24 season with an equally disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls secured their Championship safety at the Stadium of Light, staying behind to soak up the celebrations whilst Sunderland fans quickly emptied the stadium.
The Black Cats finish in 16th place of the Championship table under Mike Dodds who replaced Michael Beale after his sacking in February.
Tony Mowbray was the man in charge at the start of the campaign and Sunderland’s season was shaping up nicely, with the Black Cats just three points outside the top six at the time of his exit.
A key problem for the Black Cats this season has been their lack of goals. But Sunderland actually have one of the best defensive records in the Championship.
John Anderson highlights ‘serious problem’ that Sunderland have
Speaking on Total Sport, Anderson reacted to some comments from Sunderland captain Luke O’Nien following the Sheffield Wednesday defeat.
O’Nien highlighted the fact that Sunderland have the fifth-best defensive record in the Championship this season; they conceded 54 goals, with only Bristol City, West Brom, Leeds United, and Leicester City conceding less.
Anderson said: “That’s incredible. That really is incredible. If you’ve got the fifth-best defensive record in the league and you finish 16th, that is a serious problem.”
Sunderland ended the campaign with a -2 goal difference after scoring just 52 times, with 15 of those goals coming from Jack Clarke, and then seven from Jobe Bellingham.
Sunderland strikers Nazariy Rusyn, Luis Hemir, and Mason Burstow scored just three Championship goals between them in 2023/24.
The ‘serious problem’ needs to be fixed by one man at Sunderland
For Sunderland to end the season with a play-off worthy defensive record shows that, actually, maybe Dodds and the coaching team behind Mowbray and Beale had some nouse.
Dodds was the one constant throughout the campaign and he may well have proved his worth in terms of defence, but to finish 16th is still a very underwhelming season.
The ‘serious problem’ clearly refers to Sunderland’s lack of firepower and the goals stats from the Black Cats’ strikers makes for truly woeful reading.
Their arrivals were all overseen by sporting director Kristjaan Speakman who is now under serious pressure to deliver results in this upcoming summer transfer window.
Sunderland look set to cash in on some of their valuable assets and that money simply has to be put towards a proven goal scorer before anything else.
Sunderland can’t keep taking chances on players like Rusyn or Hemir. They need someone who’s scored goals in the Championship before.
There’ll be plenty of strikers out there but it’s a case of whether or not Sunderland can win the race to sign them; they had agreed deals for two strikers in January but saw both of them fall through.
But if they find that piece of the puzzle, then Sunderland’s defensive record may well be complimented by a top-six goals tally next season.