Alex Neil has outlined what he saw as ‘ideal’ about the Sunderland club he inherited.
Alex Neil came at Sunderland in February 2022 to a somewhat disappointing response, with the club sitting fourth in the League One table.
Except for a 2-1 defeat to MK Dons, the Scots stayed unbeaten for the rest of the season, winning eight of their last 15 games and winning the play-off final.
Given the quantity of dead wood brought in by Stewart Donald, Kristjaan Speakman had done miracles with the additions of Trai Hume, Alex Pritchard, Nathan Broadhead, and Jack Clarke.
Sunderland had added experience to their ranks by signing four players over the age of 27, in addition to a crop of young players who have subsequently thrived in the Championship.
Neil went on to win promotion with the same collection of players, and the 42-year-old admits that his squad’s balance was ‘perfect’.
Neil stated on the #EFLDebate YouTube channel that in order for youth players to improve and flourish, they must be surrounded by experienced players. That was probably a healthy debate subject on a frequent basis.
“If you look at them right now, I believe they need experience. They are really young, yet incredibly skilled young players. I suppose you need a few dots of experience. I thought the team I picked up in Sunderland had the perfect balance. We had Dennis Cirkin, Dan Neil, and Jack Clarke among our numerous young players. So you wouldn’t criticize that squad of not having many young players on it. But similarly… Luke O’Nien, Corry Evans, Alex Pritchard, and Ross Stewart were all as significant.
“The balance for the team was perfect, the attitude of the team in terms of appetite to win and the quality we had, it just all aligned itself with each other and we deserved to go up.”
Where have Sunderland gone wrong?
Lynden Gooch, Bailey Wright, Danny Batth, Corry Evans, and Alex Pritchard were among the team members who defeated Wycombe Wanderers in the play-off final. In fact, Anthony Patterson and Dennis Cirkin were the only youthful players in their whole lineup.
Since then, the Black Cats have offloaded five starters, with four injured. Only Patterson began their defeat to Southampton at the weekend.
Kristjaan Speakman has gradually reduced the Sunderland team to a group of young guys having a good time, which was entertaining to watch last season, but their lack of experience and leadership is clear when they don’t have a few veterans to look up to.
Everyone knew it was a huge mistake to sell Batth, and I’d do anything to have him back on this team right now. Especially given that someone thought it would be a good idea to have only three centre-backs in the entire squad for the second half of the season.
Alex Neil led us to promotion with a mix of young and experienced players, so why did we believe we could handle the Championship with only half of that?
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