Sunderland’s trip to Luton Town gave the lads an opportunity to reinvent their image. While we’ve looked an impressive package this season, we have looked shaky away from the Stadium of Light. A loss to struggling Plymouth in the deep south preceded a tough trip to Vicarage Road, and these were the only two games in which the team hasn’t earned at least a point this season.
However, this 2-1 result indicates that a successful reinvention of our form away from home has indeed taken place. Yet it also symbolised something much greater.
Sunderland have succeeded in improving their defence, arguably a department that seriously hindered us last year. Our position atop the Championship is largely due to this new solidity. But how have we done it?
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Analysing the Defence
Last season, Sunderland limped to 16th in the table, having conceded 54 goals. Over the course of 46 games, this equates to an average of 1.17 goals per game. This isn’t terrible, but it pales compared to the records of former Championship winners. Last year, Leicester won the league with an average of 0.89, while Burnley won with 0.76 the year before, and Fulham found victory with 0.93 goals per game.
Of course, there are other ways to gain promotion to the Premier League, yet for the most part (excluding Ipswich’s slightly anomalous average of 1.23 last season), most teams promoted — either automatically or through the playoffs — in the last few seasons have had similar, if not occasionally better, averages to the league champions.
Sunderland have now conceded only nine goals in 11 games, with five of those coming in the two losses away from home. This gives the side an average of only 0.81 goals conceded per game; should this persist, we would expect to finish the season on 37 goals against, a lower ‘Goals Against’ than Leicester achieved last season.
Our GA of only nine is also an improvement on this point last season, as Sunderland had conceded 12 goals by the eleven-game mark.
The significance of this is twofold. Firstly, it is a clear numerical and statistical improvement from last year; the defence has become tighter. Secondly, it is making us a genuine competitor. Football is a simple game, and needless to say, you can expect to win more when you concede less. The foundations of our current title charge have been built on our newfound ability to defend, no matter the challenge.
This collective defensive turnaround begins at the individual level, and the statistics are impressive. We’ll start with the centre backs.
Mepham has been a godsend; he hasn’t missed a minute since his debut and is statistically superior to many of his peers. He ranks better than 89% of the league’s centre backs for successful defensive actions, and he has won more aerial duels than 83% of them. He is a unit at the back and difficult to beat.
O’Nien also provides an interesting case study. He boasts respectable defensive stats, winning 62% of his duels and making 30 ball recoveries.
Moving onto the full backs: FotMob ranks Dennis Cirkin as better than all other (100%) Championship FBs in successful Defensive Actions. This is backed by his 24 successful tackles and 92 duels won. He also ranks better than 73% of the league’s full backs for Aerial Duels Won.
Trai Hume also boasts impressive statistics. He is better than 91% of the league’s full backs in Defensive Actions and 84% in Aerial Duels. He’s won 14 tackles and 48 duels.
The takeaway here is that our defence is flourishing. Our defenders are excelling individually, and this has ensured that our defensive unit is a solid and formidable force. We’ve already kept six clean sheets this season, just under half of the 13 we managed last season, and our form has ensured that we’ve already tasted victory eight times, often in games we would have failed to win last season due to a leaky defence.
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Building from the Back
This defensive revolution has had a positive influence on our attack, too. Our new confidence at the back has seen us play more assuredly, doing the basics better and having the initiative to get the ball moving.
Le Bris teams tend to utilise quick, effective movement off the ball. This has been no different with Sunderland, and much of it comes through the full backs, with Hume and Cirkin constantly looking to move forward, often overlapping or underlapping their winger.
Cirkin and Mundle have displayed an aptitude for this, demonstrating good playing chemistry. Cirkin is constantly in space, offering himself to the left winger. With an xG of 0.78 and xA of 0.99, he’s created nine chances and scored once already. This ability to make plays and help usher play along has certainly given Mundle the freedom to play his own game, knowing he can rely on Cirkin’s support.
This fast movement off the ball has also helped relieve pressure by giving Mepham and O’Nien more options. It’s undeniable that Mepham is a phenomenal piece of business; his skill set complements O’Nien’s, and he’s an excellent passer. The Welshman creates more chances than 57% of Championship centre-backs, with a passing accuracy of 87.2%.
Luke, meanwhile, has a passing accuracy of 86%, having successfully completed 561 passes, including 43 long balls. He ranks better than 82% of the league’s CBs in chance creation and 92% in touches, and he’s scored more than 83% of them.
Our defensive players are among the top in the league for time spent on the ball. We’re secure and confident in possession, happy to create serious attacking threats from the back. This is symbolic of the newfound solidity and security we’ve created.
Time and again this season we’ve seen moves start from the back, from O’Nien whipping balls cross-field to Mepham darting deft passes into midfield. None of this would be possible without that security. We’ve begun to play with a certain authority, no longer scrambling around without direction. Our defence is incredibly forward-thinking, looking to turn their solid defending into well-executed passes into the middle and attacking thirds.
This symbolises a much-improved Sunderland side, one whose confidence is sky-high. This is a team playing with direction and purpose; should this continue, a promotion push is surely on the cards.