Sbragia’s bandwagon rumbles past Trotters

IT WAS out with the old and in with the, er, old as we progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2006 on Saturday.

Roy Keane’s final game as boss of Sunderland was a dismal 4-1 home defeat against Bolton. However, it was largely the same players that just a month later brushed the Trotters aside on the road to Wembley.

Ricky Sbragia may have come in for some criticism from Sunderland fans, but in he’s had a much bigger impact than people give him credit for.

In his six games in charge, we’ve lost only twice, at Man United and Everton. There’s no shame in that and even the most anti-Spag Bol fanatic concedes he’s stopped the rot that had crept in. His fans would point to him galvanising a squad and playing far nicer football than his predecessor.

Bolton’s fans were clearly gripped by cup fever as a massive 300 hardy souls made the short journey across the Pennines to cheer their team on. With ticket prices reduced and both teams fielding near-full strength sides, their following was pathetic.

Even non-league Barrow managed to take a whopping 7,000 to Middlesbrough to show some Premier League sides what an away following is like.

Working as a journalist, I’m well aware that a lot of my newspaper colleagues do not like the transfer window being closed. In the past, when players were free to come and go whenever they pleased, it was an easy way to get round a slow news day by opening a random page of the latest Rothmans Guide and linking the most plausible name in front of them to Sunderland.

So no doubt they will all be pleased the window is open again. Rascal Chimbonda and El-Radge Diouf are the two big names being linked with moves away from the Stadium of Light. The former’s disciplinary issues have been highlighted whilst the latter has struggled to make a decent impression.

However, against Bolton, Diouf was man of the match in many reports, whilst Chimbonda was steady considering he had not played for a while. Whether they were simply put in the shop window or busting a gut to prove their worth, only time will tell. Whilst Diouf has offered us little so far, I’d be trying my damndest to hold onto our glove-addicted right back. Whilst Chimbonda has little regard for defending his flank, he is great going forward and can provide cover at centre half when injuries and suspensions hit.

The most obvious outgoing player must be David Healy. Whilst the Northern Irish striker’s agent is insisting he has a future on Wearside, Michael Chopra’s recall from Cardiff suggests otherwise. From a financial point of view I hope he stays, but I’d bet a keg of Guinness it won’t happen.

Having reported on a lot of the Northern Ireland games in recent years, I was delighted when we signed Healy and gladly took a £100 bet from a mate who said he wouldn’t score 10 goals for us this season.

My drunken reasoning was that if you can net against international defences on a regular basis, you must be able to do it in the Premier League. Unfortunately it looks like he’ll struggle to make 10 games, never mind goals.

In terms of who we need, it’s easy peasy for Ricky. I’d settle for two signings, a quality winger and a top central defender. We’ve no genuine width, with the likes of Reid, Richardson, Malbranque and Diouf all tending to drift infield. At the back, we desperately need to replace Nyron Nosworthy, who is suffering from second season syndrome. He’s a cult hero on Wearside, but he’s prone to mistakes and his decision-making is starting to cost us.

We should be able to fund signings simply by shipping out the deadwood. And in his first transfer window as a manager it’s likely to be the easiest one Ricky Sbragia will ever have to face.

* Martyn McFadden www.a-love-supreme.com