Sunderland make the trip to Fulham for the Ford Super Sunday match at the weekend in a spot of trouble.
Martin O’Neill’s side might have a game in hand but they have struggled to find the target this season.
The Black Cats have only found the net seven times in 10 games and over half of these goals have come from club record signing Steven Fletcher.
Without a win since defeating Wigan at the end of September, 2012 has fallen flat for the Wearside supporters and for the manager O’Neill.
Started with a bang
The year started with a bang when champions-elect Manchester City were defeated at the Stadium of Light by a goal from Ji-dong Won with the last kick of the match.
Excellent home victories followed against Norwich, Liverpool and Arsenal in the FA Cup but since March, the momentum has gone for O’Neill’s side.
Everton knocked them out of the FA Cup in a quarter-final replay and since then, victories and goals have become few and far between for the club.
Having looked destined to finish in the top half last season; Sunderland’s form of one win in their last 10 matches dropped them to 13th, three places worse off than the previous season under the dark days of Steve Bruce’s reign.
In an effort to solve the goalscoring issues, O’Neill spent big to bring in Fletcher from relegated Wolves after a long courtship and frustrated Manchester City winger Adam Johnson (pictured).
However the story has been exactly the same from last season. The team has only scored two goals in one game once so far this campaign, a 2-2 draw at Swansea at the beginning of September.
Fletcher hasn’t found the net in his last five games and Johnson’s strike on the stroke of half-time at Everton last Saturday was the first goal scored by a Sunderland player other than the tall Scottish international in the league this season.
That is a staggering statistic but defender Carlos Cuellar, a summer arrival from Aston Villa is confident that form will improve.
Disappointments across the pitch
He told the Sun: “We know our fans will be disappointed with this result (the loss at Everton) and people might think we are in for a struggle this season but in the dressing room, we remain confident.
“Of course we are disappointed too not to pick up one point, never mind three points but once we win one game, we know others will follow.”
While the manager is not under any pressure and nor should he be, some of the players need to raise their game at Sunderland.
Stephane Sessegnon has been a big disappointment this season, while James McClean has struggled to live up to his electric form he showed at the beginning of the year.
Sebastian Larsson hasn’t had the same impact he had in his first season at the club and Lee Cattermole is a liability as a captain.
Although he is a leader in the middle of the park, he is like Paul Scholes and can’t tackle very well, often meaning he is near the top of the bad boy disciplinary list.
With just over a quarter of the season gone, Sunderland supporters shouldn’t be panicking just yet but they could do with both a few wins and other players helping out Fletcher with the goals.
If this doesn’t happen, they could be in for a tricky winter period, especially with games on the horizon against Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea.
By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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