“Need a few more” – Sunderland AFC “issue” highlighted amid Regis Le Bris dilemma

There really isn’t too much for Sunderland supporters to complain about at the minute, with the club finding itself in its best position in many years following an electrifying start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign under Regis Le Bris.

Fortunes have not favoured the Black Cats in recent years, with Sunderland’s financial plight and mismanagement under the reign of former owner Ellis Short resulting in consecutive relegations from the Premier League to the third-tier of English football, where they spent four years before returning to the Championship in 2022.

Having made it all the way to the Championship play-off semi-finals during their first season back under Tony Mowbray, Sunderland struggled significantly during the previous season and found themselves incapable of replicating promotion-chasing form as they finished in 16th, just six points above 22nd-placed Birmingham City.

Sunderland’s stagnation in the 2023/24 season, many argued, was a consequence of a divisive recruitment philosophy headed up by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman, who have collaboratively constructed the youngest squad in the Championship ever since Sunderland’s return but prioritised untested youth over tangible experience last time out.

This season, though, an obvious balance has been struck and Sunderland are very much the team to beat after 15 matches. Just two of those have been defeats and nine have been victories, with the Black Cats still occupying the division’s top spot heading into the November international break.

However, they have just hit something of a hurdle as of late, with their last three matches all finishing in draws – and two of them being goalless – against QPR, Preston North End and, most recently, a managerless Coventry City side.

Sunderland AFC issue highlighted

When asked to name one issue at Sunderland which requires fixing, and to find a solution for it, our resident Black Cats fan pundit, Jay Woodhead, explained how the squad depth and ever-increasing list of absentees are problems which should be addressed in the January window.

“I don’t think we’ve got an issue at the minute if I’m honest, which is the first time in quite a long time where I’ve said that because we’ve had some bad times at Sunderland, as everyone knows,” Jay told Football League World.

“There are no issues at the minute, we’re doing well so I wouldn’t say there’s anything to fix at the club. But we need a few more bench players now that we’ve kind of hit a little bit of a rough patch with the fact we’ve got [Patrick] Roberts, [Trai] Hume, Jobe [Bellingham] and [Anthony] Patterson missing.

“So it’s just about having a few more reinforcements on the bench to cover. That’s the only issue really, there’s nothing major and I think the only way is up for Sunderland, it’s looking positive over at the Stadium of Light.”

Sunderland AFC’s current injury list

The Championship is an unforgiving 46-game slog and Sunderland are finding that out for themselves, with a lack of real squad depth at Le Bris’ disposal being punished in recent weeks.

Against Coventry alone, both Romaine Mundle and Alan Browne suffered injuries which the Frenchman will be assessing this week, although he’s unsure if they’ll be fit to play against Millwall after the international break.

Sunderland could have some key figures potentially returning to the fold against the Lions, including Anthony Patterson, Aji Alese and Daniel Ballard. However, Salis Abdul Samed and Ian Poveda, who both signed for the club in the summer, are not expected to return just yet, while young defender Jenson Seelt is anticipated to recover from his long-term knee injury in January.

The suspensions have been piling up, too, handing Le Bris an early selection headache ahead of Millwall – which Jobe Bellingham, Trai Hume and Patrick Roberts will all miss for that reason.

Following the draw against Coventry on the weekend, Le Bris told the press: “With Romaine and Alan it is too early, we will have to assess them early this week and see.

“I think that Aji will probably be fit at the end of this international break, and of course if Dan Ballard gets some minutes with the international team then that should be good for us. Anthony [should be back], we will have to wait with Salis and Ahmed [Abdullahi].

“I think with Ian we might have to wait a little bit longer.

“He had a muscle injury; it wasn’t a re-injury, but he struggled, and I think we have to build some strong foundations with him so that he can be ready for us to make an impact in the second half of the season.”