Sunderland staying relaxed about lack of strikers but…

Sunderland staying relaxed about lack of strikers but back-to-back blanks are a worry

Tony Mowbray does not want it to become the 'easy narrative'. Kristjaan Speakman insists Sunderland have two players for every position, and is therefore happy with the squad he assembled during the summer transfer window.

But the fact is that while Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms remain out of action and the team continues to struggle in front of goal, the Black Cats' lack of firepower will be the major talking point. How could it be otherwise?

To ruminate on back-to-back goalless draws against Preston at the weekend and on Tuesday night against Blackpool, both on home soil, without mentioning the obvious would be perverse. Particularly when, throughout the transfer window, it was pointed out time and again that two out-and-out centre-forwards was just not enough to deal with the demands of a 46-game Championship season.

Of course, no-one could have predicted quite how quickly Sunderland would find that out. As things panned out, not a ball had been kicked in anger since the window shut when Stewart pulled out out of the warm-up at Middlesbrough with a thigh injury that is likely to sideline him until December.

Then, half-an-hour into the very next game at Reading, it was Simms' turn to limp off with a toe injury at Reading and at present there seems to be no reliable timescale on his return. Employing Alex Pritchard as a false nine, with attacking midfielders such as Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke, and Elliot Embleton told to flood the box in support, worked to deliver a 3-0 win at Reading, while Sunderland scored twice more in the 2-2 draw at Watford a couple of days later.

Mowbray had spoken of having to 'find a way' to score goals without strikers, and it seemed he had done so. But against Preston and Blackpool, Sunderland came up empty-handed.

Admittedly, Preston have the tightest defence in the Championship. But Blackpool are a different matter - only three sides have conceded more goals than the Seasiders so far.

And you feel that there will be more days when Sunderland struggle in front of goal without a striker, than when they score three as they did at Reading or two as they did at Watford. Mowbray opted to hand Amad Diallo his first start against Blackpool playing him up front alongside Pritchard, but the on-loan Manchester United forward found it tough going.

He showed flashes of skill, but was also too easily knocked off the ball at times, and when Roberts created a golden chance for him he dithered too long inside the penalty area and failed even to get a shot away. Sunderland's best efforts came from Embleton, who clipped the bar with a shot in the first half, and Clarke who brought two fine saves out of Chris Maxwell, once with a shot in the first half and then with a header in injury-time at the end of the match.

So Sunderland created chances, they just could not find a finish. For all that, there were positives against Blackpool - particularly in the first half performance, which saw them dominate possession and territory.

Then there was the first chance for Sunderland fans to take a look at new midfielder Edouard Michut, who made a 15-minute cameo from the bench.

And of course the clean sheet, Sunderland's fourth in six games under Mowbray, which owed much to some dogged defending in the second half when Blackpool were on top, and to some excellent saves from Anthony Patterson. The only disappointment was that Sunderland could not get the goal they needed to take full advantage.

Sunderland staying relaxed about lack of strikers but back-to-back blanks are a worry

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