Should Sunderland sack Steve Bruce?

Premier League Sunderland brought in more than ten players in the summer transfer window and optimism was high on Wearside.

The club managed to bring in some really experienced Premier League performers.

Poor

Considering the players that Sunderland have brought in this summer they have made a poor start to their Premier League campaign. I mean ten players is a lot to bring in and it’s a big change to the squad.

However a lot of the players that arrived this summer, as mentioned earlier are experienced Premier League players. The likes of John O’Shea and Wes Brown have played in the top flight for a really long time.

Surely they don’t really need that much time to settle in the team? It seems they do. They need to start to gel as a team sooner rather than later though.

Unlucky

I have to admit I feel sorry for Sunderland boss Steve Bruce. It’s not the fact that his team has played in fits and starts this season, it’s the fact that every striker that does well for the club seems to vanish. Last season the Black Cats had the likes of Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck leading their attack.

However Bent left for Aston Villa in January, Welbeck returned to his parent club Manchester United and Asamoah Gyan has made a strange move to the Middle East. The departure of Gyan really got to Bruce and rightly so. It looks as if the striker’s move was entirely motivated by money.

Gyan’s departure meant that Sunderland were left short in the striking department and that looks to be part of their current problems.

Bendtner

A player that Bruce brought to the club to help score the goals is Dane Nicklas Bendtner. The striker has not lived up to his early career potential just yet but I think a move to a club like Sunderland was a good one for the striker.

I perhaps unfairly criticised Bendtner in the past for being arrogant and selfish. However I have new found respect for the striker after he decided to make the move to the Stadium of Light. Bendtner realised that he wasn’t progressing at Arsenal and decided to move for the sake of his development.

Decent

Steve Bruce has done a decent job at Sunderland. Bruce is doing the best he can, despite the fact that he seems to lose his best players every transfer window. As I mentioned earlier he is unlucky in that respect.

However sometimes his tactics can be questionable. Bruce has always impressed me with honesty and the way he conducts himself though. Last season was a good one for the Black Cats but that was achieved with almost a completely different team.

Sunderland supporters will have to accept that the new players may take time to settle in. I’m not talking about the likes of Brown, O’Shea or Bendtner I’m talking about the likes of Connor Wickham and Korean Dong-Won Ji, who are inexperienced at this level.

The more experienced players will need to help the young players to settle and fulfil their potential. Even Bendtner is only 23 and doesn’t have much regular first team football at this level. The Sunderland attack just lacks Premier League experience all round.

Steve Bruce has stated that he will be looking to sign a new striker when the transfer window opens in January. I hope for Sunderland’s sake that whoever he signs is an experienced striker.

Survival

I have no doubt that Sunderland will recover from their poor start to the season and move up the Premier League table. I don’t think Black Cats fans should be worrying about a relegation battle this early in the season.

Sunderland have a decent squad of players and when everybody is settled and accustomed to the team they will start to win more games. However I don’t think sacking boss Steve Bruce is the answer.

Should Sunderland sack Steve Bruce?