In the final instalment of a three-part series looking at how our biggest teams have fared this season, Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson assesses the 2014-15 campaign from Sunderland’s point of view

ANOTHER season, another frantic battle against the drop, and another summer where the Sunderland hierarchy are facing some fundamental decisions that will dictate what direction the club heads in for the next few years. The more things change at the Stadium of Light, the more they resolutely remain the same.

The key difference this time around of course is that whereas both Paolo Di Canio and Gus Poyet remained in place after enacting a ‘Great Escape’ that proved an unreliable indicator of how the rest of their reign would unfold, Dick Advocaat has headed into the sunset with his reputation intact.

Advocaat’s departure is more of a personal decision than a reflection of the scale of the task facing whoever is appointed to replace him in the next few weeks, but it nevertheless leaves a gaping void at the head of Sunderland’s coaching structure at a time when the club appears incapable of extricating itself from a seemingly endless cycle of struggle in the wrong half of the Premier League.

The Northern Echo:

After a succession of poor appointments – Advocaat aside - Ellis Short desperately needs to get his next move right. A desire to prioritise experience is understandable, but it could be difficult to accommodate within a structure where sporting director Lee Congerton wields considerable power.

As well as recruiting a new head coach, there is also a pressing need for Short to oversee an overhaul of the playing squad this summer. Advocaat talked of needing “four or five” quality additions once the transfer window reopens, but will it be possible to persuade top-class players to sign for a club that had looked destined for the Championship in each of the last three seasons before scrambling to safety?

Perhaps it would be easier if players were to leave, but despite a significant number of the current squad having contributed to three disappointing seasons in a row, contractual issues make a radical clear-out unlikely. Whoever replaces Advocaat, many of the same faces will still be in place when the new season begins in August.

That is a concern, although the final two months of the current campaign at least proved what is possible if the Sunderland squad is overseen by a coach with an astute grasp of tactics and sufficient flexibility to mould his thinking to the strengths and weaknesses of the players at his disposal.

That is a description that does not apply to Poyet, and while the season began with the Uruguayan’s stock reasonably high after the dramatic victories of the previous May, it did not take long for his failings to become apparent.

Obsessed by the adoption of a patient, possession-based playing style, Poyet was unable to compute the vast array of evidence that should have proved that his players were incapable of carrying out his instructions.

The fans quickly realised as much, but their growing unease was thrown back in their faces as evidence of an “obsession” with the days of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, an era that Poyet insensitively branded “long-ball football”.

You have to pick your battles, and Poyet’s decision to turn on his own fans effectively signed his managerial death warrant. It smacked of a manager who had run out of ideas, and also confirmed the South American’s failure to develop an understanding of what his supporters wanted from the team that was representing them.

It also didn’t help that Sunderland’s form was so poor for much of the campaign, with October’s incredible 8-0 defeat at Southampton marking a low point that still seems unfathomable now. The result was the joint-heaviest defeat in Sunderland’s history and provided confirmation that Poyet’s reign was rapidly unravelling.

The Northern Echo:

December’s 1-0 win at St James’ Park – now something of an annual event – represented a rare bright spot, and while Sunderland slipped to within two positions of the relegation places in mid-January, it was hoped the surprise arrival of Jermain Defoe in the mid-season transfer window would radically alter the club’s fortunes.

Defoe’s transfer from Toronto FC was a notable coup, and while talk of an £80,000-a-week wage deal underlined the lengths Sunderland had to go to in order to land the former England international, his goals were undoubtedly crucial in the final reckoning. None more so, of course, than the remarkable strike that completed a memorable derby double.

Yet even with Defoe in the fold, Sunderland continued to struggle, and after an acrimonious FA Cup defeat at Bradford City saw Poyet abused by his own fans, March’s embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa proved the final straw.

The Northern Echo:

With his side in 17th position, Short pulled the trigger, and appointed 67-year-old Advocaat, a veteran campaigner with extensive experience of both the club and international game, until the end of the season.

It proved a master stroke, with Advocaat quickly getting to grips with a squad that had shown glimpses of defensive reliability in the remainder of the season. With the Dutchman prioritising defensive organisation on the training ground, that squad suddenly kept four clean sheets in the space of nine games.

Adam Johnson’s arrest and subsequent charging for three counts of sexual activity with a child and one of grooming provided an unwanted distraction that cast a heavy cloud over the final month of the season, but Advocaat at least ensured it did not prevent his players from concentrating on the task at hand.

Back-to-back victories over Southampton and Everton took Sunderland to the brink of survival, and a supreme defensive effort secured the goalless draw at Arsenal that confirmed the retention of the club’s top-flight status.

For the third season in a row, though, it had been an extremely close call. Short’s key challenge this summer is to engineer a scenario where things are nowhere near as fraught in 12 months time.

 

HIT OF THE SEASON

Seb Larsson

The Northern Echo:

The Swede almost left Wearside at the end of last season, but was offered a new deal and opted to remain at the Stadium of Light. It proved an astute decision for all concerned. He was Sunderland’s most reliable performer throughout the campaign, with his energy, work rate and commitment standing in marked contrast to some of his colleagues.

 

MISS OF THE SEASON

Jozy Altidore

The Northern Echo:

If signing Jermain Defoe was a masterstroke, then persuading Toronto FC to take Altidore in return was one of the greatest pieces of transfer business ever enacted by a North-East club. The American was dreadful in the first half of the season, with his 11 Premier League appearances failing to result in a single goal.

 

GOAL OF THE SEASON

Jermain Defoe vs Newcastle (April 5)

The Northern Echo:

Any derby winner over Newcastle was always going to be special, but Defoe’s match-winning strike is perhaps the greatest goal ever seen at the Stadium of Light. Latching on to Steven Fletcher’s headed knock-down, Defoe lashed an unstoppable first-time volley into the top right-hand corner of the net.

 

MOMENT OF THE SEASON

October’s 8-0 defeat at Southampton

The Northern Echo:

It might seem strange to single out a defeat, but in terms of an ‘I was there’ moment, the joint-heaviest defeat in Sunderland history takes some beating. The extent of the Black Cats capitulation at St Mary’s was remarkable, with Southampton running riot on an unforgettable afternoon.

 

SUNDERLAND’S 2014-15 RECORD (All competitions)

P44 W10 D18 L16 F39 A58 (Win Ratio 22.7%)