THE last couple of weeks have shown that Steve Bruce arrived with his own ideas and he always knew that he wanted a clear-out at Sunderland – now he’s done it.

There have been a few surprises, but the biggest was selling Danny Collins to Stoke. He was our captain, a real competitor, versatile and our only real cover at left-back.

Whatever the boss does or says goes, so I can’t say whether it was a mistake or not to let him go. If I was manager, though, I would not have got rid of him.

If George McCartney gets injured, Bruce has not got another left-back. He could play Phil Bardsley or John Mensah there, but Danny has shown he is good cover.

To allow him to go for between £5m and £8m would have been fair enough, but for £2.75m? It seems like Sunderland have just sold him for the sake of it, to put some money back in.

The rest of the departures were not really surprising.

Grant Leadbitter will be a strong player in the Championship for Ipswich, as Carlos Edwards should be. They are unlikely to have had much of a look in at Sunderland.

I must say that I think the manager could have done a little bit more on the recruitment side. While he has brought in Mensah, Michael Turner, Lorik Cana, Lee Cattermole, Darren Bent, Fraizer Campbell and Paulo Da Silva this summer, I still feel we lack width.

Both Kieran Richardson and Steed Malbranque have their merits, but there is noone in the Sunderland squad capable of firing in ten to 15 crosses every match.

If Bruce has brought in someone who could do that, someone like Middlesbrough’s Adam Johnson who’d have been available at the right price, that would have made a huge difference.

When Cattermole crossed for Kenwyne Jones to score against Blackburn a couple of weeks ago, it should have showed Bruce just what we needed. Jones would score every week if he had crosses like that to feed off.

It didn’t even have to be a winger he signed to get those crosses over.

Liverpool have Glen Johnson, Manchester United have Patrice Evra, Arsenal have Gael Clichy. That’s the type of player we need, a player who can get down the line and deliver.

Darren Bent will prove to be a good signing to boost our attacking options, while Cana and Cattermole have brought good energy and character to our midfield.

But I still have reservations about Mensah and Da Silva because neither are used to the English league.

Bruce has also gambled on Turner for £6.5m. He has only had one full season – albeit a great one with Hull – in the Premier League. One season does not make a great defender.

Turner will have to settle in and he will have to do it quickly in a defence that will have a completely different look about it against Hull next week.

It’s been a busy summer, we’ll just have to see how things pan out – and maybe the wide player I would have liked will arrive in January.