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Club Focus - Sunderland - Black Cats travel to Molineux for end of season reunion with Mick McCarthy
The Black Cats travel to the Midlands on Sunday for their final game of the season at Wolves. They will once again be reunited with former manager Mick McCarthy and it is worth noting just how far both football club and former manager have come since they parted company during desperate circumstances back in 2006.
When Wolves were promoted at the end of last season, any Sunderland supporter caught muttering darkly about there nominal chances of survival in the top flight could have been forgiven. McCarthy’s Premier League record with the Mackems could not have been much worse, winning just two out of 27 games before being sacked. Yet the Irishman will be celebrating keeping his Wanderers side in the top division after a fine battling finish to the campaign, having coached a side assembled on a limited budget to nine league wins and many a hard fought point. It is testament to how the former Republic of Ireland boss has matured as a manager, as when he left Wearside many confidently predicted he would never manage in the Premier League again. He was of course dealt an unenviable hand by the then Sunderland chairman Bob Murray, being given no money to spend after he had impressively won the Championship, but his shocking record in the top flight spoke for itself and he had to go.
Following his departure, the club similarly looked like they would be embarking on a lengthy exit from the top division as they hurtled towards relegation with a then record low of fifteen points. The next season it initially seemed Sunderland would continue to follow this trajectory straight into the third tier of English football. However, a saviour appeared in the form of Niall Quinn, heading the Drumaville consortium and following the wildcard managerial appointment of Roy Keane, the rest is history. On Sunday the Black Cats go into the last day of the season still with an outside chance of a top-half finish. The club is in a more than healthy financial position with its very own overseas billionaire backer and overall the future would seem bright. It is certainly worth reflecting how different the outlook now appears for both club and former manager four years on from such a desperate period for both.
In terms of the league situation it is a game that - unless you are say, David Gold and care deeply about the monetary value of each league position - is unlikely to set the pulse racing. As mentioned above, the Black Cats are still in with a very slim chance of grabbing 10th, which has been their ostensible aim for some weeks now. Other results would need to go their way, but failure to do so will probably not keep players, manager or fans awake at night tormented by ifs, buts and maybes during the close season. Steve Bruce has stuck dogmatically to his favoured 4-4-2 formation in the face of his side’s lacklustre away form and it is unlikely he will change his tactics now. Kenwyne Jones, who found himself curiously dropped for the Manchester United game will probably return to the side with Fraizer Campbell dropping back onto the right-wing. With the injury to David Meyler, Lorik Cana and Jordan Henderson may begin in the centre of midfield and Alan Hutton will be welcomed back into is right-back berth following his suspension. The Mackems will hope to put a semi-respectable end to their awful away form this season with a second consecutive away win, something they have not managed for two years.
One of the main characteristics of this season for the Wearsiders has been their alarming tendency to pick up injuries and it has all been bad news on this front for the Sunderland manager this week. After being stretchered off on Sunday, scans have revealed that David Meyler has torn his cruciate ligaments and now faces a spell of months out of action that could well eat into next season - a cruel blow for a young player who has impressed many this season. “We wish David a speedy recovery because he’s done fantastically well, but he won’t be back in action now until next Christmas,” said Bruce, whose central-midfield injury worries were compounded by a further setback to Lee Cattermole, suffering from a dislocated shoulder.
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