MusaSunderland fans had a great relationship with Tony Mowbray, who led the club to an unexpected top-six finish in the 2022/23 Championship season.
However, the Black Cats were knocked out in the semi-finals. Mowbray started the 2023/24 season steadily, but Sunderland fired Mowbray due to his 9th place finish towards the end of the 2023 season, which ultimately ended in a disappointing 16th place.Fast forward and Sunderland under Regis Le Bris are in 1st place in the Championship standings.
The Frenchman has strengthened the club, used the solid foundations laid by Mowbray and improved the squad.Last time out, Sunderland drew 2-2 with Coventry City at the Stadium of Light and suffered a disappointing result.
However, there is still a lot of promise for next season.Tony Mowbray points to the depth of Sunderland’s squad as they look for promotionSpeaking to BBC commentator Nick Barnes about Sunderland’s fortunes this season, Mowbray hinted that he believes the current squad can achieve great things and warned that there is a long season ahead.Mowbray said, as quoted by the Sunderland Echo:
“I believe in this group of players, they can achieve great things because they look after each other, they work hard for each other and I’m looking forward to seeing how this season really unravels.Mowbray then revealed a potential “concern” for Sunderland and Le Brisa, which is squad depth and possible injuries.During his time on Wearside,
Mowbray’s Sunderland suffered greatly from injuries. He said: ‘Mowbraye was in a very bad mood: “I suppose there is a concern about the depth of the squad and the number of injuries you could get in certain positions.
“Current Sunderland injured list and when most players are expected to returnSunderland seem to be having rather bad luck with injuries, especially since their return to the Championship in 2022.Even now,
Sunderland’s list of injured players is quite extensive, with seven absent and three suspended for this weekend’s game against Millwall.However, Le Bris said earlier in the season that he expects Ian Poveda, Salis Abdul Samed and hopefully Ahmed Abdullahi to be back by January, with Jenson Seelt also expected to return in the New Year.Three of them joined in the summer.
Speakman seems to have combated the lack of squad depth by adding more bodies to the squad, so Le Bris may not suffer as much from squad injuries as Mowbray.However, it is a legitimate concern and Speakman may want to make one or two more signings in January to ensure he has enough quality to rotate in the second half of the campaign.
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