Sunderland are in a bad mess and David Moyes will be cursing his luck at the situation he has got himself into. After horrible spells at Manchester United and Real Sociedad, where his credentials took a bad hit, he was given the chance to take over at Sunderland but it has not worked out for him.
Bereft of any financial backing in the transfer window and a wretched luck regarding injuries and suspensions, he now sees his team stuck in the 18th spot, with only Hull City and Swansea City saving them from the ignominy of being last.
Sunderland simply lack the required number of players to make any serious bid to evade the drop now and with the advent of AFCON, they have lost their best-performing players other than Jermain Defoe. Coming to the English striker, he has been their sole bright spot up front and has somehow helped the Black Cats retain some of their pride in a number of matches now. Similar to last season, they have Defoe to be thankful to as the Premier League veteran bailed them out last season and the club will be hoping he can carry on his amazing form till the end of this one as well.
Sunderland have quality names in midfield but for some reason or the other, they haven’t been able to gel properly. They boast of the likes of Ndong, Kirchhoff, Rodwell, Larsson and Cattermole. With such a mixture of Premier League experience and prospective talent, they should have been more effective. Injuries and suspension have seen the likes of McNair, Denayer and Pienaar employed in midfield which hasn’t had the required impact.
And according to reports, David Moyes wants to add Tom Cleverly to his ailing midfield to add a semblance of balance and quality to the team. His experience with Manchester United and Everton will be invaluable to the team and his leadership qualities will also help revitalise an area of the pitch where they have been found wanting.
Cleverley was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, but grew up in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He went to Hanson school. He was part of Bradford City’s youth set up and the next summer he joined Manchester United as an 11-year-old trainee in July 2000.
And in subsequent years he spent time on loan at Leicester City, Wigan Athletic, Watford and Aston Villa. He had a spell at his parent club for a period between 2012-14 but he made a permanent move to Everton in 2015.
Having failed to carve out a niche for himself in the team, he has fallen completely out of favour under Ronald Koeman and is now linked with a loan move. But Sunderland have competition for the player’s signature with Watford increasingly looking like winning the race.
