Sunderland

On Tuesday night, two of the bottom three clubs in the English Premier League took to the pitch at the Stadium of Light in a must-win match for both Sunderland and Reading.

When the final whistle was blown by referee Neil Swarbrick, it was Sunderland who came out of the match as 3-0 victors at home.

The Black Cats stole the momentum for the entire match in the third minute when James McClean scored his first goal of the season. 

Sunderland found themselves up by two goals in the 28th minute as Steven Fletcher scored his team-high seventh goal of the season on a clever heel flick. 

Fletcher received a pass in the penalty area from Danny Rose and slotted home the ball with ease. 

Rose had a spectacular performance for the Black Cats, which was highlighted by his assist on the Fletcher goal. 

Another Sunderland player who was stellar on Tuesday night was goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet. 

Mignolet recorded four saves in the match and stopped Reading from gaining any chance of a comeback in the second half.

The biggest save made by the Belgian shot stopper came in the 54th minute when he saved Nicky Shorey's free kick. 

Mignolet came up big once again int he 89th minute he denied a shot on goal by Noel Hunt. 

In second half stoppage time, Stephane Sessegnon added the Black Cats' third and final goal of the match as he avoided Reading keeper Adam Federici and placed the ball into the back of a wide open net. 

The Black Cats could have won by more than three goals if McClean had converted on two open looks in the 77th minute and in the final seconds of the match.

The win boosted Sunderland into 16th place, just one point behind rivals Newcastle United, with 16 points. 

With the loss, Reading fell further behind their competitors in the relegation battle with just nine points from 16 matches.

The Royals are still in 19th place but are now six points behind the trio of Southampton, Aston Villa and Wigan that sit above the club in the EPL table. 

“A self-inflicted travesty.”

Those were the words Niall Quinn used to describe Sunderland’s 2-1 defeat to Norwich on Sunday.

It's a perfectly fair assessment of a match which saw the side once again cursing poor finishing, even poorer defending and yet another appearance from Mr. Hyde.

However, in those four words, the Irish legend also neatly summed up Sunderland's recent Premier League history.

Defeat to Norwich meant an abysmal run of form continued, and as uncomfortable as it maybe to admit, they've only got themselves to blame.

Too often Sunderland have been found guilty of not taking chances, and in the Premier League that's a crime punishable by relegation. 

I don't just mean chances in goalscoring opportunities, although Sunderland should have been convicted on that basis long ago. I mean in terms of building on what’s already in place.  

See, Sunderland AFC have a habit of blowing golden opportunities. It’s a bad habit, and it’s got to stop. 

Back in the early 2000s, Sunderland looked like they were becoming a force to be reckoned with, in the Premier League. With two seventh-place finishes under Peter Reid and one of England’s top scorers on board, things were looking rosy in the Sunderland garden.

It didn’t last long.

Complacency quickly sunk in, and when investments should have been made, they weren't. Within two seasons, the Black Cats went from potential European qualification to relegation, with a record-low points tally.

Seeing the bones of Reid's squad picked at by the unforgiving vultures of the Premier League hurt, but they went away, rebuilt and came back—only significantly weaker.  

Under Mick McCarthy, their own record-low point tally was bettered, for a lack of a better word, and they were left shame-faced, tail between Black Cat legs, heading straight back down.

That paved the way for a hero's return, Niall Quinn. Quinn brought a welcome stability, and with it dreams of success. Roy Keane was appointed and promotion was promptly secured, restoring the feelgood factor amongst the ranks of Sunderland supporters.

However, millions were spent, with no real return apart from Premier League survival. With Niall Quinn, eventually, came Ellis Short. Belts were tightened, and Keane walked before he was pushed.

By the Steve Bruce era, everything seemed to be, once again, in place for Sunderland’s glorious rebirth. They had an ambitious owner, an enthusiastic chairman and an experienced manager in the process of putting together a decent squad, while once again the club had one of England’s best goalscorers in Darren Bent.

Surely now was Sunderland's time.

But Bruce couldn't manage the egos. Darren Bent left, Asamoah Gyan followed and, just like under Peter Reid, the strong, promising squad was dismantled, torn apart and left for dead just as quickly as it was assembled.

Now Martin O’Neill has been left with his toughest task yet, rebuilding the leftovers of Bruce’s squad. Initial signs were promising, but defeat against Norwich has left the side with only two wins in 22 games and teetering perilously close to the dreaded bottom three.

For Sunderland, the past decade has been littered with self-inflicted travesties. If they can’t halt this dreadful run of performances, the Martin O’Neill era is in real danger of becoming another missed opportunity.

And that would be the real travesty. 

It has been exactly one year since Martin O'Neill took over at Sunderland, and he is closer to being sacked every week with the club's poor results. 

The latest failure in Sunderland's season came at the hands of Norwich City on Sunday, with a 2-1 loss at Carrow Road. 

With the loss, the Black Cats dropped down to 17th place in the table, and even the manager himself is resigned to facing the rigors of a relegation battle for the rest of the season. 

At this point last season, O'Neill was brought in to help a struggling club that had just gotten rid of Steve Bruce at the managerial position.

There was plenty of hope on Wearside that O'Neill was the manager that the club were looking for to guide them to further success and have them in place to compete for a position in the Europa League. 

There was a time last season when a Europa League position was a serious goal, until the club faded back into 13th place to end the season after they won one of their last five matches in the 2011-12 campaign. 

Any positive momentum that the club had gained last season was washed away with their poor finish, and that was the form that carried into the new EPL season. 

O'Neill did bring in a proven goal scorer in Steven Fletcher from relegated Wolverhampton, who has been a rare bright spot in a dull attack that includes creative wingers Stephane Sessegnon and Sebastian Larsson. 

Sessegnon and Larsson have been disappointing at best after both wingers had strong seasons in the previous campaign. 

Fletcher opened the season with five goals in the club's first four matches, but since then, the Scottish forward has scored just one goal in nine matches.

This would not be a problem for the Black Cats if their other strong attacking players were in good form, but that is simply not the case at the Stadium of Light at the moment. 

Goals have come few and far between this season for Sunderland with just 13 goals, a number that is matched by Norwich City, and only Aston Villa and QPR have posted a worse prowess in front of goal. 

However, the lack of goals is not the only problem that the Black Cats face, as they also lack the veteran leadership of Wes Brown, who has missed the entire season as he recovers from an MCL injury. 

Brown's return is unknown, just like the captain of the squad, Lee Cattermole, who was removed after just six minutes in the club's November 24th clash with West Brom. His return has not been set yet. 

The lack of leadership in the midfield after the tenacious captain went down with his injury is clear, as the midfield lacked any punch against Norwich on Sunday and in their previous match against Queens Park Rangers, which is a candidate for worst match of the season. 

O'Neill has his back against the wall at this point, and speculation after the West Brom match that he was ready to resign from his position have done nothing to drown out the potential sacking of the Northern Ireland native. 

Adding to the growing list of concerns that O'Neill faces is a grueling fixture list ahead in the month of December that sees the Black Cats play the top four clubs in the EPL table. 

If there is any good news to take out of that difficult stretch of matches, it is that four of their six December matches, including the ones with Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham, will be played at the Stadium of Light.

The other fixtures on the December schedule include trips to Manchester United and Southampton as well as a home match with Reading, a match that was rescheduled from the original date due to a waterlogged pitch at the Stadium of Light on August 25th. 

If the club give O'Neill the whole month to turn things around, he will have to win the two relegation showdowns with Southampton and Reading and take points from one or two of the big clubs at home.

That task may even be too much to ask for the Wearside club, as they have recorded just six points at home in six matches. 

With patience growing short at the Stadium of Light and speculation growing by the week about the future of O'Neill at the club, he may not have time to turn the club around before he becomes the third manager in the EPL to be sacked this season. 

When you look back to last weekend’s EPL fixtures, Brendan Rodgers returning to Swansea City for the first time with Liverpool, and Chelsea playing host to Premier League champions Manchester City should have been excellent advertisements for English football.

However, both matches failed to live up to their hype, easily being overshadowed by Sunderland’s home match against high-flying WBA.

On paper, this sounded like a dull affair, in reality it turned out to be an enthralling contest. Six goals, one penalty and a goalkeeper howler only touches upon what supporters witnessed at the Stadium of Light. Not a game for the football purists maybe, but great entertainment for the true football fan.

Fast-forward to Monday morning, and instead of discussing that pulsating game of football, the talk emanating out of the Sunderland centred on the position of manager Martin O’Neill.

The club moved quickly to publicly quell the rumors that O’Neill had quit or offered to resign, with Chairman Ellis Short still appearing to have full faith in the man who he employed to replace Steve Bruce just under a year ago.

Whilst that is good news for the supporters to hear, the Black Cats are going through a rocky period.

O’Neill’s opportunism going into this campaign has quickly been replaced by concern, as Sunderland sit in a worrying 16th place in the EPL table, and were also knocked out of the Capital One Cup after an inept display against rivals Middleborough.

His football management pedigree is unquestionable, but the natives are getting increasingly restless on Wearside.

Sunderland desperately needs to string a winning sequence together—starting with QPR (H) and Norwich City (A) this week in EPL.

Sounds easy on paper doesn’t it? However, it will be anything but that.

I am sure the last thing O’Neill wanted for his demoralized side was to face Harry Redknapp—who is taking charge of his first game as QPR manager—let alone an away trip to Carrow Road against a buoyant, defensively sound Norwich City side. There are no easy games in EPL, meaning O’Neill needs to pull on all his manageable experience to avert a crisis at The Stadium of Light.

First up is a tricky encounter against QPR tonight.

The home team desperately needs to score first, as starting a goal behind will only further irritate the disgruntled locals.

Which QPR will turn up is anybody’s guess, so Sunderland have to start quickly, enabling the supporters to feed off the player’s energy to make it an intimidating atmosphere for the visitors.

However, only a brave gambling man would bet against Redknapp pulling another football rabbit out of the hat, getting his QPR tenure off to a flying start and, as a result, plunging the Black Cats into the relegation mire.   

Sunderland’s season is on a knife-edge.

Defeat could send them into the bottom three, facing the prospect of a nightmare game at Norwich City to come on Sunday. Victory allows the club to look upwards going into this weekend’s fixture—bringing back the positive attitude needed replicate their recent away success at Cavern Cottage against Fulham.

This game has become a fascinating clash between two wily managerial veterans—one that O’Neill cannot afford to lose.

With the elite EPL sides not playing until Wednesday, I am genuinely excited about this contest.

This week could have massive long-term implications for Sunderland’s entire season.   

Entering Saturday's match, neither Liverpool nor Sunderland has yet to earn a victory. Both teams already find themselves looking up at many teams in the English Premier League table. 

Sunderland reached a 0-0 draw with Arsenal to start the year and most recently tied Swansea 2-2. The club's two points in the standings land Sunderland No. 13 in the EPL standings. 

Having secured only one point in the standings thus far, Liverpool's performance to open the season leaves the squad an uphill battle the rest of the season. So far, they've been outscored 7-2 in their opening three games. 

This weekend would be the perfect time for the Reds to start a turnaround. 

Where: The Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England

When: Saturday, September 15, 12:30 p.m. ET

Live Stream: FoxSoccer2Go

Liverpool Team Breakdown

Liverpool's offense has been downright dreadful to start the 2012 EPL campaign. According to Yahoo!'s Opta, Liverpool has the lowest conversion rate on shot attempts at 5.6 percent. Additionally, the team has only been on target with 25 percent of attempts to start the year. 

Granted, the Reds have faced tough opponents in two of the first three matches. In fact, Liverpool's first two goals amounted to a 2-0 lead against Man City, but the squad was unable to hold on for the victory. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, Liverpool's most impressive finish thus far. 

Heading on the road, Liverpool can take solace in the fact that Sunderland has not recorded an EPL victory in its last ten league games. However, the new Liverpool manager takes over the team that has only won four of its last 18 in league play. 

For this weekend's match to be a success and begin to revive Liverpool's season hopes, the team needs an outstanding performance from forward Luis Suarez. As offense has been the main cause for concern thus far, Suarez must convert to give the Reds a chance. 

Liverpool also has much to look forward to in forward Raheem Sterling. The 17-year-old youngster just received a promotion to join the English national team.

His promotion comes just after making his first league start against defending champion Manchester City. Sterling is an exciting talent and should very soon provide the offensive explosiveness the Reds currently lack. 

Sunderland Team Breakdown

Sunderland has yet to break through this season. They are ahead of Liverpool in the standings but only by a point. Manager Martin O'Neill has proven able to keep his squad in the game but has also failed to earn a victory.

A home match against the stumbling Reds should be just what the doctor ordered for the Black Cats, right?

Maybe not. 

Over the last six games in The Stadium of Light, Liverpool has shut out Sunderland four times. Additionally, O'Neill's Black Cats have only won six of 17 matches against Liverpool under their current manager.

This time, they'll turn to their 2011-12 Player of the Year, Stephane Sessegnon, in hopes of a positive result. Yet he cannot go it alone. 

Sunderland will have to fire more than their current low average of four shots per game to get past Pepe Reina on Saturday. 

Prediction: 

Sunderland will once again fail to prove home field advantage to be a factor in The Stadium of Light. Liverpool will win on an exciting late goal from Suarez by the final score of 2-1. 

Over the course of last Friday, Sunderland effectively announced themselves as genuine contenders for a top-eight position in the Premier League, with a spot in next season's Europa League a very distinct possibility.

The signings of striker Steven Fletcher from Wolverhampton and winger Adam Johnson from Manchester City—believed to have cost a combined £24 million (the club's official site has not released the actual sum)—constituted a strong statement from the northeast club.

It marks quite the uptick in aspirations, considering that manager Martin O'Neill had taken over midway last season with Sunderland mired in the bottom of the standings.

The former Aston Villa boss led quite a resurrection, however, and after drawing away to Arsenal to start the season (Sunderland's second match was postponed due to inclement weather), the newest additions to the cause have only bolstered hopes for a strong campaign.

Johnson, who never quite found his footing in three seasons at the Etihad, is a major reason for the optimistic outlook.

The Easington-born player provided an assist for one of James McClean's two goals in Tuesday night's 2-0 victory over Morecambe in the Capital One Cup, his corner kick finding the young Irishman, who headed to open the scoring. (Fletcher almost made his club debut in the game.)

It was quite the introduction for Johnson, who told the club's official site he shouldn't have any problems fitting in.

"I’ve probably known Lee since the age of 12 and I know a few of the other lads too," Johnson said.

"In fact, there’s probably six or seven that I know so it shouldn’t be hard settling in."

With a trip to Swansea City, one of the Premier League's most impressive starters this season (they've outscored their first two opponents 8-0), on the agenda this weekend, Johnson will need to be at his best should Sunderland hope to obtain another positive result.

Swansea had difficulties defending another tricky winger—West Ham United's Matt Jarvis, last weekend, so it would follow that Johnson could hope to make an impact at the Liberty.

Heavy rainfall in the Wearside area inundated the Stadium of Light pitch Saturday afternoon, and hours before Sunderland were scheduled to face Reading, match referee Neil Swarbrick called the game off due to an unsuitable playing surface, BBC Sport reporter Conor McNamara tweeted.

McNamara's BBC colleague Steven Wyeth reported that Swarbrick said that both managers were in full agreement of the decision, and that any attempt to play the match would have constituted "a farce." The announcement came minutes after the Reading players had arrived at the stadium.

Black Cats manager Martin O'Neill had taken to the pitch along with his opposite number Brian McDermott to assess the situation, but the sight of the two walking off, umbrella in tow, confirmed the inevitable.

According to a feature on Sunderland's official website, the Stadium of Light was to have an "efficient draining system" installed upon its opening in 1997—one of the new ground's requirements, according to club management.

For McDermott, the announcement may come as a bit of a relief. Forced to play a game against Chelsea in midweek—with the Blues scheduled to play Atletico Madrid in the UEFA SuperCup in Monaco next Friday, the fixture was moved up from its initial date—the Sunderland match would have marked the newly-promoted side's third match in the span of a week.

O'Neill, fresh off the signings of Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson, may have been relishing a chance to build upon the momentum of those acquisitions.

He'll have to wait until next week's match away to Swansea to do so, although there is a Capital One Cup match against Morecambe on Aug. 28.

Steven Fletcher can't wait to get going at the Stadium of Light.

The 25-year-old Scottish international, who scored 12 league goals last season for Wolverhampton Wanderers (he's bagged 36 strikes since moving to Burnley three seasons ago), completed a transfer to Sunderland reported to be in the realm of £12 million.

It didn't take long for the striker to voice his enthusiasm for the project currently at hand under manager Martin O'Neill.

"I'm delighted and relieved to be here," Fletcher told the club's official site on Friday. "It's taken a while but I'm glad it's finally done."

Fletcher is the third player to join the Black Cats this season after Louis Saha and Carlos Cuellar came in on free transfers. 

Cuellar and Saha both featured for Sunderland in their season opener against Arsenal last Saturday. Cuellar's poise and positioning were excellent against the Gunners, and the former Aston Villa man provided some last-ditch blocks to deny shots on goal.

It was a resolute display that saw Sunderland emerge with a point after a 0-0 draw. A terrific result to start a season that is suddenly looking very, well...luminous.

"When you come to the training ground and the Stadium of Light it obviously shows how big the club is. I've played here a few times, and the atmosphere is always good; I can't fault it," Fletcher said.

"The signings (O'Neill has) brought in are very positive, in addition to the squad we've already got. I watched training yesterday and the boys look very sharp.

"Adding quality players to the squad has been our main aim this summer," O'Neill told the club's official site.

Rumors that the manager wasn't done yet were verified Friday evening, when Adam Johnson put pen to paper on a four-year deal.

The former Manchester City winger, thoroughly disgruntled with the lack of first-team opportunities available to him under Roberto Mancini, had traveled to Wearside on Friday ahead of a £10 million move that could rise to £15 million with add-ons.

"I’m the kind of player that needs to be playing regularly," Johnson said.

"Any player does, really, no matter what age they are. I need to play week-in week-out. You can’t just go into one game after not having played for five, and be expected to perform."

Johnson's arrival marks a terrific, albeit expensive, coup for O'Neill. The 25-year-old has long been considered one of the brighter talents in England, able to attack defenses with his mazy dribbles, a talent he combines with a good eye for goal.

Paired with Fletcher, that gives O'Neill two marquee attackers; a true signaling of O'Neill's intent this season.

Thirteenth in the final league table last season, there's every reason to believe the Black Cats can improve upon that standing.

Ambition can be a tricky muse, and transfers certainly don't always pan out like one might hope, but Fletcher and Johnson will certainly bolster the attacking ranks.

The duo join sterling youngster James McClean, who showed flashes of his potential in the limited opportunities he had getting forward last weekend at the Emirates.

And with the likes of the technically astute Sebastian Larsson and the industrious Stephane Sessegnon in midfield, there's every reason to regard the Black Cats as a legitimate threat this season.

"Hopefully we can have a good season, for me personally and the club," Fletcher said in closing his first interview at his new club.

We'll see Saturday, when Sunderland take on Reading, whether they can continue building on their impressive start.