Oxford United travel to the division’s in-form side on Good Friday when Karl Robinson takes his team to the Stadium of Light.
Ahead of the game, we have spoken to Martin Wanless, one of the editors at Roker Report, and he has kindly answered some of our questions.
Where do you think you’ll finish this season?
Obviously, I hope we’ll finish in the top two – we’ve had a really good run over the past ten games which has lifted us up a few places, and I’m hopeful we can keep up that momentum. We’ve got a few players to come back from injury too – Bailey Wright, Denver Hume and Jordan Jones in particular – so theoretically it looks as if we should be able to keep pace. But this is Sunderland…
Who do you think will finish in the top six?
I think you’ve got three certainties – Hull, Peterborough and Sunderland. After that, it’s a bit of a free for all, and I keep changing my mind as each round of fixtures passes. Danny Cowley seems to have given Portsmouth some momentum and they’ve got some good players, I think Paul Cook will give Ipswich the spark they need, and Blackpool are coming with a good run at the right time, but it’s going to be carnage.
Who do you think will finish in the bottom four?
I’m not really fussed as long as the bottom four includes Bristol Rovers. Joey Barton is a deluded, obsessed fraud of a manager, and the sooner everyone clicks onto that the better!
Key player(s) for Sunderland?
The obvious one is (Aiden) McGeady, who’s been unbelievably effective since Lee Johnson put him back into the team. In hindsight, it’s an absolute scandal that Phil Parkinson banished him from the first team for 12 months, and deserves more scrutiny at the right time. He’s got 12 league assists in 21 games, which is superb.
Jordan Jones, on loan from Rangers, is nearing fitness and on his limited showings so far is way too good for League One, while Charlie Wyke’s transformation this season has been astounding.
Another to watch is Dion Sanderson – he’s on loan from Wolves and is a Premier League player in the making. Parkinson rarely played him but due to injuries to Bailey Wright and Jordan Willis he’s become a mainstay in defence. He’s quick, good in the air and reads the game superbly.
Thoughts on Lee Johnson?
He’s done a brilliant job so far. It wasn’t an appointment I was too enthusiastic about initially, but he’s impressed in every aspect. He’s the positive, self-assured character that does well as a Sunderland manager. He comes across well, but he’s also shown an incredible tactical knack that’s seen us change styles and formations with ease.
He had a really difficult start – he took charge of his first game a couple of hours after joining, I felt that was a mistake, and so it proved in hindsight, and then we had a COVID outbreak which saw us not train or play for a couple of weeks. And then, of course, we’ve all had the continual weekend/midweek run of fixtures, which has limited time on the training field.
He’s needed to break the negative, dull and rigid mindset instilled by Parkinson, but if you look at his impact on results alone it just underlines the job he’s done. Since he’s come in we’ve played 23, W13, D7 and L3 (2 ppg) – in the last ten we’ve drawn 2 and won 8.
A word on your teams playing style?
It’s interesting because as mentioned in my answer to the previous question, we change depending on who’s available and who we’re playing, and we change pretty fluidly. I think his favoured style will be an attacking, high press, however, over recent weeks we’ve had only one fit defender on numerous occasions (that being the on-loan youngster Sanderson).
Midfielders Power and O’Nien have been filling in in defence, and have done remarkably well, but the team’s played a little more defensively to compensate for that.
Favourite match this season?
While not a great match to watch, the EFL Trophy win at Wembley is my favourite – simply because we’ve lost so many times there. I’ve been there for many of those defeats – I remember being in tears in 1990 when we lost against Swindon – so to finally put that hoodoo to bed, and see Sunderland lift some silverware, was nice.
Least favourite match this season?
The two at the end of the Parkinson reign sucked some life out of me. On the face of it they were both OK results – 1-1 away draws at Doncaster and Fleetwood – but in both, we took the lead and then sat trying to defend it when if we’d showed a bit of intent we could have won by two or three. Then Parkinson said we’d done well to get a point at Fleetwood as they had the slope in the second half!
Has there been less pressure playing behind closed doors?
In some respects, yes, but it works both ways. We were struggling at home a bit earlier in the season, and having fans in the ground would have got us going – another example is the recent 1-1 draw with Lincoln, with fans in the ground I think we’d have taken all three points.
It’s probably helped us away from home – we take big away followings, home teams have one of their biggest attendances and taking that element out of the equation has been beneficial for us I reckon.
Thoughts on your recent takeover?
Brilliant. You’re obviously more familiar than most with Donald and Methven, and while I don’t think they’re the total villain’s others have painted them out to be, it’s obvious they were out of their depth ability-wise and financially – and spent 18 months concentrating on selling the club rather than the day-to-day business.
Our new owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, is only young but has a background in football due to his family’s connections with Marseille, and seems to know what he’s doing. He’s got a vision that aligns with that of the majority of fans – running a sustainable club that has the community and the academy at the core – and he’s made the right moves so far, with a sporting director, recruitment analytics team and other good appointments behind the scenes. So far so good – I’m cautiously optimistic!
Any Oxford players you would like to see in your team?
I’ve always kept an eye on Alex Gorrin since he returned to English football, and I just like him as a player – he does the dirty work well. Cameron Brannagan, too, is someone who impresses me whenever I see Oxford play.
Thoughts on Oxford?
I’ve always liked Oxford as a club – this is showing my age, but I remember in my first Panini sticker book as a kid you were in the first division. I couldn’t get the Maurice Evans silver for ages! A few years later, Denis Smith, who was my first ‘proper’ Sunderland manager, was your gaffer, so there have been some ongoing connections there.
More recently, Oxford have always been a tough opponent; you’re a dangerous team – demonstrated by your result and performance against Lincoln – and I suspect you’ll still have a major say in how this season ends up. I just can’t get away with Karl Robinson though – he must have studied delusion at the same school as Mr Barton.
What do you think the score will be on Friday?
It’ll be a tight game, but I’m going for us to edge it – 1-0 with a goal for Wyke.
Random fact about your club?
Chelsea and Manchester City have won the same number of league titles as Sunderland have.
