How did Sam Allardyce mastermind Sunderland’s Premier League survival?

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When Sam Allardyce masterminded another Sunderland’s survival, few eyebrows were raised. For months, most neutral observers commented that a team notorious for late escapes led by a manager who had never been relegated created a perfect storm for staying in Premier League.

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However, the Wearsiders survival campaign was far from “typical Allardyce” as he faced a number of obstacles which threatened to destabilise their quest for safety.

When Big Sam was appointed in October, most expected Sunderland to start keeping clean sheets whilst playing attritional percentages football to keep them up. This assessment looked spot on as they moved out the bottom three with back to back wins and clean sheets by the end of November.

To Allardyce’s frustration, this was short lived; a disastrous December saw The Black Cats suffer five consecutive defeats including inept performances away at Chelsea and Manchester City.

This prompted the Sunderland gaffer to act and totally change the way his side were playing. He inherited a squad which on the surface may have seem perfect for his perceived style of play. The team was littered with workmanlike players but Big Sam evidently felt the squad lacked quality and delved into the transfer market with huge success.

He showed intelligence and pragmatism in making a number of controversial decisions which have proved critical in the Premier League run-in. The departures were perhaps as key as his signings. Faced with the 7th highest wage bill in the top flight he had to trim the squad.

The departures of Danny Graham, Will Buckley, Liam Bridcutt, Charias Mavrias and Sebastian Coates were mourned by nobody. But in terms of freeing up extra wages, he demonstrated a ruthless streak with the other two outgoings.

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Just weeks after being Sunderland’s undisputed number one, Costel Pantilimon was sold to Watford. The impressive Jordan Pickford was recalled from Preston to provide competition for the new number one, Vito Mannone. The decision caused much debate at the time, with many feeling Pantilimon’s superior command of his penalty area combined with Mannone’s poor confidence should have resulted in Mannone being moved on instead. But Allardyce took the bold move, based upon Pantilimon being the highest wage earner of the three goalkeepers as well as the Romanian being an inferior shot-stopper to his Italian counterpart.

He also had success in moving on Steven Fletcher, despite being far from a fan favourite, the Scotsman had formed a promising link with Defoe and on his day was capable of scoring goals. Again, Sam took the view that his contribution in comparison to his wages was disproportionate and to make the improvements necessary he had to move on.

Both these decisions have borne fruit with Mannone producing a string of excellent displays towards the back end of the season as well as Fletcher’s wage freeing up funds for signings who have been pivotal in Sunderland staying up.

Jan Kirchoff was the first arrival from Bayern Munich, despite his undoubted pedigree there were doubts over his signing. He had not played regular first team football for over a year and he endured a nightmare debut at Tottenham. But after impressing against Manchester City, he produced a series of superb displays, breaking up play and his range of passing being a prominent feature of his game.

Lamine Kone was eventually brought in from Lorient and has formed an excellent centre-half partnership with Kaboul, as well as scoring two vital goals in the decisive final home game against Everton.

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Although Khazri has been inconsistent, his work rate has never wavered and has proven his quality with threatening set pieces and a stunning goal against Chelsea.

Although tightening the defence and playing with two holding midfielders may on the surface look like a typical Allardyce trait, the style of football produced was far from “typical Big Sam.” The two holding midfielders, M’Villa and Kirchoff both excelled in breaking up opposition attacks but more importantly their ball retention was of a level higher than Sunderland’s Premier League standing.

In previous years, Sunderland’s midfielders had been energetic but often gave the ball away too cheaply, which in a counter attacking side proved costly. The defensive midfield duo provided an essential calmness on the ball. This combined with Kone and Kaboul’s strength at the back gave a good base upon which the more forward minded players flourished.

Not only have Wahbi Khazri and Fabio Borini benefitted from improved service in wide areas, but attacking full backs DeAndre Yedlin and Patrick Van Aanholt now feel confident overlapping safe in the knowledge that Kirchoff and M’Villa are happy to cover their positions.

This is not to say that Allardyce has not been pragmatic. After five straight defeats, his main priority was to make his side harder to beat and gradually performances improved, losses became draws and Sunderland suffered just one defeat in their final 11 games, which was to table-topping Leicester.

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The season ended on a real high, Big Sam’s side ended the season playing high intensity, positive, attractive football which resulted in an impressive 3-2 win over Chelsea and an emphatic 3-0 win over Everton.

When the national media or opposition fans comment on Allardyce they have certain expectations of his side which involves a dependency on set pieces and long ball football. However, whilst being pragmatic, he has been astute in the transfer market and played a decent style of football whilst removing dead wood from the squad and improving the connection between the fans and the players.

Of course, Sunderland have been here before. But with the steadying influence brought by Big Sam, there is a real sense that The Wearsiders are in a great position to capitalise on the feel-good factor at the club and establish them as a mid-table side.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Jonathan Sosa