Hello and welcome to the Sunderland AFC live blog on Friday, August 16.
The transfer window for Premier League and Championship clubs is closed, but Jack Ross still has plenty of time to fine tune his squad ahead of the League One window closing on September 2.
The Scot has his eye on another left-back and now the Premier League and Championship windows are closed, targets' futures should look a little clearer.
“We are still trying to get the right one in,” said Ross, following Sunderland’s 3-1 Carabao Cup first round win at Accrington Stanley.
“We suffered a little bit on transfer deadline day last week because there were four that we believed we had a chance of and they all moved to Championship clubs."
Sunderland 2-1 Portsmouth
Key Events
Signing off
That’s all from us for today. We’ll be back tomorrow morning with all the big-match build up.
Opta stats ahead of Sunderland vs Portsmouth
- Sunderland’s only victory in their last 11 matches with Portsmouth in all competitions came when the sides met in the League One play-off semi-finals last season, winning 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in the first leg (P11 W1 D5 L5).
- Portsmouth are unbeaten in three league games away to Sunderland (W1 D2), last suffering defeat in January 2008 when both sides were in the Premier League; a Kieran Richardson double securing a 2-0 victory for the Black Cats.
- 19 of Sunderland’s last 54 league games have ended in a 1-1 scoreline; six more than any other EFL club in that period.
- Portsmouth’s Ben Close has scored in four of his last six appearances in all competitions (4 goals), only failing to score against Sunderland in both play-off matches during this run.
- Lynden Gooch has scored in each of his last two league games for Sunderland; the American has never scored in three successive games in his career.
David Prutton's prediction is in
The Sky Sports pundit is backing the Black Cats to emerge with a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth tomorrow.
You would have fancied at least one of these sides to win promotion last season! Both had a great shot at automatic at one stage, but eventually both fell in the play-offs.
Sunderland got the better of Portsmouth over two legs in the semi-finals, but Pompey have the bragging rights of that Checkatrade Trophy win at Wembley. This is tough to call, but I reckon the Black Cats will edge it.
Fan Zone schedule tomorrow
If you fancy venturing to the Fan Zone outside the Stadium of Light before tomorrow...
Kazaiah Sterling joins Doncaster on loan
The Spurs forward, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sunderland, has joined the Black Cats’ League One rivals on loan for the rest of the season.
Andy Lonergan set to start for Liverpool tomorrow
It is some story. Here we take up the tale of how he almost joined Sunderland in 2018.
Accrington verdict
Will there be changes against Portsmouth tomorrow off the back of the win over Accrington?
Jack Rodwell set to join Panathinaikos
According to reports in Greece, the former Sunderland midfielder - who spent last season at Blackburn Rovers - is set to join the Greek giants on a free transfer.
It is claimed the Greek club will cover his home rental in Athens and the English school for his eldest child, leaving only minor details to be sorted out before he officially joins the club.
Joel Asoro joins Groningen on loan
The former Sunderland forward joined Swansea for £2m last season but struggled to make an impact at the Liberty Stadium.
He has now made the move to the Eredivisie to join Groningen on an initial season long loan deal with the option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season.
Groningen’s technical director Mark-Jan Fledderus said:
We have now been able to rent Joel for a season with an option to buy. It is clear that he is enormously talented.
Joel consciously chooses FC Groningen, where it is proven that young talents can develop well and can take the next step in their career. With us he gets the chance to show his talent and then it’s up to him to convince us all.
Alim Ozturk pressed his claim for a start tomorrow
Speaking about the Turkish defender’s performance on Tuesday night, Ross said:
“I’m pleased with how Alim conducted himself last year and then in pre-season he’s looked fit.
“The thing about Alim is that we will back himself and I know that he will have looked at Tuesday as an opportunity to make sure he stays in the team because he believes it in his ability and his performance was really good.
“Alim is a really good footballer. He can defend but he’s also really good in possession and the other players recognise that.
“If you watch him, he can deal with the ball and he’s brave in possession as well.
“I thought his overall contribution to the game on Tuesday was good.”
George Honeyman on his move to Hull
Speaking to Hull Live, the former Sunderland skipper said:
“It was a bit bizarre in how quickly it all happened,” said Honeyman, who twice led out Sunderland in Wembley finals last season.
“It was hard for me to get my head around it. Before I knew it I was travelling down to Hull for a medical.
“It sunk in a little bit the night before the Tranmere game. It had happened so quickly that it didn’t really have chance to sink in.
“But I’m delighted to be here now it’s all done and in the past.
“I can’t keep thinking ‘I wish I was back at Sunderland’ because that’s not the case. I’m at Hull City and I’m going to give everything I’ve got every time I pull on a Hull City shirt.
“It was a really tough decision for me to leave. I’d been at Sunderland since I was 10 and I was captain of the football club.
“That’s something that not many young lads get to do. I was extremely privileged and it was a dream come true.
“But I think for Sunderland and for me it was probably time I left.
“They got a fee and I only had a year left on my contract. I’ve got to step up a division and come to work with a fantastic manager in Grant McCann.
“It’s also a squad that I believe is capable of great things in the Championship. I’m now looking forward to being successful with Hull City in the years to come.”
Jack Ross retains faith in Denver Hume
“Denver is no different to any player,” he said. “You pick a team based on what you think is right for the game but also based on form.
“It’s not fantasy football when you’re only picking on name, you have to pick a team based on who you think is on the best form and also on who is best placed for the challenges ahead.
“My opinion of him as a player doesn’t change whether or not I select him on Saturday - it is not a barometer of what I think of him as a player, it’s about what’s right for the game.”
Good morning!
Sunderland must find the right balance between attacking intent and defensive solidity this season, according to Jack Ross.
The Black Cats scored in all-but one league game last season - the best record in the division - but kept only 13 clean sheets, which was well below the number of shutouts managed by the sides who won promotion.
Ross is keen to tighten up defensively this term, which is partly why he began the campaign playing three at the back, but in the first two games Sunderland have failed to keep a clean sheet and have also seen their creativity stifled at the other end of the pitch with both games ending in 1-1 draws.
For the midweek Carabao Cup win at Accrington Stanley, Ross switched to a back four and Sunderland immediately looked more of an attacking threat, managing seven shots on target, scoring three goals, and hitting the woodwork.
And with promotion rivals Portsmouth due on Wearside tomorrow, Ross is likely to stick with the more open approach.
“Sometimes the scrutiny and the pressure here affects things,” he said.
“If you don’t play forward enough you don’t give the ball away, but if you do play forward then there is more chance of you giving the ball away.
“We didn’t play well at Ipswich [last weekend] I’ve said that, we were guilty of going sideways and backwards.
“At Accrington the big difference was we had players in forward areas and we played forwards a lot more. We were a lot braver and willing to make mistakes in possession - and I’ll take that.
“There is always a balance to strike but we feel as if we got a good players in the final third and we want to maximise that.
“It’s balancing how many we have on the park and how that leaves you at the other end, but the good thing for us is that four of our outfield players have already scored goals - Marc McNulty , Aiden McGeady , Charlie Wyke , and Lynden Gooch - which is encouraging at this stage of the season.”
