Sunderland’s season hinges on defensive frailties

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Sunderland boss having defensive nightmares

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Steve Bruce has stated he wants his Sunderland side to improve defensively if they want to avoid Premier League relegation, but injuries to key players from his back four is not helping the cause.

The Black Cats have struggled in recent weeks and have only kept one clean sheet since the turn of the year and as anyone who follows the football betting will know it’s hard to win games when you’re shipping goals.

As a result Sunderland have dropped down the table and, after their loss to West Brom at the weekend, they are now only six points above the Premier League relegation places.

Sunderland had 11 clean sheets prior to the start of 2011 and Bruce claims it is “easy to see where the problem lies” at this point in time, and his eyes are firmly rooted on his defenders.

What is not helping is defenders succumbing to injuries, with John Mensah the latest to be hit. The Ghana international tore a groin muscle in the West Brom game and looks to be out for at least three weeks.

With Anton Ferdinand also limping off, and Titus Bramble still out with injury, it means Bruce has a shortage of defenders going into their relegation six-pointer with Birmingham at the weekend and the Premier League betting offers suggest the game will be crucial to both sides’ futures.

The boss told the Shields Gazette: “If you look at the stats, we’ve conceded almost as many goals in the last eight games as we did in the rest of the season put together.

“That’s not good enough, and we have to put it right. We have to go back to basics and return to the way we were playing earlier on in the season.”

At least Bruce is seeing his forward options returning to fitness, with Danny Welbeck back and Fraizer Campbell close to returning after a long injury lay-off.

These two can take some pressure off Asamoah Gyan and hopefully get the goals to ensure Sunderland do not get sucked deeper into a Premier League relegation dogfight over the coming weeks.

NBA – Miami Heat and their defensive deficiencies

Rajon Rondo has not always been the easiest kid on the block to work with. He is known for having quite a temper, and at some extent, even having some issues with maturity. But the kid can play. He is currently the best point-guard in the nation, and if there is some argument about this, you should consider the sort of game he put on together against the Miami Heat last Thursday.

Rondo completed 16 assists against the new Big Three: LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. And that is when it becomes very evident that the Miami Heat are certainly struggling on their defensive end. The Miami Heat tried a variety of defensive maneuvers to try to keep Rondo from distributing precise plays throughout the game. They even took the job to put 260-pound LeBron James to guard him closely. And even then, that didn’t work.

Sure, LeBron like Kobe Bryant, are capable of getting Rondo on serious trouble, because of their very impressive wingspan. They are both taller and stronger compared to the fast paced point guard. But, Rondo is got one advantage. Specially when playing against the Heat. Sure, LeBron could turn things around and complicate Rondo’s game, but then, who is going to cover Ray Allen or Paul Pierce.

And that’s when the real struggle begins. The heat has to come to an understanding on this simple issue. They don’t have a solid defense. The team is far from it. They have struggled with the past 3 teams when it comes to covering the paint. The Jazz and the Hornets have put over 50 points each on the paint. And sure, even if they covered the Celtics, and kept them on the low 30’s from the paint, the Heat couldn’t control Allen and Pierce from the perimeter.

The new Big Three are in need of a change in perspective.  At 5-4 they are in need of a serious overhaul, or at least figure out how to stop been a team filled with 3 NBA superstars, and become a team capable of winning the championship.