Sunderland finish the season in the top half of the table, three points and three places better off than a year ago, but it still looks like it will be a gruelling summer for Steve Bruce who will have his methods investigated by the club owner. It was a campaign that did not start too well but a 1:0 victory at home to Manchester City at the end of August provided the backbone for an assured run of form that followed. Sunderland turned a number of solid displays in the following two months, securing points against Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. The likes of Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck were contributing well up front and the back four were doing well to secure a number of clean sheets. However, disaster struck at the end of October when local rivals Newcastle destroyed them for a 5:1 victory that left Bruce reeling. It was an awful day for the Black Cats who shot themselves in the foot at the back and undid all their hard work in the previous two months. However, it is a testament to his powers of recovery that Bruce managed to galvanise his side and inspire them to their best performance in a generation less than three weeks later. Sunderland went to Stamford Bridge and did the unthinkable, winning 3:0 by playing expansive attacking football and actually letting Chelsea off the hook by missing the chance to score more. It was such an unbelievable performance that immediately the bar was set much higher on the players. Bruce started talking about Europe and the form of the team definitely backed that up. They started the new year well tucked into sixth place and coping well with incessant injury problems. However, the sale of Darren Bent to Aston Villa shocked everyone at the club and in retrospect wrecked Sunderland's season. Their form literally collapsed from February onwards, losing nine out of 11 games and dropping dangerously close to the drop zone. Almost every member of the squad spent some time on the treatment table at some point during the season and the defence was looking woeful. A 4:2 win at home to Wigan, their only win in this run, ended any relegation fears but it was still a highly disappointing end of the season with the team looking resigned and lacking any desire by the end. It was a pity for the fans as the potential was there for a real push for the top places and Bruce will need to do better next season.
