Football Season Guide

Sunderland have had an eventful summer with Steve Bruce overseeing a squad overhaul that he expects will bring the Black Cats closer to the ultimate aim of brining European football to the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats faded badly last season after an extraordinary first half of the campaign when they had a genuine chance to make it to the top six but then injuries took their toll. Bruce was given the benefit of the doubt to prove that he can lift Sunderland to the next level and handed the cash from the sales of Jordan Henderson and Darren Bent to transform the squad. The mix of new players has been eclectic, ranging from unknowns like South Korean Ji-Dong Won to stalwarts like Manchester United duo John O'Shea and Wes Brown. Sebastian Larsson, David Vaughan and Craig Gardner could be excellent additions in midfield at the place of Henderson for whom the Black Cats got an excellent deal from Liverpool. It will be also interesting to see whether Kieran Westwood will be able to make the step up from being a very good Championship keeper to one who can cut it in the Premiership. All in all, it is difficult to predict what could happen with Sunderland this season as they could either have a superb start of the season and carry on with the momentum for a longer while than last season, given the bigger squad depth, or struggle early on and being dragged to the mire which may well cost Bruce the job. His hopes up front will be again pinned on club's record buy Asamoah Gyan who flickered at times last season but has never really shown enough consistency in the end product to justify his price tag. With the former United men boosting the back line, at least the defence should be shored up and conceding significantly less goals than in the second half of last season.