A New Year a New Sunderland

For Martin O'Neill, the January sales can't come around quick enough. After watching his new club slump to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Mic McCarthy's Wolves, O'Neill had the look of a man with a daunting task ahead of him. Yes Sunderland do have a squad too good to be relegated but this hasn't stopped other Premiership quality sides making the drop to the Championship in recent in years as the likes of Newcastle and West Ham have both suffered. Sunderland must act astutely when the January transfer window opens in order to guarantee they sign players who can drastically change the fortunes at the Stadium of Light.

The first area that urgently needs addressing is upfront. The northern side have severely missed a leading striker since the controversial departures of Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan which Martin O’Neill must resolve swiftly. Against Wolves, Nicklas Bendtner once again proved his selfishness as he squandered chance after chance rather than assisting his team mates. How Sunderland could do with a player like Kenwynne Jones who used to sweat blood and tears for his beloved Black Cats. Possible transfer targets such as Carlton Cole and Kevin Doyle, who would be willing to accept the challenge from O’Neill and have proven Premier League ability, would be an astute purchase. A loan move for Landon Donovan, who was tremendously effective at Everton, would also be clever business on a limited budget.

Elsewhere, Martin O’Neill desperately needs to find a team player to aid the creativeness of Sessegnon. Kieran Richardson and Sebastian Larsson are good players but do not possess the fight or the quality to turn the clubs’ fortunes around. Apart from the distribution of his set-piece plays, I fail to see where Larsson’s real qualities lay. Furthermore, he will not have done himself any favours against Wolves in front of his new manager. After embarrassingly winning a penalty with an overdramatic and ridiculous dive, he then deservedly fluffed the spot kick to cost his side the game.  Craig Gardner proved hugely influential at Birmingham last season and has unluckily fallen out of favour at Sunderland. Surely this feisty midfielder will be given a second chance under the guidance of the new man in charge. Gardner is a great partner to play in the centre of midfield with Scott Cattermole as he will add flair whilst also possessing a tremendous work rate.

O’Neill has been promised funds to spend in January and will act wisely to bring in players of good quality who are willing to fight for their team. When appointed manager of Aston Villa, he signed Styllian Petrov to add some steal and drive to the centre of midfield. Petrov has since become an iconic figure at Villa and has recently been appointed captain.

At a struggling side in desperate need of money, Everton’s Leon Osman would be a good signing for O’Neill. With few first team opportunities at Everton and with the club needing to sell to raise funds, the little creative midfielder would be likely to join. A likable player with the right attitude and dynamism, Osman would be a great support to Sessegnon as well as to the confidence of the squad.

Known as one of the best man managers in the game, O’Neill will look to reinstall the belief that some of his current players lack which has hindered their performances. Players like Gardner, Gordon and Turner will welcome the change in personnel at Sunderland in hope that the man from Northern Ireland can inspire them to reach their potential. Whoever O’Neill signs or doesn’t sign in January, the Black Cats fans can be sure that 2012 looks a lot more promising than recent years.