Tony Mowbray faces his former club Blackburn on Tuesday night, so we spoke to the gents at the 4,000 Holes fanzine to discuss how they've got on so far this season...
You guys are 5th in the league. How would you feel if the season ended right now?
We’d have to be pleased. We lost three key players (skipper Darragh Lenihan, Ryan Nyambe and Joe Rothwell) on free transfers over summer so there was huge rebuilding to do and new manager Jon Dahl Tomasson is always keen to stress it will take time to really see his new-look team play well consistently in the way he wants. Being in the top half all season has been a good start, but there’s been some really worrying performances at times.
Who’s been your best player this season?
Daniel Ayala is the lynchpin holding the defence together – he‘s had his injury problems at Rovers in the past (and he had to go off against Wigan recently) but when he’s fit, he’s our most important player and looks like a top-six standard centre back.
Are you missing Jan Paul Van Hecke, who was on loan with you from Brighton last season and heavily linked with SAFC this summer?
Although JPVH was our Player of the Year last season and we wanted him back on loan, we have generally been solid at the back (despite a couple of 3-0 hammerings away). Dominic Hyam has been a good buy from Coventry and proved to be very consistent so far. Completing the usual back three with Ayala is Scott Wharton, who’s come through the Academy and is getting better with every match at the age of 25.
We covered this previously, but what are your thoughts on former Rovers boss Tony Mowbray?
I really liked the man and he will definitely get a very warm reception from the Blackburn End when he steps out onto the touchline before the match. Overall, he did a superb job at Rovers: we were spiralling down the divisions but he turned us around, gave us some great memories and brought us up to being a solid Championship club. He does have his limitations as a manager though and a significant portion wanted him gone well before last season due to some horrific winless runs which he always struggled to eliminate.
And what about midfielder Corry Evans?
A very decent guy who’ll also get a good reception on his return to Ewood. He's an excellent Championship player on his day and there were periods at Rovers when he was a very important figure for us in the middle of the park. But for someone who was at the club for eight years, those great spells didn’t happen regularly enough – partly due to injury and partly due to inconsistency. Huge respect to him for his recovery after his horror facial injury too.
Did you make any marquee signings in the summer?
Not exactly a ‘marquee’ signing, but attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics from Peterborough was the biggest buy of the summer for a fee in excess of £1.5m. He scored on his debut then struggled with concussion and loss of form, but returned to the side recently with a goal and assist in the last home match.
Which Sunderland player worries you the most, considering Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms are both out with long-term injuries?
Jack Clarke has started to score a few, hasn’t he? The huge fees of such players when they move at an early age are always baffling when they end up never playing at clubs like Spurs, so it’s good he’s now got chance to perform regularly again.
Which Blackburn player might cause us some trouble?
Who else but the Chilean international superstar? He knows he’ll be playing in the top tier somewhere next season so Ben Brereton Díaz is playing with a lot of confidence these days – when he gets on the ball on the left side and isolates the full back, he’s a huge threat.
What’s your score prediction? Goal scorers?
Rovers have been very strong at home this season (five wins from seven in the league) and the Mowbray factor may give extra impetus for some players to try and get one up on their old boss! Sunderland have seemingly been inconsistent as Mowbray beds himself in so I reckon a 2-1 Rovers win is a good bet. Brereton will score and Ayala is due a goal coming up from defence for a corner.
Where do you reckon both sides will finish this season?
Probably in a similar position around 10th in the table, which would probably stand as a decent campaign for both. There are so many teams who can fly up the league with a bit of consistency and Rovers and Sunderland will struggle to put four or five wins together at a time.
And finally, where’s the best place for a travelling Sunderland fan to get a pint in Blackburn?
Away fans tend to be herded towards the Fernhurst on the main road at the away end of Ewood. They also gather round the Golden Cup next to the M65 motorway junction but that’s a 20-minute walk from the stadium. There’s a Wetherspoons called the Postal Order in the town centre which is also popular due to its location near the train station.
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