Leadbitter was left out as The Black Cats thrashed League One rivals Tranmere Rovers at the Stadium of Light – is the Jack Ross favourite under threat?
Just two games into Phil Parkinson’s Sunderland reign and it’s already looking rather ominous for Grant Leadbitter.
The veteran midfielder didn’t exactly make the best first impression on his new boss. He struggled to influence proceedings during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers and, after being hooked in the second half, Leadbitter was left out of the starting XI altogether as the Black Cats cut loose and ripped apart Tranmere Rovers at the Stadium of Light three days later.
That was Sunderland’s first 5-0 win since Roy Keane’s side thrashed Luton Town all the way back in 2007 and it seems wholly unlikely now that Parkinson will make wholesale changes to his team this weekend after the Wearsiders produced by far their best League One performance yet.
With Leadbitter dropped, the former Bolton boss paired the ferocious George Dobson and Max Power at the heart of his midfield when Tranmere came to town. And he was left understandably thrilled as Dobson and Power provided some much-needed drive in the engine room.
“I thought they were immense,” Parkinson told The Chronicle.
“We’ve been speaking since we’ve been here and saying that football is not about you attack, then we attack – we want to attack, and then lock in the next attack.
“With the athleticism of Max and George in the middle of the pitch, I thought they did that really well.”
It seems that Parkinson is keen to introduce a more full-throttle, forward-thinking style on Wearside, their Tranmere thrashing a stark contrast to the increasingly stale and predictable displays that characterised the latter days of Jack Ross’s reign.
And if ‘athleticism’ is what the manager wants, this certainly doesn’t look good for Leadbitter. At 33, the Sunderland academy graduate isn’t exactly going to sprint from box to box for 90 minutes after all. Ask any Black Cats supporter and they will tell you that Leadbitter’s continued presence in Ross’s midfield came at the expense of any creativity or cutting edge.
It seems that one of Ross’s favourites already looks out of place in the new era.
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