Roker Report's Player Of The Month: Danny Rose

This month's Player Of The Month is another deserving winner in on loan defender Danny Rose, who has put in a number of fine performances, really making taken his chance in making the left-back position his own here in the North East after Martin O'Neill took a gamble in signing the youngster on loan.

Rose's month came with a solid performance against MK Dons in the Capital One Cup and was quickly followed with a standout performance in our only Premier League win of the season so far against Wigan Athletic... Or at least we thought so. His best was yet to come.

Rose continued to impress with a fine performance against Manchester City. A game where when most the squad failed to turn up he stood up and was counted.

It was the 1-1 Wear-Tyne derby though where Rose firmly established himself as something of a favourite among the Sunderland faithful. Perhaps an indictment on the team, or perhaps testament to how good he was in the game but he seemed to be the only one who gave a damn about it, and was a constant menace going forward and looking steadfast defensively.

With Rose continuing to impress everyone, here's what the rest of Team Roker Report made of his month;

Michael Graham: I'll happily confess that when Danny Rose joined on deadline day I was about as 'meh' as you could possibly be over a signing. Hadn't seen much of him and what I had seen I didn't like one bit. He has proven me to be less right than usual, however, and been an absolute revelation. He is stronger than I thought, better on the ball than I thought, and considerably better defensively than I thought. Sunday was the first time he has put a foot wrong and even them the error wasn't terminal. He gave the ball away on the halfway line but the situation was still defendable. Serious upgrade on the man he replaced and the best left-back we have had at the club for many a year.

Dan Williams: I 'll admit that Danny Rose was a bit of an unknown quantity when he signed for us on loan. I actually thought he was a left winger, who had filled in a few times at left back, and was another square peg in a round hole for us in that position. Thankfully I couldn't have been more wrong.

Rose has been fantastic since he joined the club, looking like the 'proper' left back that we have been crying out for, and consigning Kieran Richardson to the memory banks. I honestly thought we would miss 'Rico' a lot this season, but Rose has been better than his predecessor and fully deserves his award, especially considering the tough month that he's had outside of Sunderland.

Of course Steven Fletcher gets a mention in second, as he remains the only Sunderland player to score this season, and his tireless work has not gone un-noticed in the Premier League in general, or here at Roker Report Towers.

Karl Jones: Since his arrival, Danny Rose has shown just why he is so highly rated, not only at Tottenham but also within the national setup. After initially focussing on his defensive duties, Rose has gone on to show that he can be effective going forward - overlapping James McClean to give Sunderland attacks a new dimension. Having made the transition to left-back sooner than predecessor Kieran Richardson, Rose already looks like he could become an international full-back. Quick on the ground and in sensing danger, Rose is proving to be a better passer than Richardson should stand Sunderland well over the course of the season and hopefully further, should an opportunity arise to buy him.

David Boyle: A closely run contest this month as Steven Fletcher and Danny Rose went head-to-head for the prestigious honour of the Roker Report Player of the Month award. The Scot however was to just fall short of Danny Rose's impressive performances as of late. Whilst my previous knowledge of the fullback was restricted to that thunderous volley on his league debut for Spurs against Arsenal I have been bowled over by his intelligent defensive qualities, use of the football and option as an attacking threat on the overlap. Whilst Rose has been quick to talk up his desire to make his stay on Wearside a permanent one his performances will not have gone unnoticed by Spurs and you would imagine we would have a bit of a fight on our hands now to prize him away from White Hart Lane. Never the less lets enjoy this talented footballer while we can.

Chris Weatherspoon: No small amount of trepidation met Danny Rose's late-August loan signing. After Martin O'Neill's previous temporary signings (Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos) failed to shower themselves in glory last season, I feared that the signing of Rose was another short-term venture that wouldn't pan out, with the youngster deemed to have largely gone backwards at Spurs.

Thankfully, I know sod all about football, and Rose has been excellent in his first month and a half at the club. He was Sunderland's stand-out performer in an otherwise awful display at home to Newcastle, and his other performances have been infused with a blend of defensive solidity and attacking intent. With James McClean misfiring ahead of him the latter element has yet to bear any real fruit, but Rose continues to improve with each passing game.

Now why not check out how Rose did in comparison to the rest of the squad (who made appearances this month anyway), including the players' running totals for the season so far...

Obviously there are some anomaly's in this with Bramble and Meyler being high despite only one appearance, and that's sure to change next month. Lee Cattermole lets himself down with his red card against MK Dons the only game in which he played.

Craig Gardner continues to lead in the over all standings with 53 points accumulated this season, leading Jack Colback and James McClean curiously enough.