Fan Letters: “It’s time for change!” Reader wants to see Sunderland’s side freshened up tomorrow

Dear Roker Report,

It’s the point of the season where the squad has to be chopped and changed time for Scowen to come in for Dobson. Scowen will be more of goal threat than Dobson - his career record is woeful.

The last two games Wyke, Hume and Gooch look jaded -time to get John, Semenyo, Lafferty and Grigg in. The previous games have seen Willis and Flanagan have our best chances - that says it all; it’s time for change.

Playing at home we give teams too much respect - one up front it is so negative. Time to go for it from now til the end of the season.

Parkinson - it is time to get 90 mins out of the players, for so long this season we get 45 mins of good football and then dross for the next 45 mins. More consistency needed.

For me again this season O’Nien has been outstanding, his attitude and workrate are excellent. It’s time for other players to step up to the plate and show the same qualities he has, and we won’t be far away at the end of the season.

Time for positive football and create more chances, not the persistent backing passing we have had especially at home. Lets go undefeated til the end of the season and get back into the Championship - and next season, with new owners, who knows.

Hopefully the future will look brighter for this great club and its fans.

Mark Wild

Ed’s Note [Gav]: I agree that we look a little stale, though I’m not sure I’d make mass-changes like you are proposing. I think we definitely need to see a change up front, and more urgency and pace from midfield. Scowen, Semenyo and Lafferty all need to be given a string of games (we have three this week) to prove themselves.

These are players who are apparently capable of performing at a higher level, so let’s give them the chance to show it. It’s not as though the players keeping them out of the team are lighting the place up with their performances.

I wouldn’t say that we’re not getting enough effort over the ninety minutes from the players though. Even the very best teams struggle to impart themselves across the entirety of a game - we have scored a lot of late goals, which I think shows we’ve got the fitness levels, desire and energy to be effective right until the death.

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Dear Roker Report,

Will we win against Gillingham then?

Paul in Toronto

Ed’s Note [Gav]: I don’t have a crystal ball but my guess is that we will - but it will be tight. We’ve done alright in this system at home against teams who play long ball football (Bristol Rovers and Wycombe the two that sprint to mind) so, hopefully we get at them early like we did in those two games and work them out quickly.

I think it depends on whether he changes the team up a bit, too. We look stale.