Granit Xhaka and Sunderland - Time For An Uncomfortable Conversation

Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka was central to the Black Cats’ incredible performance last season, but he has equally been partly culpable for their disgraceful start to this campaign. 

As a result, the time has come for Sunderland supporters to have a difficult conversation surrounding the veteran midfielder and his levels this season, in light of the harrowing 3-1 defeat at Coventry City on Saturday afternoon. 

Sunderland fell to a shocking defeat at Coventry in an utterly embarrassing performance in every third, seeing the Black Cats make glaring errors in defence, looking out of ideas in midfield and toothless in the final third. 

The captain of any football club is central to the team’s standards, and Xhaka rightfully won plaudits and Sunderland’s Player of the Season award last year for his incredible debut campaign at the Stadium of Light.

Unfortunately, this season has been the total antithesis of that. 

It is important to contextualise the situation with Xhaka’s Sunderland form with the summer transfer window Chelsea saga. 

Under newly-appointed Xabi Alonso, his former Bayer Leverkusen boss, Chelsea pursued Xhaka for several weeks and looked like the deal was virtually done, but the Stadium of Light hierarchy stood firm to see the Swiss captain stay and, weeks later, publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the Sunderland project. 

Given the state of the experienced midfielder’s performances so far this season, with his latest substandard display coming in the hammering against Frank Lampard’s side on Saturday, it begs the question as to whether his head was truly turned by the Blues and if his heart is fully invested in Sunderland. 

Against Coventry, and far too often this season, the game has bypassed Xhaka in midfield, with the Sunderland captain being a passenger sometimes out of possession and failing to have the same control and dominance with the ball at his feet as he did last season. 

For the Sky Blues’ second, Taiwo Awoniyi bypassed Xhaka with ease as the Sunderland captain made a lazy, mistimed and failed tackle attempt which encapsulated the Black Cats’ overall woeful performance. 

After the Coventry defeat, Xhaka told Sunderland's media: “There are so many mistakes from our side. If we don’t do the basics, forget about everything else.”

Unfortunately, the Sunderland skipper needs to heed his own advice, and start doing the basics out of possession once again to help stop the rot in red and white. 

Sunderland’s midweek 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Brentford proved that when young midfielder Jules Ahoka starts, the Black Cats play with much more pace and intensity in midfield. 

It is a sorry state of affairs at Sunderland when there is a justifiable argument to be made that your captain, particularly one with the experience and illustrious career of the former Arsenal skipper, to be dropped for a 20-year-old who was signed in the summer with just four senior club appearances to his name. 

Worryingly, that is no slight on the extremely exciting Ahoka, but a damning indictment of how far the Swiss captain’s standards have fallen this season compared to last term. 

“We have to stick together and believe with each other. We need everyone and I believe we will bounce back.”, Xhaka added after the Halloween horror show ended for Sunderland at the CBS Arena. 

Now, Sunderland and captain Xhaka must prove their willingness to do so, because words, quotes and post-defeat social media captions are just that. Words.

Actions speak far louder, and the performances on the pitch from Sunderland this season are screaming that something is not quite right in the Black Cats’ dressing room this season. 

Only Regis Le Bris, Xhaka, and the Sunderland squad can solve that problem and begin to put things right and salvage some standards, because the fish rots from the head down, and right now the red and white rot simply cannot continue after the disgraceful disaster at Coventry. 

Some Sunderland fans seem frightened to say it, but has time come for Xhaka to come out of the starting XI?