Who partners Chris Mepham at the heart of the Sunderland defence?

Yesterday at 02:57 AM

With Dan Ballard on the comeback trail and Luke O'Nien impressing, is there an argument to change things up at the back for the games to come? We asked our writers for their thoughts

John Wilson says…

To answer the question directly and in short form: yes, there's an argument for bringing Ballard straight back in.

Differences of opinion and having discussions are some of the big pluses of following football, and whenever he's been injured in the past, we've always been left scratching our heads and wondering how we'd cope without our very own young man mountain.

This time round, Mepham has stepped in almost seamlessly, with added calmness and experience.

However, it's debatable whether or not Ballard is only now 'back in the frame' as he's been on the substitutes' bench for the past couple of games.

I've previously written about the frustrations of the bench and why certain players are sitting on it, but Ballard has been used to shore up the defence later on in games, so we can assume he's been available but hasn't been able to break up the O'Nien and Mepham partnership.

I don't think Régis Le Bris will change that pairing if at all possible but of course the Millwall game will see us without Trai Hume, so for this particular match - discussion on!

I personally would move O'Nien to right back, allowing Ballard to partner Mepham.

We don't know what's done in training, but I'm sure there's been scenarios where Ballard and Mepham have worked together, so I doubt they'll be strangers. Assuming Hume comes straight back in after suspension, I would expect O'Nien to be reinstated at centre back for the West Brom game.

You can't leave a player out who's been moved for the good of the team and not allow him to get his previous position back. Maybe Hume won't be able to dislodge Luke from right back?

Malc Dugdale says…

With the availability of someone like Dan Ballard, I think we would be mad not to bring him back in.

The injuries and suspensions we have are significant and if there's one thing you know about Luke O'Nien it's the fact he is one of the most versatile players we have. He'd even play in goal if we needed that.

With a specialist centre back of the quality of Ballard available, it makes total sense to use him in O'Nien's place and to utilise our 'Swiss Army knife' of a club captain to help wherever Régis Le Bris feels he's most needed to optimise our chances of points.

That may be covering for Trai Hume or it may be in midfield with Jobe still serving his ban- perhaps allowing Dan Neil to push further up with Chris Rigg.

I trust the head coach to send out the best shape and first eleven we can muster and adding Ballard to that certainly isn't watering down the quality of this side.

Get him in the team and let's see if anyone can get him back out.

Phil West says…

First and foremost, Dan Ballard is a superb defender; an international-class centre back with the ability to ease himself through Championship games with minimal fuss when on form.

He'll have a key role to play for us as the season unfolds and if we want to sustain a promotion challenge, the Northern Ireland international will certainly be called upon to step into the breach during times of injury and/or suspension. Indeed, Ballard always comes across as a top professional and will doubtless relish the challenge.

However, right now, the shirt is rightly O'Nien's and on current form, I just can't put up a genuine argument for his potential omission from the starting eleven in favour of Ballard.

He's a leader, a warrior, a standard-setter and above all, a damn good Championship-calibre central defender who's earned the right to marshal the defence and has also formed a superb partnership with Chris Mepham. 'He's not a defender!' the critics often cry, but what more can he do to prove that this is simply untrue?

Furthermore, O'Nien is also a survivor- the final remaining member of Sunderland's 'class of 2018', and the fact that he's never fallen out of favour in six years on Wearside tells its own story.

His ability to play out from the back, the role he plays in our pressing game, and his mobility are all key assets for us under Régis Le Bris, and if Ballard wants to usurp the club captain, he'll have to work very hard in training and take his chances when they come- which they undoubtedly will.