Tony Mowbray hints he will resist temptation to play with two strikers
Tony Mowbray has appeared to concede that the quality of technical players Sunderland have available makes a front two of Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms unlikely.
Stewart and Simms played together earlier in the season before injury hit both, and there were signs that they were striking up a very potent partnership.
Both are now available again, though, but in their absence, players such as Amad Diallo, Jack Clarke, Alex Pritchard and Patrick Roberts have come to the fore, and Mowbray says it’s hard to sacrifice them to go with a front two.
Speaking ahead of the game against West Brom, Mowbray said: "If we decide to play two up front, will we play 4-4-2 or a back five with three in midfield? Where does that leave some of the technical players who have been playing in those wide areas - Jack Clarke, Alex Pritchard, Elliot Embleton, Patrick Roberts?
"Do they get into a team with two centre-forwards? These are the decisions we have to make.”
Mowbray has tended to favour the 4-2-3-1 system during his career, and he has transitioned Sunderland to that too after initially inheriting a team playing three at the back.
He, though, says he is not married to a single formation and the opposition will play a big role in his team selections. He also, though, says the importance of formations can be overstated and it’s really a team’s identity that must be consistent.
"We'll look at the opposition and see where their strengths and weaknesses are,” he continued. “My job is to try and win football matches, and to develop young players of course, and to try to give the team an identity of how we want to play.
"Whether we play three at the back, four at the back, attacking with five strikers or six strikers, I'd like the identity to be the same and for the fans to enjoy the football. The players will be given the tactics of why we need an extra man today or why we are going to play with width or why we are going to play really narrow in midfield.
"As long as the shape doesn't impact the fact that we need to play forward passes and get men in the box, those sorts of things need to remain regardless of the formation."
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