10 Things Sunderland Must Do To Avoid Relegation

3. Realise Defoe (Central) Is Our Most Important Player

Without Jermain Defoe, Sunderland would be dead and buried. It's staggering to think that around the time when Sam Allardyce first took the reins, Defoe wasn't starting every game. For me, he's the first name on the team sheet. M'Vila is the classy one, Cattermole is the combative one, Defoe is the goalscoring one. He could be quite for 89 minutes, as long as he takes a big chance when it falls to him. He was trialled on the left and right, but let's face it, Defoe is a central striker. If he's not in or around the box, he's not been played to his maximum ability. I'd happily see N'Doye line up alongside him, with Jeremain Lens floating behind in a free role. There could be genuine goals in there, and would allow us to revert to a 5-3-2 if the centre back targets are acquired.