10 Things We Learned From Doncaster Vs. Sunderland

9. Jack Rodwell Is A Passenger

I hate to make scapegoats out of players, but I think the vast majority of the Jack Rodwell criticism is justified. Lee Cattermole enjoyed a confident first half, spreading the play, hassling and harrying in the middle of the park. And Seb Larsson's second half performance was typically energetic, closing players down and threading neat balls through for the forwards. However, Rodwell got a whole 71 minutes to showcase his ability though all he could muster was one admittedly fantastic ball in behind the defence. Otherwise he was a passenger. A sidekick. If Sunderland pick any more passengers they'll start to resemble the 35C bus as opposed to a genuine Premier League team. The cold truth is that Sunderland allowed Jack Colback to leave on a free, then splashed £10 million on a player who's greatest attributes are 5-yard sideways passes and bottling challenges. That may sound very harsh considering it was during a pre-season game, but Rodwell should have been busting a gut to impress after an underwhelming debut season, but instead he contributed very little against League 1 opponents.