Sunderland's neglect of their own youth system (and young players brought in from elsewhere) could arguably be the major reason for their current defensive shortcomings. Refusing to evolve from an ageing centre back pairing of John O'Shea and Wes Brown has led to panic-buying, a direct result of their inevitable deterioration. Players such as Charalampos Mavrias and the now-departed David Moberg Karlsson were given barely a sniff of senior action, languishing on the bench - or entirely out of the matchday squad - despite their teammates constantly dragging the team closer to relegation each season. The most recent example of overlooked young promise is Duncan Watmore. His involvement was the sole bright spot of an otherwise catastrophic defeat to Norwich last week, one which saw a 21 year old show the rest of the team how to play with ambition and desire. The youngster embarrassed far more established names with his willingness to attack, and hopefully his positive influence on the game will encourage Advocaat to give other prospects more of a chance.
