Dear Roker Report,

3-4-2-1 is our best formation, with pacy and ball-carrying wing backs.

It’s no coincidence that we’ve not conceded a goal since we changed to this formation with Timothée Pembélé on the right, because it allows Trai Hume to sit in alongside Dan Ballard and Luke O’Nien, but Hume & Pembélé can also interchange positions to allow the other to rest or to get up in support when we play teams who sit off us.

Having Aji Alese back means we can probably do the same on the left, if or when Dennis Cirkin comes back, which I do truly hope happens before the end of the season as that would be a massive boost for the lad going into the summer break!

He’s been brilliant during the last two games and you can see why we signed him after his display at the Hawthorns.

He was up and down the left, putting balls in and cutting inside to link up with the midfield, and once Alese came on, he was popping up everywhere! A versatile player who I knew would come good – remember, we signed him when he was injured and then he had a hernia operation, too!

You can just go back to 100% performance levels (and Pembélé, who we signed him after a serious ACL injury and look how well he fits in) but where’s his best position?

Personally, I think he’s very effective and more suited to playing further forward, as he has great vision, a first time pass and quick feet. These were real highlights, along with his stepover and bending a shot just past the post.

It would’ve been nice to see Jobe drop back into midfield and bring on someone with more off-the-mark pace up front (possibly Romaine Mundle). There were so many well-placed balls from Hume, Styles and Dan Neil in behind their back line wanting to be chased, but Jobe just doesn’t have that in his locker.

Pierre Ekwah’s two most recent performances are what we need to see every week and the way Patrick Roberts finished the game is the standard he needs to hit. Again, he’s had two bad injuries this season so we should probably accept that he isn’t going to get straight back up to speed!

Two more home games and an away trip to Watford in the middle, so let’s finish the season with nine more points.

Haway the Lads!

Cal Mills

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Cal. Thank you for your letter.

The two games against Leeds and West Bromwich Albion have certainly been interesting from a tactical point of view, and utilising a system featuring wing backs certainly gave us some greater defensive solidity, as well as allowing the likes of Timothée Pembélé and Callum Styles to look much more comfortable.

I do think we’ve sacrificed a little bit of attacking flair in order to pick up two excellent away results this week, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we revert to a more traditional system for the home game against Millwall. However, looking ahead to next season, it’s encouraging to think that we can change things up if necessary.

Regarding Pierre Ekwah, he’s slowly starting to find a more consistent level of performance, albeit with plenty of room for improvement, and I really do feel that Patrick Roberts needs some big performances in the final three games to set himself up for the summer and beyond.

Suffice it to say, it’s going to be an interesting final three games, and hopefully we can pick up some positive results to conclude what’s been a turbulent campaign on a upbeat note.

Dear Roker Report,

I’d just like to say well done to Mike Dodds and all of the staff at our football club for the latest two performances- spot on!

Overall, not a bad season, compared to what we had to put up with in recent seasons.

‘Sunderland Till I Die’!

Rob Brown

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Rob. Thank you for getting in touch.

I fully agree that Dodds deserves a lot of praise for the two results he’s overseen this week. I’ve been as critical of him as anyone, but he got it spot on against both Leeds and West Bromwich Albion, and the results were impressive.

I don’t think we’ve had a season that you could describe as anything other than ‘poor’, all things considered, but if we can pick up some good results in the final three games, it would give everyone a lift ahead of the summer. Let’s hope we can!

Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

All this talk of ‘we’re buying kids for the future’, but for which club’s future, exactly?

If we’re to be successful, the system of ‘buy cheap and sell for profit’ has to change. Surely we have to have some stability in the squad if we’re to progress?

Robert Hughes

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Robert. Thank you for your letter.

I have a feeling that this summer’s transfer window will stress test the club’s way of operating more than at any other time since it was implemented.

Jack Clarke’s departure feels inevitable, and there’s plenty of speculation around the futures of other players as well, so it’s going to be a transitional period for the club. If there’s money to spend, will we show flexibility and a willingness to step outside of the usual parameters to strengthen the squad?

I have my doubts, personally, but we’ll have to see how it unfolds.

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Dear Roker Report,

It’s looking as though we may have another Mike Ashley, as I can’t see any changes in recruitment.

We’ll see a few of our best players leaving, so are we going back to the old days of being a selling club for profit instead of keeping the best players for the club?

If we want to progress, we need to keep key players and pay them decent wages but it looks like the owner is keeping his hands in his pocket. As for recruitment? We need a couple of old heads to get the best out of our young players.

Joseph Coyne

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Joseph. Thank you for getting in touch.

Would ‘another Mike Ashley’ be a bad thing for Sunderland?

After all, he sorted Newcastle’s finances out when he arrived in 2007, and some of the profits he turned via player sales, which was then reinvested into their squad, were notable, and that’s to say nothing of the colossal transfer kitty he provided for Rafael Benitez for their 2016/2017 Championship campaign.

If Kyril Louis-Dreyfus were to do something similar at our club, that arguably wouldn’t be the worst path we could walk down, in my opinion.

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