• Striker scores twice in vital 3-1 domestic win over Aston Villa
• Sam Allardyce gives his side a makeover and it pays dividendsSam Allardyce has always enjoyed challenging conference and positively revels in questioning consensus viewpoints but even the most independent thinkers can sometimes be swayed by received wisdoms.
Influenced by stark warnings from his predecessors,Dick Advocaat and Gus Poyet, Sunderland’s manager duly bought into the notion that Jermain Defoe could not operate as a lone striker. With the team’s midfield too weak to manage with a 4-4-2 formation this dictated it was extremely difficult to fit the former England striker into his starting XI, and Defoe increasingly found himself warming the bench. Sunderland’s best-paid player had started to resemble the expensive piece of furniture that simply looks out of place in your sitting room and it seemed he could well depart Wearside this month.
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Source: theguardian.com