With a fixture list piling up, Sunderland fans would be forgiven for wanting to drop out of cup competitions to focus on the league. After their match versus Scunthorpe United, Sunderland have seven fixtures before 2020. This doesn’t include the game to be rescheduled between Sunderland and Bristol Rovers (WhoScored.com).
Further progression in the cup competitions would only add to this fixture pileup, giving players little breathing time before playing four games between December 26, 2019, and January 4, 2020 (WhoScored.com). The Mackems will need to recover as many points as they possibly can during that window if they want to achieve a playoff spot this season, let alone automatic promotion. The Black Cats currently sit one position outside of playoff contention, just one point behind Coventry City with a game in hand on them (Sky Sports).
But despite there being a decent reason for wanting to just give youth players a chance to shine, assistant manager Steve Parkin believes there is much to be excited for in the cup.
“This competition has got a great carrot at the end of it”, said Parkin (via the club’s official Twitter account).
And while there may be many fans who believe there is a benefit in dropping out of the cup to focus on winning in the league, perhaps there is a better way of looking at it? Isn’t football, at the end of the day, all about winning and supporting your team? Of course, it may be unrealistic to expect Sunderland to win the FA Cup considering that the competition hosts Premier League teams down the line, but what is stopping the team from making a good run in the EFL Trophy?
Is a chance at lifting silverware not more important? Phil Parkinson and his staff will have high expectations for their team in the League, but it would be hard to imagine a scenario where fans were upset with a trophy win. But with that being said, Sunderland’s recent form would indicate that they need more firepower in January if they want to make that happen (WhoScored.com). For now, though, it appears Parkinson and Parkin are fully committed to giving everything they have in knockout competitions.