As Dick Advocaat stood on the edge of the technical area, arms folded and expression thunderous, he must have wished he had listened to his wife.
After his feat in saving Sunderland from what had seemed certain relegation last spring, she had urged him to retire. Initially he agreed – only to perform a volte-face. The reward for this U-turn? Watching the Wearsiders concede seven goals while losing their opening two games of the season to Leicester and, now, Norwich.
When the fixture list came out Advocaat would have fancied Sunderland’s chances of having six points by now but something looks seriously amiss within a side requiring a radical rebuild.
It could have been worse. Jeremain Lens, signed from Dynamo Kyiv, was fortunate to escape dismissal for a second yellow card, while Yann M’Vila, on loan from Rubin Kazan, followed his headbutt in the reserves by raising arms to Graham Dorrans during an unpunished, but unwise, bout of push ’n’ shove.
If the refereeing was sometimes lenient, there was nothing remotely relaxed about an impressive Norwich. Alex Neil’s side belied their newly promoted status with a calm, poised assurance and incision, epitomised by Robbie Brady and the excellent Nathan Redmond. They are unlikely to meet many opponents as poor as Sunderland but, even so, Neil should be extremely proud.
Initially tentative, their passing gradually became a little sharper, a little more ambitious. When, at the end of a move stemming from Lee Cattermole’s concession of possession, Brady’s delicate lay-off found Jonny Howson, the midfielder unleashed the crispest of shots which a stretching Costel Pantilimon did well to turn away.
After initiating the ensuing short corner routine, Brady attempted a shot of his own which Pantilimon could merely parry. The ball cannoned into Russell Martin before ricocheting off his leg and on into the back of the net. Granted Pantilimon might have done better but he received no assistance from an alarmingly immobile defence.
No matter that Martin cannot have known much about his goal, the lead was merited. Courtesy of some hospitable defending on the part of Patrick van Aanholt and the, once again, wretched Younès Kaboul, Norwich swiftly doubled it.
Steven Whittaker had advanced from right back with real purpose but even he cannot have expected to sashay beyond Advocaat’s left back and left-sided central defender with such consummate ease before shooting unerringly into the bottom corner. Kaboul and Van Aanholt were far from the only guilty men. Although M’Vila showed glimpses of real quality, he also contributed some other less convincing cameos alongside an unusually insipid Cattermole in central midfield.
In the wake of more atrocious defending, Sunderland were lucky not to fall further behind when Cameron Jerome’s connection with a Redmond cross resulted in the forward shooting fractionally over the bar. Yet another Sunderland scare arrived as, shortly before half time, Redmond’s clever nutmeg wrong-footed Advocaat’s backline and permitted Dorrans to extend his left boot and send a shot whizzing narrowly wide.
The interval was greeted by an all-too familiar soundtrack from last season here: wholesale booing. Admittedly, minutes earlier Steven Fletcher’s header from a Lens cross had flown only marginally off target but it represented a rare shaft of sunlight.
Advocaat’s response was to replace a midfielder with a forward, sending Danny Graham out for the second half in place of Sebastian Larsson. Unfazed, Neil’s side responded by extending their lead and leaving Sunderland falling three goals behind for a second Saturday in succession.
An exercise in “playing between the lines” – something Sunderland cannot seem to master – it was a slick, subtle, skilful goal featuring a delightful exchange of passes between Wes Hoolahan and Redmond on the edge of the box before Redmond’s shot eluded Pantilimon.
With hope well and truly extinguished, quite a few fans rose from their seats and headed for the exits. Those Sunderland supporters that remained dropped a hint to the club’s owner. “Are you watching, Ellis Short?” they chorused, urging the American financier to loosen the purse strings.
The mood music softened momentarily when the debutant Duncan Watmore reduced the deficit with a half-volley following a free-kick but, by then, the contest was long since over.
