A Wise Move? – Why Lewis Grabban Is A Good Option For Sunderland
Lewis Grabban has joined Sunderland on loan from Bournemouth and it could exactly be what both the club and the player need.
I’ve said it myself until I’m blue in the face; when looking to get promoted out of this league, you need at least a portion of the squad to have the experience of the Championship. Even Newcastle and Brighton, two very good teams at this level, had a good core of players who had played very recently at the same level and knew what was required.
Grabban has played 100 times at this level, scoring 37 times in the process, which is an excellent record indeed and one that he can yet improve on. The thing that strikes me most though is that his two stand-out seasons in terms of goal scoring. His 2011/12 season in League Two and 2014/15 season in the Championship have something in common.
Grabban played his most minutes during this time and scored 18 and 22 league goals respectively during these campaigns. When his minutes have gone down, his scoring rate drops rather alarmingly. In other words, he is the sort of player who doesn’t come on with 20 minutes to go and grab a late brace. He needs to feel as a part of the team and play 90 minutes all the time.
Given the state of Sunderland’s squad right now, making him a permanent part of their XI is not a problem to the club and so this looks like the sort of place where he can truly flourish next season. Given 40 games or more and without being hooked regularly, Sunderland can probably expect 15-18 goals or more which could prove to be extremely valuable come May.
Grabban scored just 3 in 19 for Reading while on loan in this division last season, but a closer look at his stats show him in a much better light. Most have of his appearances were from the bench and four of his starts were in supporting positions; wide or deep.
The player started 6 games up front down the middle, scoring once and creating another 2 goals and if that rate were to continue over a full season, you would have quite some asset on your hands. While he seems a sulky type who needs things his own way, he has also in fact shown that if he gets it he does indeed deliver.
This looks like some great piece of transfer by Sunderland and if they manage to use Grabban properly, they could see themselves in the Premier League next August.