Struggling Sunderland, Southampton and Stoke: Assessing The Teams at The Wrong End of The Table

When the season kicked off back in August, we all had our own ideas about who would prop up the Premier League table. Considering that they had about six fit senior players and their manager had just resigned, most of us thought Hull would be down there, while Burnley, Watford, Bournemouth and Swansea were some of the more common guesses as to who would be joining them in the bottom three. Quite a few people thought Sunderland would struggle, so it's not too much of a surprise that they currently find themselves second bottom, with a single point. What is surprising, however, is that Southampton and Stoke find themselves in a similar position, having gone their first four games without a win.

While it's far too early to be calling them relegation candidates – Hull, Burnley, Watford and co. still have plenty of time to plummet, after all – the slow start experienced by Stoke and Southampton will be a serious worry for their managers, Mark Hughes especially. Stoke are rock bottom after four games, and have a goal difference of minus eight after their 4-0 thumping at the hands of Tottenham last weekend.

The solid, unremarkable squad assembled by Tony Pulis has been gradually dismantled over the past couple of seasons, and replaced with the 'Stokealona' vintage of Bojan, Ibrahim Afellay, Marc Muniesa and the like. That has brought a considerable boost in terms of entertainment, but it also seems to have threatened the defensive integrity of a team which has always prided itself on its determination and grit. If Stoke are going to arrest their slump when they travel to Crystal Palace this weekend, they'll have to recapture some of their old steeliness. May the spirit of Tony Pulis inspire them, even if it does have its own shit to deal with over at West Brom.

As far as Southampton are concerned, their early season toils might be explained away as teething pains for Claude Puel. Having inherited the side from a consistent overachiever in the form of Ronald Koeman, Puel was always going to have a tough act to follow, especially considering he has zero experience in the Premier League. In fairness, Southampton haven't played badly, and were unlucky not to get a point against Arsenal last weekend. They host Swansea at St. Mary's on Sunday, and if they can't get a result in that match then they may as well not bother turning up for the rest of the year.

Then there's Sunderland's visit to Tottenham, which will almost certainly end in defeat. No matter, because we all know how their season is going to pan out. They'll lose every game until Christmas, sign a couple of new centre-halves, string a few unlikely wins together and escape relegation on the penultimate day. It's always the bloody same with Sunderland. It happens every single year, for fuck's sake.