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Sunderland player with 0% and 33% stats could cost Regis Le Bris his job
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- Sunderland player with 0% and 33% stats could cost Regis Le Bris his job
Sunderland centre-back Omar Alderete was woeful against Coventry City and the decision to start him may contribute to Regis Le Bris' sacking.
The Black Cats are now winless in seven Premier League games and remain at the foot of the table with five points.
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Le Bris has been lauded for his achievements over the last two seasons on Wearside, but now faces real scrutiny and could potentially be axed.
His side were not at the races at the CBS Arena on Saturday as top-flight newcomers Coventry swept them aside to win 3-1.
Alderete was one of the main culprits in their demise to Frank Lampard's side as he looked all at sea in the defensive third and was ultimately sent off for a second bookable offence.
The 29-year-old defender has been miles off the pace so far this season and Le Bris' mistake of starting him could come back to bite if he loses his job this week.
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Omar Alderete was shocking vs Coventry, he has been poor all season
Alderete was a rock at the back for Sunderland last season following his move from Getafe, making 34 appearances as they qualified for the Europa League.
The 29-year-old's form has dropped off a cliff this season, yet Le Bris restored him to the starting eleven for just the second time in the Premier League this season on Saturday.
Alderete did not win a single ground duel all afternoon, despite attempting five, while he failed to make a successful tackle from centre-back, misplaced six long passes from nine attempts (33%) and lost possession 14 times.
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He committed four fouls and was booked for each of the final two, with Simon Hooper showing him red just a minute from time after he stopped Jack Rudoni wriggling away to attack.
The Paraguayan international was not part of the starting Sunderland side that kept a clean sheet at Leeds last week and so should clearly not have started against Coventry.
He is among the worst-performing Premier League centre-backs for duels won (2.57) per 90, percentage of duels won (31.6), successful pass percentage (75.8) and fouls committed (2.14) per 90 and Le Bris may well lose his job this week as a result of his poor decision-making.
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Alderete put in a better performance against Brentford in the Carabao Cup last week, after two games on the bench which followed a horror show away at Bournemouth where he was at fault for both goals.
Le Bris lavished praise on him after the cup win, saying: "I was happy with Omar. Yeah, because we spoke about the style of play. We try to press hard. I think it's more or less the trend in the Premier League and modern football. You press hard, it means that the opponent will go long around your centre-backs. If your centre-backs are not strong, consistent, able to manage 1v1s, you're over.
"Let's speak about Bournemouth, for example. We didn't start the game. Just in 15 minutes, the game was over just because of that. It's a question of momentum. I think we are humans. They can't be at their top consistently, so you need three or four centre-backs.
"We had a short spell without efficient centre-backs and now Kevin is getting better, I think. Nordi was good. Luke is also in a really good place and Omar yesterday...Thank you, Omar! I like this version."
Alderete followed those comments up with a shocking performance on Saturday to completely undermine his boss, who may now regret such high praise.
