Five games into the season, and Sunderland are sitting pretty in seventh position. The summer acquisitions made by Steve Bruce have proved to be intelligent and fruitful, giving the team’s spine a much-needed solidity that can now be built upon in future transfer windows. Things are looking bright at the Stadium of Light, and here’s a look at some of the key reasons that have given them cause for optimism:

Kenwyne Jones

This chalkboard is an example of Kenwyne Jones’ work-rate alongside Darren Bent in the team’s first game of the season. Twenty-two tackles/duels by a centre forward in one game is a fantastic effort, and Jones performance -battling left, right and centre in the middle third and opponent’s penalty box- is similar more to the shift a lone striker would be expected to put in.

It’s a definite indicator as to not only why he was given 3 FPL Bonus Points, but perhaps, more importantly, shows how Bent will be afforded the time and space upfront if his strike partner is proving to be such a handful to opposition defences.

This chalkboard is from another game where Jones received 3 FPL Bonus Points, and shows his importance as a target man from long punts from the Sunderland goalkeeper Martin Fulop. Nine of the keeper’s eleven successful passes were won by Jones, every one of them well into the opposition’s half. Added to the fact that he grabbed both Sunderland goals in this 2-1 against Blackburn, this was once again an impressive all-round performance from the big Trinidadian.

Cana & Cattermole

At Wigan -before Harry spirited him away- Bruce had the endless energy of Wilson Palacios in centre midfield next to Lee Cattermole. Big Steve seems to like having two real battlers in the middle of the field; coming to Sunderland, therefore, he replicated this blueprint, returning to his old club to acquire Cattermole and bringing in Lorik Cana from Marseille.

This chalkboard shows how new team captain Cana is more the sitter of the two, allowing Cattermole to get forward and assist the front men. The pair’s combative nature mean they’ve already picked up 5 yellows between them (Cana just edging it on 3) but Cattermole seems to be revelling in the more forward role, and has failed only twice to pick up FPL Bonus Points for his performances to date this season.

FPL Man-of-the-Match last weekend, Cattermole’s box-to-box performance is exemplified in this chalkboard , showing how he broke up the opposition’s play from his own penalty area, through the centre of the park, all the way up to Hull’s 18 yard box. Again, with him as the forward-most of the middle two, it perfectly sums up the fantastic Sunderland work ethic in the middle of the pitch. Cattermole-at 5.1m- is a definite possibility. If he can control his temperament, the boy would be a bargain.

Sunderland’s passing pattern in the previous game versus Hull, as this chalkboard illustrates, has a lack of real incisiveness in the “hole” area of the final third, due to the way the team are set out. Tactically, therefore, Bruce will be expecting far more creativity from his wide men to compensate, but until Andy Reid delivered on Saturday, it hasn’t happened so far.

Steed Malbranque on the right has had no attempts at goal whatsoever this season and one assist, and Kieran Richardson- so widely tipped after a successful pre-season behind a lone striker- has no goals, no assists, and is currently playing at left back due to George McCartney’s injury. Come January, it will be interesting if the wingers are upgraded by Bruce, now that the spine seems right. Considering he had the luxury of Valencia at Wigan, it would be no surprise if pace was on the January menu.

Darren Bent.

Sunderland currently have the third highest goals-per-shots ratio in the league; their 52 attempts on goal have brought 8 goals, which is bettered only by Arsenal and Man City. Darren Bent, with 4 of those goals, plays a huge part in their success so far.

In terms of individuals, Bent’s 16 attempts and 4 goals (a success rate of 25%) is only bettered by Jermain Defoe (26%) and Emmanuel Adebayor (an incredible 40%) showing why he’s such a huge favourite with FPL managers. Bent has already risen 0.3m to 7.3m, and with such a high conversion rate, (plus he’s on penalties) there’s every reason to suspect he will keep on scoring. His 2 goals from 2 attempts against Hull at the weekend illustrates his worth and consistency perfectly.

This chalkboard shows whether he is at home against the toughest of defences, or playing away on the counter to a slightly lesser team, Bent very rarely takes a shot for the sake of it; none of these are pot-shots that smack of desperation. Virtually all his attempts at goal are inside the opponent’s penalty box, suggesting Bent’s ability at finding space ensures his chances of hitting the net are better than most.

Central Defence- Turner & To Be Confirmed

The £6m outlay on centre-half Michael Turner from Hull just before the transfer deadline suggests he will not be sitting on the bench. At 4.5m on FPL and the number one defender in last year’s Guardian game, Turner made an instant impact against his old team last weekend, with an assist and a FPL Bonus Point thrown in for good measure, too.

This final chalkboard compares Turner’s clearances with centre back partner Anton Ferdinand, showing how his were the more crucial and timely. Or to quote his new boss, “He is an old fashioned centre-half who does the things a centre-back should do”.

Who will partner Turner? Bruce raved all summer about Paulo da Silva (now down to 4.2m!), and the Paraguayan’s brief debut last weekend was possibly a way of easing him into the action before this weekend’s trip to Burnley. Anton Ferdinand has performed admirably up till now, and there’s even Nyron Nosworthy to consider, too.

A few more game weeks should clarify exactly which two are Steve Bruce’s preferred central defensive paring, but if they follow in the footsteps of his 2 centre midfielders and 2 centre forwards, Sunderland can expect great things this season, an encouraging sign for both their fans, and those of us who tipped them to break the top 8…