This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Alim Ozturk has enjoyed an impressive start to his second season as a Black Cat, but his performance at Accrington Stanley on Saturday was worrying to say the least.
The Turkish defender has become a bit of a fan favourite for his no-nonsense style of defending, perhaps due to the sheer amount of flimsy performances the Sunderland faithful witnessed from the likes of Tom Flanagan and Jack Baldwin last term.
And while the 6 foot 3 beast has indeed helped the defence with his physicality and imposing style of play, his lack of ball-playing ability reared its ugly head in the win at the Crown Ground.
Ozturk registered by far the lowest rating (SofaScore) in the Sunderland side with a measly 6.2 out of 10, and it was thanks mainly to his poor play on the ball.
He completed a truly horrific 55% of his passes, and lost possession 17 times. Now, while five players on the pitch did lose the ball more than him, a centre-back is the last person you want carelessly giving the ball away.
His positioning was poor for Accrington’s goal, as Jordan Clark ghosted into the space behind him and finished well, and he also nearly played goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin into trouble on one occasion with a slack pass.
Unlike in other games this season, when the 26 year-old’s defensive work has made up for his not-so-impressive abilities on the ball, he did little to help his team in that aspect either.
The Black Cats defender made no tackles, won just three of nine duels, contributed no blocks, one interception and two clearances.
His timely intervention to head the ball clear after the hosts had hit the crossbar was important, but overall this was a poor display from a player who has otherwise looked extremely promising this year.
A home clash with Rotherham comes next, and after the Millers got their confidence up by putting six past whipping boys Bolton this weekend, Ozturk will have to play better than he did on Saturday.
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