It’s fair to say that this season has again been a struggle for a Sunderland side that is seemingly always battling against relegation.

The recent 4-0 win away at relegation rivals, Crystal Palace, seemed to appease our Sunderland regulars in the Transfer Tavern but our landlord is warning that more work is to be done by David Moyes and his men. Perhaps most frustrating for the Black Cats was the failure to build on the win at Crystal Palace, with the Wearside club getting battered 4-0 by Southampton the following game.

With that said, our landlord feels David Moyes will keep his job for the rest of the season and will be looking to the squad he’s amassed in his first season to perform the club’s yearly Houdini act and survive the drop.

It has been easy to point the finger at many players this season and that is exactly what our resident Black Cat fans have been doing in recent weeks over a pint in the Tavern. Here are three players that have been classed as flops by the Sunderland faithful this season…

Wahbi Khazri

Khazri played a pivotal part in Sunderland’s survival last season under Sam Allardyce but it seems that the Tunisian simply is not flavour of the month with David Moyes this season.

The attacking midfielder has failed to find the net this season and has frustrated many Sunderland fans in the Transfer Tavern this time around, especially when they saw his quality shine through last year.

Good performances have not materialised and he has truly disappointed this season.

John O’Shea

Though appointed club captain under David Moyes, the Black Cats simply look shaky whenever O’Shea plays and this has surely been a contribution to the Wearside club possessing the third worst defence in the Premier League this season – shipping 46 goals.

There is no doubt that Sunderland have missed Jan Kirchhoff this season and, along with the more recent suspension of Papy Djilobodji, they’ve been short at the back. Lamine Kone is the only real defender of any quality among the Black Cats’ back line and at a time when O’Shea has needed to be a leader and step up, he has simply failed to do so.

Jack Rodwell

Though he played in the 4-0 win against Crystal Palace, there is no doubt that Rodwell has had a torrid time at the Stadium of Light with that fixture being recorded as his first win in a Sunderland shirt.

The former Everton midfielder was dubbed a potential star when he left Goodison Park for Manchester City but that move has seemed to have ruined him and a player with an enormous amount of potential has well and truly failed to hit the heights expected of him.

It has been no different for Rodwell this season and he has well and truly been a flop amongst a poor Sunderland side.

Agree, Sunderland fans? Let us know below!