http://www.sunderlandtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2068441&SectionID=5849Edwards can be Keane's key signingGary RowellI'D like to pick out Carlos Edwards for special praise this week.
I made him my man-of-the-match at Birmingham and he scored as good a goal as you'll see all season to take Sunderland to the brink of victory.
And in my opinion I think he might just be the best signing Roy Keane has made that season – he could be that important to the team.
The players from the big name clubs – Jonny Evans from Manchester United and Anthony Stokes from Arsenal – are understandably going to attract the attention and the headlines.
But it could be a relatively little known winger from Luton Town who proves to be the find of the season for Sunderland.
I just think he has added something to the squad which has been missing for some time – balance.
Even when the team was doing really well earlier in the season, in the away games at Derby County and Leeds United for example, I still thought they lacked that balance on the right wing.
A succession of players have been played in that position over the last few seasons.
Heck, we've even had plenty of players playing there this season but no-one ever really looked as though they relished it.
Dean Whitehead, Stephen Elliott, Toby Hysen, Liam Miller have all done a job there but you could never class them as genuine right wingers.
But Edwards is exactly that and since his arrival Sunderland's midfield looks as though it has genuine balance.
In my opinion, he's the best right-winger we've had since Nicky Summerbee (left) was at his best.
Take
the positives
I'M writing this week's column the day after the night before – as far as the Birmingham City game is concerned – and I have to say that the morning after I'm still feeling a little bit robbed by the result!
I'm gutted because I thought that the first 45 minutes of the game was as good as we've played all season and the only thing it lacked was a second goal.
When you take everything into consideration – the quality of the opposition, the fact that we were away from home and the pressure of the fixture – you couldn't have wished for a better display from Sunderland.
They played at pace, showed great vision, won their tackles, passed the ball well and Birmingham City couldn't live with us up to the break.
The second half was a more evenly-balanced affair and credit to City for never giving up and working their way back into it but even then, I still thought we were the better side in that half too.
What you have to say firest and foremost is that it was a cracking game of football and a great advert for the Championship.
For the neutral, it would have been great to watch.
I've been a bit criticial of the quality of football on view in the Championship this season and I stand by that view. But I have to say that Tuesday's game was a genuinely exhilarating game of football and a credit to both teams and the division they're playing in.
It's just that as a Sunderland fan, I know Sunderland deserved more than a draw from that game.
And from listening to their respective press conferences after the game, the managers on both sides knew it too.
You can never relax in a high-pressure game when you're only 1-0 up and that's the way it panned out for Sunderland on the night.
As a Sunderland fan I'm gutted because as a supporter or as a fan there's nothing worse than conceding a last-minute goal which robs you of points, it knocks the stuffing out of you.
But looking at the bigger picture – the performance rather than the result – I have to say I'm very encouraged.
Ifelt before the game that we didn't have anything to fear against Birmingham but now, after that performance, I honestly believe we can go anywhere in this division and get a result.
