It's been no surprise that Sunderland loanee striker Ellis Simms has been a key cog in Tony Mowbray's machine that has been chugging along well all season but one statistic has highlighted just how important the 21-year-old is.
After gaining promotion from League One last season, the Black Cats have outperformed many expectations set to them as they sit in 10th after 21 matches - six spots above fellow promoted side Rotherham United and 12 places above last year's League One champions Wigan Athletic.
Simms has been crucial in recent weeks for Sunderland after arriving on loan from Everton, coming up with a goal against Birmingham City in a 2-1 win as well as a goal and an assist in their 3-0 triumph over Millwall last weekend - all this on top of his three goals he found early on this season.
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However, it turns out that Sunderland have won just one of eight Championship matches without Simms this season, either due to him being on the bench (the season opener against Coventry) or when he missed seven matches as he was out with a toe injury earlier on in the campaign.
With him though, the Black Cats have won seven of 13 league matches this season while drawing another two. On top of that, their four losses with Simms in the squad have all been by just one goal showing that Mowbray's side are never far away from three points when Simms is in the team.
The problem now for Mowbray comes in the form of having too many players in good form to fit in a system with the impending return of Scotsman Ross Stewart, as well as Amad Diallo and Jack Clarke on the wings with Alex Pritchard as an attacking midfielder as they prepare to host an out-of-form West Bromwich Albion side on Monday night.
But in a week where the Black Cats boss has come out and noted how tight the Championship table is at the moment, it'll certainly be nice to have someone as reliable as Simms to be the difference maker.
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