Fan Letters: Bring on the 2025/2026 season!

Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

After eating a huge bowl of humble pie due to complaining about a lack of signings four weeks ago, I’m actually relishing the start of the season.

Season ticket sales have been astronomical and if the club does relatively well this season, the Stadium of Light will be full on, with packed houses for every home game.

However, we do need to be aware that a large number of our squad will be away for about four weeks in December — with their home countries for the African Cup of Nations — and this is why

I believe Régis Le Bris is attempting to stack the midfield.

If you control the centre of the park, you should in essence control the game (unless you’re faced with a Sheffield United-style game plan), and Le Bris reminds me so much of Arsene Wenger.

He used to come out with comments that at times seemed to float over everyone’s head, and Le Bris can be the same. I’m not knocking him whatsoever — I’m just a little bemused at times when he talks about what he’s looking for and wants from his squad.

I believe this season is quite possibly the most important season we’ll have faced since Reidy took us to the dizzy heights of seventh two seasons running.

We definitely had an identity back then, and teams genuinely hated coming here. If we can just get that kind of fear factor going again, we could really shock some of the so-called bigger clubs.

Make no mistake: if this club gets a sniff of real success, the Stadium of Light would sell out twice over and I’m already awaiting the emotional moment when Wise Men Say hits the tannoy just before kick off.

This is it. Strap in and let’s get ready for a real go.

Peter Milton

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Peter. Thank you for your letter.

We’ve certainly made some impressive signings in recent weeks and what I’ve particularly liked about our transfer business is that it’s not felt panicked or haphazard in any way.

Instead, we’ve zeroed in on areas of potential weakness and signed players to fit the bill — with the addition of Reinildo as a genuine alternative to Dennis Cirkin being a prime example.

I’d love to see us focus on the defence in the coming weeks and to possibly bring in a couple of central defenders in order to add even greater quality and depth, but it’s clear that there’s a plan in place and that’s good enough for me.

When it comes to Le Bris, I don’t think he’s comparable to any other manager we’ve had in recent times, if I’m honest.

Quietly charismatic, extremely personable and with a clear vision of how he wants this Sunderland side to develop, he’s looking better and better and I can’t wait to see how he steps things up as the opening game against West Ham draws nearer.

Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images

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Dear Roker Report,

The club is clearly doing a lot on and off the pitch to make the transition from being a Championship club to a Premier League Club, but does that include the medical team and the physios?

I’m getting a bit fed up of reading about players picking up injuries (Romaine Mundle already) that often appear unrelated to contact or bad tackles in games.

I can’t speak with any qualification on the matter, but something doesn’t seem right.

Derek Cox

Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Derek. Thank you for getting in touch.

The discussion around the club’s medical setup feels particularly appropriate right now, as we learned on Sunday that a deal for Armand Laurienté failed to materialise, possibly due to something that was flagged up during his medical.

If that’s the case, it’s good to see the club taking no chances and not pressing ahead in the hope that everything will be OK, and I also think it’s encouraging that long-term injury victims Niall Huggins and Jenson Seelt are well on the road to full fitness, so that’s worthy of praise.

Now that we’re back in the top flight, the standards on the medical side of the club ought to go to a new level to ensure that players are as fit as possible, and I’m hopeful that they will, because we all know how demanding this league is.

Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images

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