When considering the frankly staggering rate of progress that we’ve seen at Sunderland in recent times, one game I often use as a barometer is our 1-2 home defeat to Swansea City during the turbulent “season
of three head coaches” — 2023/2024.
Under Mike Dodds, we were — to put it mildly — bloody awful that day, with the Swans’ Brazilian attacker Ronald running our mix-and-match side ragged and an ominous sense of drift hanging over the Stadium of Light. It was a fairly bleak day and one of many we experienced that season, but as Christmas approaches, Sunderland AFC is the same club in name only. Yes, the intervening eighteen months or so really have been that transformative.
Need proof of this? Take a glance at the current Premier League table.
Clustered at the top are all of the usual suspects; the perennial title-challengers and silverware hunters, yet in sixth place proudly sits the name of Sunderland AFC, with twenty seven points to its name and a well-earned position towards the upper reaches of the table.
The “Justice League”? The “XG Ratings League”? I’ll take sixth in the real league table, thanks very much — the only one that matters. I don’t care if “outperformed our underlying data” or how rival fans may wish to caveat our position with cracks about weak opponents and the like. We’re there on merit — argue with your nearest brick wall.
Suffice it to say, it’s been quite the journey from that dismal loss to Swansea to this point.
From the appointment of Régis Le Bris, a breakthrough season from Eliezer Mayenda, Wilson Isidor’s magic, Dan Ballard’s heroics, Tommy Watson’s glorious farewell, the arrival of Florent Ghisolfi and a summer transfer window that was dizzying in both scale and ambition, it’s been utterly unforgettable and has hopefully set this club up for a very bright future.
For the fans — if not the coaches and the players (their muted reaction to Saturday’s draw with Brighton told a story of high standards and raised expectations) — these are heady and almost giddy times. We’re riding high, on a wave of optimism and good feeling, and excited about what lies ahead and the future possibilities under the stewardship of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Ghisolfi and Kristjaan Speakman.
Of course, there’s a long way to go, with plenty of tough games in the reckoning and I certainly won’t tempt fate by declaring that this is “as good as it’s ever been” or that we’re destined for greatness, but based on what we’re currently seeing, it does feel as though this time, it might — just might — be different.
Memorable results, tactical flexibility and a “no backward steps” attitude have been the hallmark of Sunderland’s 2025/2026 season.
We’ve rarely looked anything less than highly competitive in the league; an unbeaten home record is a source of immense pride, and the players signed have adjusted to the demands of the Premier League with class, composure and skill. Mikel Arteta’s previously all-conquering Arsenal were pegged back at home; Chelsea were given an almighty broadside at Stamford Bridge, and of course, that victory over Newcastle is something we’ll never forget.
Signings? They’ve largely been brilliant.
From the class of Reinildo, Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete to the guile of Granit Xhaka and the exciting talents of the likes of Chemsdine Talbi, this is an all-court Sunderland team with immense room for future growth and the ability to give any side a very tough game when we’re on form. What’s the ambition for this season? Who knows, but given the standards currently being set, there’ll surely be no let up as we target a top-ten finish at the very least.
Additionally, if there were questions around how well this revamped side would take to top flight football, perhaps there was also a touch of scepticism about how the head coach would fare, yet we needn’t have worried because Le Bris is a man in full control; a head coach into whose vision and methods the players have clearly invested heartily — and a classy, stoic figure on the touchline.
In victory, he remains calm and level-headed and in defeat, the same is also true. Losses are learning experiences and victories are savoured and then parked. There’s never any grumbling at referee’s decisions, injury worries and the like — he simply leads, inspires and demands the maximum from his men at all times.
This is a red and white-tinted Yuletide season that we can all relish and hopefully make the most of. There should be no fear when Leeds arrive on Wearside at the weekend, but for now, we can sit back, celebrate Christmas and reflect on a year of huge progress at Sunderland.
Best wishes to you all!
