I’m at my desk staring at the Premier League table and still fearing that what is in front of me is some cruel mirage conjured by AI to mess with my head.
To be sitting ninth in the table after seven matches on their return to the top flight with the record of the previous promoted teams being so wretched, and with almost universal predictions that this season the three promoted teams would be plunging down the same sink hole, makes the current scenario all the more satisfying.
I won’t shy away from
the fact the opening fixtures have been relatively benign in the sense they have largely been teams who are in transition either with managers under fire or having failed to do the business they would have hoped in the transfer window. I would counter that with Sunderland can only play what is in front of them and to that end they have remained largely disciplined and consistent.
They have ridden their luck on occasions but there is the argument you make your own luck. They have come up trumps in recruitment terms, led by the signing of Granit Xhaka who has proved why the club were so driven to sign him and why Kyril Louis-Dreyfus personally became involved in a bid to seal the deal.
But going beyond Xhaka, Mukiele, Sadiki, Diarra, Alderete and Adingra have all demonstrated their pedigrees and what an inspired signing Robin Roefs has turned to to be. Let’s not leave out Chemsdine Talbi who while still a relatively raw talent has shown a determination and ability which can only get better and better.
One of course has to feel for the players who won promotion last season and who have missed out on game time but Regis Le Bris would be the first to say there is no room for sentiment at this level with the stakes so high. Trai Hume, Dan Ballard and Chris Rigg have all stepped up to the plate and there have been flashed from Eliezer Mayenda which hint at a bright future.
Wilson Isidor and Enzo Le Fee demonstrated what they could bring to the table last season and are unquestionably Premier League quality. Add to the this mix the refreshing enthusiasm of the new recruits most, if not all, of whom speak excellent English. Sadiki speaks four languages and Mukiele only learned English … AND German last year.
The statistic which perhaps gives us more hope than any that Sunderland will avoid the drop is that which states the fifteen clubs who have reached eleven points (or more) after six matches have all stayed up.
The African Cup of nations of course remains of concern but the defence will remain largely intact as will the forward line. In midfield those who have been wanting their opportunity such as Dan Neil will doubtless get game time. There is no lack of versatility in the squad which could prove invaluable in the coming months and there is unquestionably a drive and determination forged last season which has rolled into this which the new players have embraced.
It’s a joy watching this team and the way it is growing in the Premier League.
At Old Trafford when the system was changed to bring Dan Ballard on Sunderland didn’t look out of their depth. Challenges for sure lie ahead with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and soon Chelsea to come but this team will embrace the challenge not fear it.
Granit Xhaka leads by example. Granit by name granite by nature. Regis Le Bris oversees with a magisterial humbleness laced with determination and ambition. Will Sunderland stay up ? … can they stay up ? … “I don’t know, we’ll see” he will say with a wink and a smile.
