In the 1999/2000 season, Peter Reid’s newly-promoted side surprised everyone by sitting in third after nineteen games with thirty seven points. Given how much the Premier League has changed over the years, it’s probably even more of a surprise to many that Regis Le Bris’ side sat seventh after nineteen games on twenty nine points.
Reid’s team went on to finish the season in seventh place on fifty eight points after a slump in the second half of the season. With a record of W11, D4, L4 and thirty eight points,
things started to go downhill on Boxing Day with a 5-0 loss away to Everton.
Thereafter, the team drew three of their next eight matches and lost the rest, conceding four goals at Arsenal, three against Coventry and five against Leicester. It’s true that a lot has changed over the years, but are there any lessons to be learned?
In hindsight, the Sunderland side of 1999/2000 could only play one way and part of the issue was that teams had worked them out by Christmas. Steve Bould was a rock in defence during the first part of the season, but hardly played in the second half due to injury, whereas Niall Quinn continued to play but was hampered by back problems.
In Bould’s absence, the defence became an issue, but things weren’t helped by the midfield, with Reid regularly changing players and formations to address the slide. That said, over the last eleven games of the season, our form did pick up a little, averaging 1.64 points per game.
There are clear parallels between the 1999/2000 side and today’s team.
Back then, the squad had little Premier League experience, so Bould’s know-how proved crucial early in the season. Depth was also an issue — especially in key positions — and the team’s approach relied heavily on the wingers.
If we were to lose Xhaka for a significant period of time, we would have a problem.
Squad depth is a potential issue if players tire or have to play on with minor injuries, but not to the extent it was in the 1999/2000 season. Our wingers are important, but we’re less one-dimensional than Reid’s side.
The AFCON period has shown our squad can cope, although there’s a clear difference between “getting by ” and kicking on. The loss of Dan Ballard and Noah Sadiki showed that we don’t have like-for-like replacements for our key players. That’s not a criticism; after all, Manchester City don’t have a drop-in replacement for Rodri. It’s just a fact.
With the greatest of respect to Reid, the 2025/2026 Sunderland side is much more difficult for teams to work out. The basic structure may remain the same, but Régis Le Bris has shown himself to be tactically astute — albeit he does have the support of highly experienced assistant coaches and access to analysis tools that didn’t exist in 1999.
If we can bring in a little more depth in the transfer window, keep Xhaka fit and not suffer the loss of several players at the same time to injury, it’s possible that we could go on to match the points-per-game total (1.53 after nineteen games) over the second half of the season.
If I have one reservation, it’s the amount of goals scored. With a major contribution from Kevin Phillips, we scored fifty seven league goals in the 1999/2000 season, whereas so far this season, we’ve managed twenty one, with only Nottingham Forrest and Wolves scoring less.
Last season, fifty eight points would’ve have delivered ninth place. That’s not as good as 1999/2000 but on the bus on the way back from the playoff final, ninth place was beyond my wildest dreams!
