It’s often said that Régis Le Bris has performed miracles, seamlessly slotting the summer signings into the ethic moulded by the lads who got us promoted.
The joie de vivre, camaraderie, spirit, and togetherness
have all been transferred from the old to the new.
This was no more illustrated than in the video the club put out entitled “The goal, the cramp and the laughing” where Brian Brobbey’s winning goal is captured at close range and also covers his stumbling onto the cinder track with cramp, to be assisted by Nordi Mukiele and others and laughed at by Noah Sadiki, Omar Alderete, and Enzo Le Fée. Essentially, most of the players go to celebrate the goal as if it were one.
As my fellow ITHICS mate, Neil, said, it’s why we are doing so well.
Reggie has built something pretty amazing, so quickly. The driven professionalism and work ethic of [Granit] Xhaka, combined with fun. Camaraderie. Passion. Piss-taking. It’s potent. In that regard, the team reflects the fans.
To coin another quote from literature. If any team embodied the “all for one and one for all” attitude, it’s this Sunderland team.
The Brentford game on 7th January could comfortably be said to have been a game too many for this AFCON-depleted team on the back of a month of testing fixtures. When Enzo tamely offered up his spot-kick to Caoimhín Kelleher, many teams would have fallen apart and become split. Not this Sunderland side. If anything, that spot-kick blip by Enzo has galvanised him.
His performance at Everton included scoring a sumptuous goal and dispatching the first penalty of the shoot-out. Then on Saturday, slotting an instant reply home to Crystal Palace’s opener. Not only does he take the headlines with efforts such as these, but his tireless running and industry have me scratching my head as to whether there is such a hard-working, grafting winger as Monsieur Le Fée. Either now or ever, as the position has a reputation for being filled with fancy-dans with an allergy to graft.
Indeed, when he missed his spot-kick at Brentford, the attitude of the team was we win as a team, we lose as a team.
This disposition has been well and truly adopted by the fans. Le Bris constantly says that the team needs the energy from the fans to thrive. And boy, do they play their part. Minutes after going 1-0 down on Saturday, as the team kicked off, there was a roar from the fans. A roar to drive them on. We know, as supporters, that this team will not be beaten. We understand that we have recovered 16 points from losing positions this season. So we go a goal down, or even two as we did against Bournemouth, then all is not lost.
This is probably the best season most of us can remember as Sunderland supporters, and the joy is that the feeling sent down from the top is that we aren’t done yet.
What next? I’m giddy just thinking about it.
