Anth Gair says…
I’m expecting a good one. Top ten.
Last season should not have worked as quickly as it did.
You can’t throw that many new faces together in one window and expect them to understand each other by Christmas, and the only reason it happened is that a few big characters — Granit Xhaka above all — dragged everybody into line. This time, they’ve had a proper pre-season together. They know each other’s runs and that’s the bit money can’t buy.
The challenges are obvious enough. We’re light.
Thomas Meunier and
Dayann Méthalie(?) are good business but we need two or three more before the window shuts, because Thursday to Sunday will find you out. September has Brentford away, Arsenal at home and Manchester City away in it, which is a fairly brutal way to find out whether you belong. And everybody has a video file on us now. We aren’t a surprise anymore.
But it’s the historical bit that’s keeping me awake, and here’s a stat to sit with.
Our entire European history is four matches. Four. Vasas Budapest in the autumn of 1973, beaten 3-0 over two legs, then Sporting Lisbon, who knocked us out 3-2 on aggregate. Dennis Tueart got two of our five goals and that was that. Half a century of nothing.
We’ll double our entire European history before Christmas.
There are people that’ve held a season ticket for forty years and have never once seen this club play a competitive game abroad. Their kids haven’t. Their grandkids haven’t. Whatever the league table says in May, those Thursday nights at the Stadium of Light are going to get handed down like heirlooms.
Enjoy every minute of it.
Haway the Lads.
Dean McDonald says…
It’s going to be a huge season. Challenging, frustrating at times no doubt, but I have every faith that this could be one of the best seasons in Sunderland’s history.
As a Premier League team. we’re automatically one of the five or six favourites in the Europa League. We were unbeaten against both other English sides last season, and Milan and Juventus aren’t what they were, so there’s nothing to fear in my opinion.
I’ll stick my neck out and say it: top ten and a trophy, European football again next season, and a year none of us will ever forget.
John Wade says…
I’m firmly of the belief that we’ll be absolutely fine this season.
The improvements we’ve made over the pre-season games have impressed me — Chris Rigg, Enzo Le Fée, Noah Sadiki and Trai Hume all look like better versions of already-excellent players. The potential addition of two world-class full backs adds to the optimism, and anyone else coming in is a bonus.
I fully expect us to have a good run in the Europa League and finish in the top half of the table.
The players all now have a full season of Premier League experience and that’s a telling factor. Habib Diarra and Brian Brobbey will get even better; our wing options are plentiful despite what some might say and Granit Xhaka looks like he could pull the strings in any team for another few years yet.
Lack of depth at centre back could be an issue without maybe one more left-sided incoming if injuries strike us badly but Luke O’Nien is versatile and looks a better player than he’s ever looked.
I’m hoping to be going to Brentford in week three looking for our third win of the season and a form chart carried over from last year that reads DDWWWW.
John Wilson says…
I couldn’t be any prouder or excited for the coming season.
Last season, I was a little apprehensive about the standard we needed to hit. This this season that isn’t there, but consistency over the next nine months will be key. Players staying fit will be key. Self belief even after a poor run of results, will be key. And these are unknown variables.
Two things I am confident of is that we won’t struggle in the league, and buoyed by the crowd, we’ll surprise a lot of people in Europe.
It’s the European adventure that’s enhancing the expectation for the majority of fans.
I was a teenager last time we were in Europe but I didn’t attend those two home legs. So I’m buzzing for our Europa League path to unfold during this historic season.
Michael Dunne says…
I think everything about this season has to be viewed through the lens of Europa League football and the complexities it brings.
It’s likely that our domestic form will probably take a few hits along the way as we compete on a couple of fronts.
Given the rarity of Sunderland competing in a European competition, it’s a massive opportunity for the team to go as far as they can in competition that English teams tend to do quite well in. If this means that we may drop off somewhat in the Premier League, I think that’s OK.
I still expect us to be very competitive and certainly not be near relegation whatsoever but having the opportunity to progress in Europe should be taken with both hands, and let us see where it takes us.
A chance to make historical memories are there for us.
Phil West says…
Although you can’t deny the historical significance of the season we’re about to embark upon, I don’t think our priorities should be distorted to the point where we lapse into a mindset of “Oh well, a good Europa League run would offset a downturn in league performance”, because that’s a very dangerous place to be and Sunderland’s bread and butter must always be competitiveness in the Premier League above all else.
On the other hand, we should treasure every single moment of witnessing our great club mixing it with some of Europe’s most esteemed sides.
We should give the Europa League a damn good crack and I don’t want us to walk off the field at the end of any of the guaranteed eight games with regrets. This is a supremely talented group of players and although it remains a work in progress ahead of the transfer window closing, be in no doubt that the players currently on tap are good enough to make their mark at home and abroad.
It’s going to test every facet of this squad and it’s going to have the same impact on us as supporters.
There’ll be ups and there’ll be downs. There’ll be memorable moments and there’ll be games from which we may emerge a little shaken up after having endured a tough day at the office. But we must never forget that we earned the right to call ourselves a Europa League-bound football club and that the naysayers simply can’t grasp the scale of what’s been painstakingly constructed at Sunderland in recent times.
They can hide behind as many algorithms and protestations about “Sunderland outperforming their XG” as they like, and they can also expend enormous amounts of energy convincing themselves that last season’s seventh-place finish was somehow the result of the greatest fluke ever seen in these parts, but we know different.
Try as they might, they’ll never be able to quantify this side’s resilience, never-say-die spirit and sheer pride at wearing the red and white stripes — qualities that carried these lads to so many memorable results last season — and we’ll need to tap into that once again if we’re to compete for a top ten finish and to make genuine progress in other competitions.
That said, I trust these players implicitly.
I have immense faith in Régis Le Bris, who’s one of the most important and influential coaches to hold court in the Stadium of Light’s technical area in my lifetime, and I’m convinced that if we can continue to evolve as a side and be ruthless in our quest for victories, Sunderland AFC will continue to take strides forward on the pitch during 2026/2027.
Tom Albrighton says…
This season is a strange one — I feel more nervous than I did the first season we arrived back in the big time.
For me this is from the fact we have something to lose and whilst I don’t personally think we’ll end up down the bottom end of things, there’s always a possibility it may happen — just ask Spurs fans.
All in all, this season will be a tough one to call and everything should be viewed on an ad-hoc basis. We know the club, manager and players are all extremely ambitious but also very pragmatic so I wouldn’t be surprised that, if required, certain competitions will be intentionally torpedoed to benefit others.
On the flip side, there’s also a healthy dose of excitement to see how we can build on last season and to see how some of our younger stars will continue to develop under the increased spotlight earned after their breakout seasons, with particular interest around Noah Sadiki, Habib Diarra, Nilson Angulo and Chemsdine Talbi.
Of course teams will want to put us back in our place after upsetting the odds last season, so the main challenge will be playing games against opposition who will probably not be as naive as last season — especially during the early-season contests.
Particular attention for myself will also be around how our general play develops, with Régis Le Bris’ more ambitious and attacking style having both myself and the division in a chokehold come the final five or so games.
Excited, nervous and can’t bloody wait!
