If there’s one thing we learned during his maiden campaign on Wearside — apart from the fact that he’s got the kind of passion for football and transparent love for Sunderland that you can’t help but admire — it’s that behind the smile and the affable, happy-go-lucky exterior, there’s a fiercely competitive footballer and mentally strong in Wilson Isidor.
Remember, for example, how he struck to give us a crucial foothold in the Championship playoff semi-final first leg against Coventry City, whipping
a shot past Ben Wilson to put Sunderland 3-2 up after quite a lengthy barren run in front of goal?
That goal — along with the array of equally outrageous strikes that preceded it — should’ve served notice that he was a man for a major occasion and further evidence of this was provided when he became the first player to score in the first three home games of a newly-promoted club’s Premier League campaign, with strikes against West Ham, Brentford and Aston Villa.
It was almost the perfect introduction to top flight football for the popular striker, and let’s not forget that his poacher’s finish against Chelsea set us on our way to a famous victory at Stamford Bridge.
However, it’s fair to say that the past week has been one of mixed fortunes for Isidor.
Our trip to Anfield to face Liverpool almost ended in glorious triumph as he had a chance to make it 1-2 before being thwarted by a superb goal-line clearance from Federico Chiesa, and a similar story almost unfolded at the Etihad Stadium when he found himself in on goal with a decision to make — only for Gianluigi Donnarumma to make the save.
The former would’ve secured a landmark win and the latter might’ve represented a consolation during a tough afternoon against Manchester City, but it just so happens that he couldn’t quite finish the chances. That’s the way it goes and there’s no need for panic.
That said, on a more positive note, Isidor is making the runs, showing awareness and getting himself into positions from which chances can and hopefully will be taken. Premier League defences are far more streetwise and spiteful than those he regularly got the better of during 2024/2025 — he’ll know this and the challenge he faces is to ensure that when he does get into those promising positions and is found by a teammate, he shows composure and decisiveness.
Isidor is a mercurial talent.
He’s a gloriously unpredictable footballer who combines superb work rate and a sharp turn of pace with a penchant for the spectacular and the occasional moment of “How’s he missed that?”-style madness. That’s just part of the package. You have to accept it for all of the good things he brings to our side — and like many strikers of his ilk, he occasionally makes the seemingly difficult look easy and the apparently easy look difficult.
It kept us all entertained during the 2024/2025 season and there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that he’ll find his range once again and begin to contribute more frequently to Sunderland’s goalscoring exploits — which have been shared around the team impressively this season.
He’s also a workhorse, a tireless runner and a true team player — someone in whom Régis Le Bris has a tremendous amount of trust. That says a lot about his attitude, and he embodies the entire ethos that underpins this Sunderland’s team’s efforts: that of talent alone not being enough, with a willingness to do the hard yards a non-negotiable.
On that note, perhaps Le Bris has what you might term a “positive selection dilemma” to grapple with for the games to come.
Isidor and Brian Brobbey — the latter of whom may have a decent case to start against Newcastle, should we wish to pose a physical threat to the visitors’ centre halves from the outset — are both players of huge potential. Brobbey’s already showed hints of that with his goals against Arsenal and Bournemouth, and Isidor’s quality is in no doubt.
Wear-Tyne derbies often bring out the best in individuals and regardless of whether he starts on Sunday or comes off the bench to give us fresh impetus with half an hour remaining, you can bet that Isidor will be fired up and determined to make his mark.
As 40,000+ Sunderland fans crank up the volume and the Stadium Of Light is showcased at its raucous best, the Lads will have an opportunity to write their names into folklore, and wouldn’t it be a brilliant story if Isidor was at the heart of it?
These games need heroes. Think Defoe, Phillips and Quinn — players who delivered timeless moments against a side we’d dearly love to beat.
Maybe — just maybe — Isidor could add his name to that list on Sunday.
