We are five games into the new season, and usually at this point in the Premier League, the promoted teams are lucky to have one or two wins between them. The wait for that first win sometimes went on for months,
like it did when we were last in the top flight, but this season, there is a whole new feeling to things. Sunderland and Leeds have two wins apiece, and Burnley is off the mark with some solid performances. No promoted side is in the bottom three, and none have looked completely out of place (Leeds’ 5-0 loss at Arsenal aside). The three have something about them, and with some of the more established sides starting the season poorly, the three new boys should have the belief that avoiding relegation is possible.
We’ve lost just once so far this season, somewhat ironically against Burnley, which is the Clarets’ only win. The 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday showed further that this Sunderland team has so much about it. For the second time this season, we came from behind to pick up points, and this time we did it with 10 men for around an hour.
The three promoted sides are giving far more than those in the last two years. They are getting stuck into the established sides, and all three have shown that the teams that have been around the top flight for years have good reason to be concerned.
Wolves are dreadful, with no points on the board yet. West Ham have been comfortably beaten on several occasions already this year, Aston Villa are without a win, and Brentford look like a shadow of the team we’ve seen over recent seasons. There are too many complacent teams that have survived by having three poor teams come up from the Championship and go straight back down. With Sunderland, Leeds, and Burnley, this time may have changed.
Our draw on Sunday was the perfect example of what newly-promoted teams should do when they are a goal and a man down. We didn’t panic; we didn’t change what we were doing. Instead, we stuck to a plan that we had confidence would work in the end, and it did. Villa looked lethargic and not up for the fight, whilst we were the complete opposite. Yet again, we looked at home, and with 11 men on the pitch until the end, we could have easily snatched all three points.
The Premier League needs teams to come up and stay up. There are teams in this division who don’t have half the fight that Sunderland, Leeds, and Burnley have. If even one of us stays up, it’s a positive; if we all do, then some clubs dropping into the Championship will have a rude awakening.
Of course, this is all hypothetical right now. But from a Sunderland perspective, we look as though we are going to give this season one hell of a go. We want to be a pain in the arse for teams in this league, and make sure they know we aren’t here to make the numbers up.
