Something I’ve found myself repeating almost every time I speak about Sunderland at the minute is something that many of you reading this will probably smirk and laugh at, as I know I’m often accused of getting
carried away too easily, but I genuinely believe it when I say it: I think this is probably the best Sunderland team that I’ve ever seen. Collectively, individually, on and off the pitch — I’m pretty certain I’ve never had it better.
Obviously, that’s subjective — the case is different for each of us, and depending on how old you are, you might have seen one or two more Sunderland sides that were better, but for me as a man in his mid-30s I feel pretty certain that it’s the case. I don’t believe I’ve seen a better group of players in red and white.
I lived through the Reid era and went home and away with my dad as a youngin, but I look back at that now and I don’t think I was really capable of being able to appreciate them in the way that I maybe would now. Yes, they were ace, but as an eight year old I just thought my team always won games and scored goals. Maybe if I’d been a little older I’d have a more rounded perspective on it, but I can still sit here and talk about that team whilst giving them the respect that they deserve. Quinn, Phillips, Summerbee, Bally, Schwarz, Hutchison – we had some superb players who had Sunderland competing towards the top of the Premier League.
But, still… I think this current crop of talented mackems is the best that I’ve seen. Position by position, in my lifetime, I don’t think we’ve ever had it better. We’re only 11 games in, but I fully suspect right now that if we have this conversation next summer we’ll be talking with real certainty that some of these players are the greatest that we’ve ever had in their positions.
You can see some of these lads going right to the top, and hopefully with us.
When I watch Robin Roefs I see a goalkeeper who can do absolutely everything. Thomas Sorensen was a superb stopper, and Roefs is right there alongside him in my mind when it comes to the best we’ve had, with Simon Mignolet and Jordan Pickford running them close. His ceiling is so much higher than Tommy’s was, which is why I’m so excited – he’s already really important to us and it won’t be long until some of the super elite clubs are sniffing around him, which I think is a great compliment to how well he’s doing already for us.
Have we ever had a better left back than Reinildo? Is Trai Hume better than Chris Makin and Phil Bardsley? I’d probably say yes. Nordi Mukiele is one of the most talented defenders that I’ve ever seen and, in Ballard and Alderete, we have two absolute colossuses. The best centre backs I’ve probably seen at Sunderland are Steve Bould and John Mensah, and these lads run them close. I’ve not seen enough yet of Lutsharel Geertruida to safely throw him into that conversation, but he’s already very close and is back starting games for the Netherlands, which shows how great he really is.
Granit Xhaka, for me, is the best player that the club has ever signed. He’s statistically the best midfielder in the Premier League right now and was signed off the back of the greatest run in his career, in which he qualified for the Ballon D’or. We’ve had some topper midfielders over the years but none of them have been in that bracket. Running him close, though, is Noah Sadiki who is unlike any other player I’ve seen play for us and is undoubtedly headed for the very top of the game — the comparisons to N’Golo Kante are fair and accurate. Enzo Le Fee and Habib Diarra are class acts, and then there’s Chris Rigg, who you could argue will eventually be in the conversation with Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson as the finest player to have been produced by the Academy of Light.
I could go on and on, but you get my drift. Individually, our team is fantastic, but they’re even better collectively and have that balance between individual quality and collective quality down to a fine art. We’re nowhere near the end of the season and lots can change between now and then, but I just don’t see this team hitting the buffers and think we have the potential to finish inside the top eight, qualifying for Europe, which would signify the immense amount of progress that we’ve made in a short space of time.
They’ve given me so many great memories already, and the reason we’re selling out every single ticket allocation given to us is because Sunderland are playing ‘can’t miss’ football, something that simply hasn’t been the case for quite a while now.
The best team we’ve had in my lifetime? I’d say so, definitely.
