Sunderland left it ‘til the end once again as we snatched a winner in the 96th minute against Brentford, and the man of the moment was the ever-effusive Wilson Isidor, striking with a cute header at the front post, squeezing the ball past Caoimhin Kelleher and sending the Stadium of Light into a state of euphoria.
Isidor has shown that he’s potentially the most ‘Premier League-ready’ of our three frontmen, but he’s also more than that: he was pivotal during our rebuild in the summer of 2024.
A relatively
unknown name to many Mackems, he was brought in after a particularly harrowing season where none of the plethora of strikers we brought in had kicked on.
Hemir was rarely trusted; Nazariy Rusyn disappointed and Eliezer Mayenda was exiled to Hibernian, so in came Isidor with a big vacuum to fill, but he’s as much a special talent as he is a special personality.
It was only a matter of months before the club decided to sanction the purchase clause in his loan agreement. Having netted nine times in the games leading up to the decision, it was a no-brainer and a bargain, and I have a feeling that the £3 million spent on Isidor may be seen as one of the best pieces of business of our new era.
Isidor is an exciting player to watch. He has great attributes that make him the player he is, and the first of these is his pace.
Deceptively quick, he has the ability to punish defenders — especially when playing within Régis Le Bris’ natural counter-attacking system. His pace is a killer and showed us as much in the games against Hull and the playoff semi-final first leg at Coventry City last season.
He’a also a smart finisher with a knack for scoring goals in big moments, and especially when an opportunity hasn’t looked clear cut. Take his last-minute winner against Brentford or his winning goal against West Ham — both goals came from tough angles and it looked improbable that he would score, yet he made it happen.
Finally, his adaptability will take him a long way. He can play out on the left or in the centre of the attack, yet he looks comfortable in both, which will be crucial given the recent acquisition of Bryan Brobbey from Ajax. Furthermore, there’ll be a need for some shuffling when we reach January and AFCON means that a number of our players are away on international duty.
Isidor’s personality is one of the largest contributions. He’s a buoyant presence for both teammates and fans, and he’s deeply loved.
After some tough years in the wilderness, the club needed more than journeymen, one-off players who could push for promotion and leave with the job done. To their credit, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman recognised this and built a team around players who would fight for the shirt as much as they would for success.
Isidor couldn’t be accused of showing the traits of a journeyman. His devotion to the cause was evident from day one and his video reveal was a tribute to the love he felt towards the city and the excitement he had to get started, so it felt special from the start.
Then came his video for his ‘mate Jack’. The very inspiration for this piece on Isidor, his video celebrating the life of Jack Shields brought tears to the eyes of many, Mackems and non-Mackems alike, and I was one of them.
I never met Jack but I’ve heard of the impact he had on those around him, and Isidor highlighting and celebrating his story deepened a strong bond that many of us already felt.
In the footballing world, there’s ‘media duty’, and then there are instances where players go above and beyond the call of duty.
Isidor naturally understands the power football exerts on the lives of so many of us. In a world where professional football is such a lucrative venture, players like him manage to thread it back to the people like us who pay for the honour of watching it.
In a week during which he celebrated his birthday and became a new father, Isidor still came out and scored the winner when called upon. Yes, that’s his job, but his post-match interview was so strikingly modest that one would be forgiven for not realising the man had celebrated two milestones just days prior.
Ultimately, Isidor is in a position of the highest privilege — playing the sport he loves in front of fans who love him — yet there was no need to dive so deeply into Wearside and its culture like he did.
Isidor did so because he loves being here. He loves playing up to the title of Mackem and we’re all his marras.
So here’s to you, Wilson. Our number 18, our striker, and our marra.
