Gav, Jonny and Bomber in a recent _Ha’way the Podcast_ marvelled at ‘all the pieces falling into place’ as Sunderland make their mark in the summer transfer market — I couldn’t agree more — and it got me thinking about the journey since the arrival of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
What we are witnessing is the emergence of Sunderland 3.0 of the Louis-Dreyfus era.
KLD arrived in February 2021, and while Kristjaan Speakman was appointed in late 2020, it is widely believed that he was a Louis-Dreyfus hire. So began Sunderland 1.0 under the duo, a phase that saw the birth of the ‘model’ with an influx of talented young players, the appointment of Alex Neil and then Tony Mowbray and promotion from League One in May 2022.
SAFC 1.0, however, was not without its missteps, notably the Black Cats Bar debacle, along with tensions between the duo and two popular head coaches, resulting in the departure of Michael Beale. But it was progress, though far from linear.
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Clearly, lessons were learned following a rocky 2023/4 season.
Out of those ashes came the emergence of 2.0, marked by the arrival of Regis Le Bris and the intensification of the model, more young recruits together with academy graduates breaking through.
Longer-term investment was also made at the Stadium of Light - pitch and sound system. In 2024/5, SAFC 2.0 overperformed with a euphoric but nerve-jangling promotion to the Premier League.
Enter Sunderland 3.0 of the Premiership era.
Speakman and Le Bris have just been joined by Florent Ghisolfi and Luciano Vulcano, statement additions to the management/recruitment team. The model was at work with sale of Tommy Watson and Jobe Bellingham, putting us in pole position in the transfer market.
We are now making upward of seven impressive additions to the squad, while maintaining our identity. And seven-figure sums are being spent on the Academy of Light and further Stadium of Light improvements.
What is Sunderland 3.0? 3.0 looks like thoughtful pieces of the jigsaw falling into place in preparation for the supreme challenge.