Sunderland linked with ex-Liverpool man, FA charge Newcastle United, Aston Villa want Wilson Isidor
Sunderland are currently fourth in the Premier League.
The key to Sunderland’s survival in the Premier League this season is a little like the key to outrunning a zombie hoard during an apocalypse; they don’t have to be the fastest in the division, they just have to faster than three clubs behind them.
To that end, the Black Cats have come out sprinting. Nine matches in and they have already amassed 17 points, sitting pretty in a Champions League qualification spot as a consequence. Of course, these are very, very early days - and it might be a little too soon to start googling hotel prices for next season’s final in Madrid - but the omens for staying up, at least, a really rather good.
This is Sunderland’s best start to a top flight campaign in something ridiculous like 56 years, and the best start that any newly promoted side has made since Hull City in 2008/09. The naysayers will point out that the Tigers suffered something of a collapse as the season progressed and ultimately finished one spot above the relegation zone, but hey, they didn’t go down, did they?
Auspicious openings aside, Regis Le Bris has made it clear that his goal for the coming weeks and months remains the same; get to 40 points or thereabouts, and get there as swiftly as possible. “We need three more points to be even halfway”, the head coach told a press conference in the aftermath of Saturday’s heist against Chelsea. “We know it's important to start well because it can give confidence and belief. We know it can be difficult to break a negative mindset so to start like this is important, and we are very happy for our fans.”
In other words, for Le Bris to be satisfied, Sunderland need 23 points from their next 29 matches, or, to put it another way, 0.79 points per game. That feels eminently doable, especially when you consider the fact that they’re currently operating at a run rate of 1.89.
But again, it’s not necessarily about hard and fast numbers, it’s about being better than those around you, and to that end, Sunderland are thriving. We all know - and have seen first hand - how poor the likes of West Ham and Wolves have been so far this season. At the time of writing, Le Bris’ men are 13 and 15 points clear of the seemingly doomed duo respectively, with a dozen separating them from 18th-placed Nottingham Forest too. It’s a buffer that few on Wearside could have hoped for heading into the season, and one that, based on current form, should only broaden. Fingers crossed.
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Because the thing with Sunderland’s recent purple patch is that it isn’t just impressive within the context of a fresh campaign, but also compared to the tail end of last term too. Stretch the Premier League and its standings back to February, when the Black Cats were still scrapping to get out of the Championship, and somewhat remarkably, they still wouldn’t be in the top flight relegation zone. In just nine matches, they have taken more points than West Ham have in their last 20, only three points fewer than Fulham have in the same span of time, and only five fewer than the likes of Wolves, Forest, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Does it guarantee Le Bris’ men of anything moving forward? No, of course it doesn’t. But does it suggest that they are performing at a level far beyond that of the usual newly promoted relegation fodder? Absolutely, yes. And at the end of the day, given the issues that are patently dogging the likes of West Ham and Wolves, that’s all they really need to do.
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