Leo Pearlman urged Sunderland fans to make the Stadium of Light count in Sunday’s European decider
Sunderland non-executive director Leo Pearlman has issued a passionate rallying cry ahead of the club’s final-day meeting with Chelsea at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats head into the final weekend of the Premier League season still in with a chance of qualifying for Europe after a superb 3-1 win at Everton. Régis Le Bris’ side must beat Chelsea and hope results elsewhere go their way, but the fact Sunderland are even in the conversation underlines just how remarkable their first season back in the top flight has been.
Pearlman, a Sunderland supporter as well as an executive producer on the Netflix documentary series Sunderland ’Til I Die, posted a lengthy message reflecting on the club’s journey, the scale of Le Bris’ achievement, and the opportunity now waiting on the final day.
He wrote: “Seven months ago, five games into Sunderland AFC's return to the English Premier League, we sat improbably in 3rd place. I wrote a piece asking whether it was too early to book the open-top bus parade for securing a UEFA Champions League spot. Most people laughed, fair enough.
“Fast forward another 30 games & suddenly the impossible no longer feels like fantasy. After a memorable & comprehensive beating of Everton Football Club yesterday, & wasn’t it made all the sweeter given the misery David Moyes delivered during his time at our club, Sunderland AFC remain in with a genuine shot of European football for the first time in 53 years.
“Think about that for a second, 53 years, entire generations of Sunderland supporters who have never even been able to dream about this becoming reality, let alone actually experience their club playing in one of European football’s elite competitions.”
“If we do achieve it, then whether Régis Le Bris wins Manager of the Season or not, I genuinely don’t believe anyone in the league will have achieved more, or done so against greater expectation. What he, the players & the staff have built this season has been extraordinary. So now it comes down to Sunday, one final game at the Stadium of Light this season. One more chance to show this group of players what they have given us: pride, belief, memories that will last a lifetime.”
“Before the season started, someone very well placed at Chelsea Football Club told me, with not insignificant confidence & arrogance, that the final game of the season would likely see Sunderland fighting relegation while Chelsea challenged for the title. Funny how football works sometimes, isn’t it?”
Pearlman then urged Sunderland supporters to turn the Stadium of Light into a hostile and emotional stage for the final game of the campaign. He added: “Let’s show them & the rest of the league just how badly they underestimated this club, this manager & this city.
“Let’s remind them that Sunderland never needed their permission to dream big. But most of all, let’s show our own city what can happen when we move as one, one club, one crowd, one noise, one Sunderland. Get there early, sing louder than you ever have before, leave nothing in the tank. Because whatever happens next, this team has already given us something priceless; they made an entire city believe again.”
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