During the dying embers of our previous stint in the Premier League, Sunderland developed an unfortunate habit of dishing out ‘golden tickets’ to those who proved utterly unworthy of wearing our shirt, splashing out significant transfer fees and wages on sub-par performers who eventually brought our club to its knees.
You probably know exactly who I mean, as it’s a roll of dishonour that takes in a bleak period in our recent history.
Didier N’Dong, for example.
A club record addition but a wretched failure of a signing. “Maybe Sunderland fans don’t know who I am”, he observed in 2016. Believe me, Didier, we wish that were still true — even if your status as our most expensive signing is no more.
Papy Djilobodji? The living embodiment of the ‘Chelsea tax’. “He played for them so he must be great” — except he wasn’t, as we found out to our cost during a disastrous spell in red and white.
Adnan Januzaj? Once hailed by Gary Neville as the only good thing to emerge from Manchester United’s 2013/2014 season and a Belgian international to boot, but a complete disgrace of a footballer once he pitched up at the Stadium of Light.
Chelsea v Sunderland - Premier League Photo by Kieran Galvin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
I could go on but I won’t, because one thing that’s incredibly reassuring is that Sunderland AFC of 2025 is a much healthier place to be, guided by an ethos that’s geared towards selflessness, the good of the team, and to representing the fans with the kind of attitude we demand.
It took a long time but the so-called ‘rotten core’ is long gone, replaced by a group of highly motivated and easy-to-like players who’ve achieved two promotions and generated a sense of the club being reborn along the way.
And so, with Premier League football in the pipeline, the big question is how do we ensure this is preserved for the challenges ahead?
Regardless of who we bring to Wearside this summer and no matter how glowing their reputation or record at their previous club, they’ll be required to fit into a dressing room where there are no chancers and no ‘big-time Charlies’, and this is where striking the right balance is absolutely key.
It’s fair to say that a lot of work is required to bring the squad up to top flight standard, but this is by no means a defeatist outlook.
On the contrary, I’m very excited to see who we can bring on board this summer and how we adjust our recruitment to suit the demands of the Premier League, but it goes without saying that we need major injections of quality right across the pitch if we’re to survive next season.
When it comes to signing such players, the lessons of the past must be heeded and the balance that’s been struck within the Sunderland dressing room needs to be preserved and added to, rather than disrupted.
Sheffield United v Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final Photo by Michael Driver | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Under the watchful eye of Régis Le Bris, those who can’t be bothered to put the effort in or whose heads will drop when the going gets tough will be exposed, and I get a sense there’ll be heavy emphasis placed on adding players who may make up for a possible lack of natural talent with other attributes.
Luke O’Nien, for example, has earned the right to play top flight football after seven years’ hard slog in red and white; of relentless application in training and matches, and he now helps to set the standards and drive the team on as a result.
The likes of Dan Neil, Patrick Roberts, Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume and Dennis Cirkin also fall into this category, having worked their proverbials off to get us out of League One and then into the top flight, proving themselves more than capable of doing the business against tougher competition in the process.
In more recent times, Enzo Le Fée has added a dash of continental flair to the red and white ranks, but he combines that with a ‘team first’ attitude and a work rate that’s second to none.
The iconic Bill Shankly once said that “no football club was ever successful without hard work” and that’s certainly true here. After all, you don’t win promotion in the way we did without emptying the tanks in pursuit of victory.
We need a strong and potent mixture of athleticism, power, speed, skill and physicality in order to have a chance of survival during 2025/2026, but there also needs to be a common thread that runs through the squad and keeps them together in both good times and bad.
If you’re here to contribute and to embrace the responsibility of being a Sunderland player, you’re more than welcome, but if you’re only interested in a quick buck and an easy ride? Seek alternatives — and that’s the way it has to be.