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Cast your mind back (if you can bear it) to May 2017, a time when Sunderland AFC were relegated from the Premier League in as sorry a state as any Lads side had ever been and the future on Wearside looked as bleak as the dog days of our ill-fated 2005/2006 season.
We’d suffering a final-day hiding at the hands of Chelsea and a sorry rabble of red and white-clad players had acquiesced to the pitiful request of participating in John Terry’s farewell as an impassive David Moyes stood gormlessly on the touchline, knowing that his triumphant return to British football after a sojourn in Spain was about to end in dismal fashion.
The eight years that have since passed were filled with enough drama, memorable characters, plot twists and unpredictability to keep Agatha Christie’s sub-editor occupied for years, but the upshot is that after all of the false dawns, ownership changes, squad overhauls, managerial churn and occasional sense of drift, Sunderland AFC is a Premier League club once again. Earned? Yes. Deserved? Yes. A challenge to be embraced? Most definitely.
The summer of 2025 has been one of the most memorable of recent times.
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 2: Noah Sadiki of Sunderland looks on during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Real Betis at Stadium of Light on August 2, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 2: Noah Sadiki of Sunderland looks on during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Real Betis at Stadium of Light on August 2, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
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It started with the departure of Jobe to Borussia Dortmund, was marked by the additions of some young, dynamic and exciting talents from leading European sides, and the most recent waypoint was reached when we persuaded Granit Xhaka to swap the Bundesliga for the English top flight in one of the most astonishing transfer coups in our recent history.
Much has been made of the money we’ve spent and the profile of the players we’ve signed, but given that we’re attempting to overturn a dismal recent record of newly-promoted teams failing to survive, it was done out of necessity rather than the need to merely make a statement.
Pre-season? Interesting, to say the least. Plenty of encouraging signs from the likes of Robin Roefs, Granit Xhaka, Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki, but patchy results, a lack of goals and the issue of depth — which can and hopefully will be addressed — are valid talking points as well, so it’s been a mixed bag.
So, the big questions are, can we defy the odds and finish above the dotted line, and what kind of shape are we in ahead of the big kick off?
To the former, the optimist in me says “Yes, of course we can!” but the pundits, rent-an-opinion talking heads and analysts will have us relegated before we’ve even kicked a ball — and we all know how much they relish being proven right, so nobody should be in any doubt about the scale of the challenge we face.
Sunderland Head Coach Regis Le Bris is present during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, England, on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sunderland Head Coach Regis Le Bris is present during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, England, on August 10, 2025. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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We’ve all watched plenty of top flight football in the past eight years, and we’ve all seen the Premier League evolve into a division in which genetic freaks, sublimely skilled players and managers of high class ply their trade.
Games are played at lightning pace; VAR lurks menacingly in the background like the Watcher in the Water, and any weaknesses in your side will be ruthlessly exposed by international-class footballers — many of whom will be making their first trips to the Stadium of Light.
However, under the watchful eye of Régis Le Bris, there’s no reason that with our own skill, physicality and street smarts (Xhaka, Reinildo and former West Ham United defender Arthur Masuaku will help with that, as will Getafe’s Paraguayan defender Omar Alderete) we can’t hold our own, eke out positive results from difficult positions, and accrue enough points to keep ourselves afloat.
Yes, the decks need to be cleared and the squad both streamlined and bolstered in key areas, and I do feel that pushing any deals until the end of the transfer window would be an ill-advised approach as we seek to put early points on the board, but it’s fair to say that we’re closer to the end of the rebuild than the beginning and those making the calls have earned a good deal of trust after overseeing a seriously ambitious overhaul.
Between now and Saturday, the excitement will grow, the players will start to feel the anticipation and the eyes of the football world will be trained on Wearside as West Ham arrive for the season opener.
Will it be tough? Without a doubt, but those long and often painful years in League One and the Championship have led us to this moment, and we’ve now got a group of lads who are doubtless hungry to prove a point, proud to have the chance to wear the red and white stripes and eager to show they’ve got what it takes to take on the elite.
Strap yourselves in. It won’t be dull!