Alright lads, sit down. Been chewing over this Sunderland question non-stop lately. When do they get back up there? Honestly, felt like everyone’s shouting opinions but not enough digging into the real stuff. So I grabbed my laptop, a big mug of coffee, and decided to rip the thing apart myself. Here’s how it went down.
First Up: Where They’re Standing
Started by just looking at the cold, hard facts from last season. Finished 6th, right? That got them into the playoffs. But we all know how that ended – Luton Town kicked their backsides. Hurt to watch. Got me thinking… is just making the playoffs enough? Or are they actually ready to win them?
Next thing, squinted real hard at the squad. Ross Stewart? Goal machine when he’s actually playing. Trouble is, he’s barely ever playing. That injury curse is wild. Jack Clarke looked fire at times, but is he consistent enough? And Amad Diallo – Manchester United recalled him, big blow that one. Who replaces that spark? Started trawling the news sites, Twitter rumour mills… heard whispers but nothing solid filling that gap yet. Felt a bit deflated already.
Digging into the Messy Bits
Right, manager situation. Tony Mowbray… seems decent, got them playing nice footy sometimes. But this whole “striker crisis” thing drove me mad. Seriously, how long have they needed someone reliable besides Stewart? Searched and searched – saw a few names floated: some lad from France, a Championship journeyman. No big “wow” signing jumping out. Felt like they were trying to fix a leaky bucket with sticky tape.
Then I went full nerd mode. Looked at who got promoted last season. Burnley? Absolute machine. Sheffield United? Solid but stumbled over the line. Watford? Meh. Then eyeballed who dropped down from the Premier League. Southampton? Leeds? Leicester? My god. That’s some scary competition. Those teams have parachute money AND Premier League-level players tucked away. Compared their squads on paper to Sunderland’s… yeah. Heavy.
Checked the fixture list when it dropped. Opening months? Brutal. Ipswich away first game – fired up newbies. Then facing Southampton, Norwich, teams buzzing off that sweet PL cash. December looked like murderers’ row. My head started pounding just seeing it.
Putting My Neck On The Line (Kinda)
Alright, prediction time. Took a deep breath. Based on my digging, the squad as it is? Feels short. The teams they have to beat? Seriously strong. The manager’s trying his best but seems hamstrung.
- Signing a top striker is do-or-die. Like, yesterday. If they don’t? Forget it.
- Even if they do, those relegated teams are stacked. Leicester especially – madness they went down.
- Mowbray’s gotta find that extra gear. Playoffs last season was great, but need progress.
So my cold, hard take? For next season? It’s a giant maybe. Chance of automatics? Slim to none for me. Playoffs? Possible, sure. Maybe a 40-45% shot right now? But actually winning them? That step feels huge against those other playoff contenders. Gut says it’s more likely 2025 or later, if they get things sorted properly this season – spending some cash wisely, fixing the glaring holes. My head says hold your horses. My heart? Yeah, my heart screams next season, but the brains tell me different. Gonna keep watching, window ain’t shut yet… but yeah. Tough road ahead, lads. Real tough.