SUNDERLAND supporters will have so many different highlights from 2022, but collate them all together, and there is an extremely good chance they will have all taken place over the course of the same weekend.
Another takeover of Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. Wembley Way, a sea of red-and-white, with a seemingly endless tide of supporters being washed towards the packed-out fanzone in front of Wembley Arena. ‘Wise Men Say’ booming out just before kick-off, Elliot Embleton’s screamer, Ross Stewart’s coolly-taken second, Corry Evans lifting the play-off final trophy above his head.
Saturday, May 21 didn’t mark the end of Sunderland’s road back to redemption, but it was a hugely important staging post along the way. After four years of League One toil, and far too many Wembley heartbreaks to list, the Black Cats finally had a moment to cherish. And this time, unlike with the Papa John’s triumph a little over 12 months earlier, it did not take place behind-closed-doors.
Sunderland’s play-off success was surprisingly serene on the day of the final, but there had been times in the preceding five months when it had looked far-from-guaranteed. Ultimately, 2022 turned out to be a hugely successful year for the Black Cats, but as always seems to be the case, there were still plenty of ups and downs along the way.
The year began with an action-packed 3-3 draw at subsequent play-off final opponents Wycombe that left Sunderland sitting in second position, but while the league table might have suggested Lee Johnson’s side were well placed, alarming cracks were beginning to appear.
The pursuit of Jermain Defoe had become something of a touchstone for the deteriorating relationship between Johnson and those around him, with the Sunderland hierarchy wanting to sign the club’s former striker as a free agent following his release from Rangers but the head coach harbouring serious reservations about his ability to make an impact at League One level at the age of 38.
Subsequent events would prove Johnson’s assessment of Defoe’s capabilities to be correct – the signing of the former England international was an unmitigated disaster with the veteran failing to see out the season as he left without scoring a single goal – but the fact that Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus were determined to go their own way anyway suggested that Johnson’s time was up, and the final straw proved to be the 6-0 hammering at Bolton that hinted at a much wider unravelling.
His dismissal sparked a brief period of chaos in which Roy Keane’s public candidature seemed to transfix Sunderland’s ownership group, a situation that was hardly helped by the sudden reappearance of Charlie Methven which understandably antagonised a fanbase that was wondering what on earth was going on. Louis-Dreyfus’ subsequent admission that he was a ‘controlling’ shareholder rather than a ‘majority’ one only added to the sense of confusion.
Sunderland needed a steadying hand, and it was provided by Alex Neil, who was appointed as manager in mid-February. Neil needed two or three games to get a handle on what he had inherited, with his side briefly slipping out of the play-off positions, but having recognised the need for solidity and experience, a move that saw him drop Callum Doyle and Dan Neil and instead rely on the likes of Bailey Wright and Danny Batth, the Scotsman presided over a run of 13 unbeaten matches that confirmed Sunderland’s play-off place.
A tight two-legged semi-final with Sheffield Wednesday was settled when Patrick Roberts slid home a 90th-minute equaliser in front of a euphoric away end at Hillsborough, and for once, May’s Wembley return proved to be a joyous occasion with Sunderland never looking in any trouble against a Wycombe side who couldn’t cope with their opponents’ superior technical skill.
With promotion secured, thoughts turned to whether Sunderland would be capable of re-establishing themselves in the Championship, and midway through the summer, there was a welcome announcement confirming that Louis-Dreyfus had increased his stake in the club to 51 per cent. Juan Sartori’s shareholding rose to 30 per cent, and while former chairman Stewart Donald retained a minority stake, Methven’s time as a shareholder was over.
While winning promotion was clearly massive, it can be argued that the ownership reshuffle was this year’s single most important development in terms of shaping Sunderland’s long-term future. Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori now have the capability to mould the club as they see fit, with their ability to invest no longer dependent on the whims of discredited former owners.
Questions remain about the depth of Louis-Dreyfus’ pockets and the extent to which he is able to fund the investment that is required to enable Sunderland to compete with some of the highest payers in the Championship, let alone the Premier League were the club to win promotion, but it is surely undeniable that the club’s off-field future currently looks more stable than has been the case for a number of years, and that has to be a welcome development.
Admittedly, finances were an issue in the summer, though, along with an increasingly obvious disconnect between Neil’s demands for a high degree of autonomy over transfers, and a desire to pursue experienced campaigners, particularly up front, and Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman’s decision to pursue an alternative transfer strategy based around the acquisition and development of youngsters who could be moulded and developed within the first-team squad.
Things came to a head in the final weeks of the window, with Neil’s pleas for an experienced attacking alternative to Stewart and Ellis Simms falling on deaf ears as a flurry of youngsters were being lined up from abroad that would eventually culminate in the arrival of Jewison Bennette, Amad Diallo, Abdoullah Ba and Edouard Michut just before deadline day.
By the time they were being paraded on the Stadium of Light pitch, Neil was gone, grasping at the exit offer that was thrust into his hands by Stoke City. Unlike in January, when Johnson’s departure had led to a prolonged period of instability, this time the Sunderland hierarchy had a replacement lined up, with Tony Mowbray slipping seamlessly into the head coach’s chair.
These remain early days, with the season only halfway through, but Mowbray’s appointment is looking like an increasingly astute move, with the Teessider buying in to Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman’s strategic vision and boasting a proven pedigree for nurturing and improving talented youngsters.
The likes of Amad, Neil and Jack Clarke are clearly prospering under Mowbray’s stewardship, and while Bennette, Ba and Michut are yet to really show what they are capable of, there is every chance they will begin to become more and more of a factor in the second half of the season.
Mowbray also deserves huge credit for the way in which he handled the loss of both Stewart and Simms for a lengthy spell – a doomsday scenario that Neil had foreseen, but that actually turned out to be much less of an issue that might have been anticipated. Mowbray’s attempts to plug the attacking gaps didn’t always work, but he refused to bemoan his bad luck and Amad in particular has clearly benefited from his manager’s public show of faith in his capabilities.
September’s 3-0 win at Reading was an obvious highlight of the current campaign, with Clarke’s Goal of the Season contender highlighting Sunderland’s counter-attacking capabilities as they swept from one end of the pitch to the other in a Barcelona-esque passing move, and Monday’s 2-1 win over Blackburn means the Black Cats head to Wigan for their final game of the year tomorrow sitting in eighth position.
That is a more than acceptable return, and provided Sunderland hold on to Stewart next month – the striker’s contractual situation remains worryingly unresolved – there is no reason why the second half of the campaign cannot witness a sustained tilt at a play-off place.
Another golden moment at Wembley in May 2023? Perhaps that is a step too far. But just raising it as a realistic possibility highlights how far Sunderland have come in 2022.
**
HIT OF THE YEAR
ROSS STEWART
Last season’s top scorer in League One would almost certainly be topping the Championship scoring charts for the current campaign had he not been sidelined for three months through injury.
MISS OF THE YEAR
ALEX NEIL
Yes, he guided Sunderland to play-off final success at Wembley. But the manner of his hurried departure to Stoke left a horribly sour taste in the mouth.
GAME OF THE YEAR
SUNDERLAND 2 WYCOMBE 0
What else could it be? Sunderland were in control from start to finish as they finally gave their supporters something to celebrate about at Wembley.
GOAL OF THE YEAR
JACK CLARKE vs READING
It would have been the goal of just about any other year too. Clarke rounded off a remarkable length-of-the-pitch passing move at the Madejski Stadium.
MOMENT OF THE YEAR
PATRICK ROBERTS’ GOAL AT HILLSBOROUGH
Extra-time and penalties were beckoning as Roberts turned home from close range to send the travelling hordes at Hillsborough into ecstasy.
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