IT has long been labelled the ‘most lucrative game in football’. Increasingly, however, it has also become something of a poisoned chalice.
Do Sunderland really want to win next weekend’s Championship play-off final when there is a very real possibility of promotion leading to a miserable season of battling against the drop? The answer must be a resounding yes. For all that there are justified concerns about how difficult promoted teams are finding it to survive in the Premier League, returning to the top-flight after an eight-year absence has the potential to be a complete game-changer for the Black Cats.
For a start, it is probably their only opportunity of keeping arguably the most exciting young squad in the whole of English football intact. It would mean Enzo Le Fee remaining as a Sunderland player – a hugely enticing scenario given how impressive the midfielder has been during his loan spell from Roma – and would massively strengthen the Black Cats’ position in relation to their other leading assets.
Tommy Watson is off at the end of the season come what may. If Sunderland remain in the Championship, he is unlikely to be the only high-profile departee. Borussia Dortmund want Jobe Bellingham, Manchester United are desperate to sign Chris Rigg. Trai Hume, Dan Ballard and Dan Neil have all been linked with potential moves to Premier League suitors in the last 18 months.
Could Sunderland hold on to their star performers for another season in the second tier? It feels unlikely, certainly when it comes to Bellingham, and probably when it comes to Rigg. Losing either would be a major blow, losing both would be devastating, ripping the heart out of a squad that has surely only reached the foothills of what is potentially possible under Regis Le Bris.
Make it to the Premier League, and not only would Sunderland have the top-flight status that is almost certainly needed to persuade their leading lights to remain on Wearside, they would also have the cash required to tie them down to lucrative long-term deals.
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Ah yes, the money. It is estimated that Ipswich Town’s one-year stay in the Premier League will earn them more than £170m once guaranteed future parachute payments are factored in. By way of comparison, Sunderland’s entire annual revenue for their most recent accounting period, which covered 2023-24, rose by seven per cent to £38.2m.
A one-year spell in the top-flight doesn’t necessarily future-proof your football club – just ask Luton Town – but as the presence of Burnley and Sheffield United in this season’s promotion battle proves, it makes it an awful lot easier to become an established part of the top half of the Championship.
Sunderland would have the spending power needed to raise their transfer sights significantly, and on the evidence of Kristjaan Speakman’s work in the last two or three years, there is a good chance the club would use the money wisely.
Might promotion also unlock major external investment? It’s a possibility. Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has proved an excellent steward so far, but as things stand, there are financial limits to how far he can drive the club forward. Given Louis-Dreyfus’ extensive financial and footballing links though, not to mention the contacts that Juan Sartori can also bring to the table, could a return to the Premier League persuade major global players to invest in Sunderland? It’s an intriguing thought, and if the club are ever to attract transformative external investment, it will surely only happen with the allure of the top-flight.
Then, of course, there is the footballing appeal of chasing the dream. Surely, that still means something? Yes, next season would be tough if Sunderland were to beat Sheffield United at Wembley. But just because the three promoted teams have gone straight back down in each of the last two seasons, it doesn’t automatically follow that the Black Cats would be easy pickings, thrown to the wolves. Or even the Wolves.
Why shouldn’t Sunderland be the next Brentford, Bournemouth or Brighton, clubs that have successfully established themselves as Premier League regulars despite relatively inauspicious beginnings, largely through a mix of careful management, astute recruitment and strategic planning? They’d have the backing of a sold-out crowd every week.
And if you’re a fan who trekked to Cheltenham for the 2-1 defeat, or sat through the 6-0 humiliation at Bolton, surely the dream was always to see your club back at the top table, welcoming an Arsenal or Liverpool to a vibrant Stadium of Light? This is what getting through the dark days was for. The last three years, beginning with the Wembley win over Wycombe and featuring two Championship play-off campaigns, have featured some real highs, but none would come close to the experience of winning at Wembley next Saturday or the feeling of that first Premier League home game in August.
Taking on the top-flight wouldn’t be easy, and a degree of realism would undoubtedly be required. Don’t tell me it’s not the right time to go up, though. It’s the perfect moment.
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