For only the second time in their history, Sunderland are back in Europe. Last season, in their first year back in the Premier League they surpassed all expectations and achieved a club-record finish as manager Regis Le Bris took new signings and molded them into a Premier League unit. Year two in the top flight will be even harder as competing in the Europa League will push the squad to their limits in a time when everyone but Sunderland and the fans at the Stadium of Light will feel like they’re back where they belong, despite the fact that European soccer is far from a regular occurrence in Northeast England. Sunderland had the additional benefit of finishing above hated rivals Newcastle United in the table, while their other major rivals, Middlesbrough, are working to get back to the Premier League from the Championship. Still, to understand where Sunderland are, first we have to look at where they were.The Black Cats were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season after flirting with the drop for years. Like many teams, they expected their stay in the Championship to be a short one, but blink, and five years later, they bottomed out in League One before new ownership and stability helped right the ship to return to the Championship following the end of the 2021-22 season. After being promoted back to the top flight last season, just surviving would’ve been an accomplishment, but they went and did the unthinkable, finishing solidly in the top half.
But while teams dream of European nights, the extra strain that they can put on a club is something that Sunderland will need to be wary of, which defender Luke O’Nein acknowledges. “I personally think it’s going to help the group this season because there are going to be more games and more squad rotation, so we’re going to need everybody for every single minute due to the heavier load. I’m really proud of the group for what they’ve achieved, but we’re going there to compete. We want to go as far as we can in the competition, and we’re going to give it our all.” Joining the club when they were in League One, he knows what this means for the fans who will be looking to cheer the club on, and he sees more games as being a benefit with young players in the squad such as Chris Rigg who are ready for more minutes, but it’s a fine balance as they’ll want to build on this momentum as their summer tour has been used to connect with fans in the United States and grow a global fanbase.
An unlikely Nashville connectionWith the World Cup being in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, plenty of teams are looking for ways that they can capitalize on that, and with Sunderland’s finish, there was no better time for that to align with the club than during this preseason tour, where they looked to fill the void left by Japan, a team that set up home base in Nashville. A city that wanted to be a host city in the World Cup, Nashville were able to court Japan to come there even without being on FIFA’s list of approved training facilities, thanks to the mayor’s chief of staff, Masami Tyson, visiting Tokyo and speaking to the Japan Football Association to convince them of why Nashville should be the place to be. That continued with Sunderland, as the club to set up different fan activations in town, keeping the “Summer of Soccer” going in the Music City.With the Samurai Blue using it as a base camp during the World Cup, the facilities at GEODIS Park were already ones that have shown that they can support high-level soccer, and there’s also the fandom in Nashville that shows these teams that it can support them being there. There’s a fine balance in preseason between commercial needs and also ensuring that a club can have proper training without travelling all over the country, which is where Nashville helped give Sunderland the ability to hit both together. Sunderland are one of the fastest-growing Premier League teams and were already a recognized brand in the United States due to the success of the “Sunderland ‘Til I Die” docuseries, and they were embraced in the United States during this tour.”Pre-season tours are a balance between performance and, let’s call it, commercial opportunity,” Sunderland interim CEO Tom Burwell stated. “First and foremost, we have a squad of players; they’re here to prepare for all of the challenges we’ve just spoken about. And finding that balance is really important. We had an almost permanent base in Nashville, spent seven days down in Nashville training, playing a game against Liverpool, and then we followed in with just a couple of matches on the back end in New York and Philadelphia. If I then counterbalance that, we very clearly believe that Sunderland AFC can be the Premier League team of choice in Tennessee.”
But while Premier League clubs need to chase fans around the world to keep up with the pace of the league, fans at home also can’t lose out either, which Sunderland recognizes in the “30-kilometer radius at the Stadium of Light.” Burwell described that as the rooted connection with the Sunderland area because this is still a local club with local roots in shipbuilding, which is what they also want to be able to show to fans in the United States. Ahead of facing Wrexham, Burwell broke down the vibe in Sunderland in NFL terms.”No one hates their Eagles more than Eagles fans when the Eagles are not winning; that’s the same thing here when we’re in Sunderland,” Burwell stated.This is a team that had plenty of players with meaningful roles at the World Cup, led by Brian Brobbey and Granit Xhaka, which only helps with that export due to name recognition. More than anything, though, it’s critical for Sunderland’s preseason to lead to a fast start in the Premier League because season two back in the top flight will bring challenges of its own.
Surviving Europe’s challengesThere are the highs that everyone is looking forward to, but there’s also a balance that has to be struck. Dan Ballard anchors a strong defensive setup that Le Bris has created with the squad, but among the fixtures coming their way, the Black Cats will need to be flexible in their approach while getting contributions from all around the squad. O’Nein acknowledges what the club has already achieved, but this is a team that isn’t just happy to be here; they want to make noise in Europe.”It’s got to be special. First and foremost, we’re not going there just to say we’ve had our celebrations for achieving that. When we go there, we mean business, and we’re going to be competitive as hell. We’re going to approach that game like we do every other game we ever play.” O’Nein stated. “But it is also massive for the club. Meeting fans who have already booked their hotels months ago, they’re guessing where we’re going and already booking their travel. It’s special for the club.”When it comes to how they’ll accomplish their goals in Europe, leaning on the Sunderland academy will be important. It has produced England internationals in the past, with Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford being some of the most notable graduates from the club, but this season, there’s one player in particular who will have the spotlight on them.
“The Northeast has always been a hotbed for talent in the UK, and in England specifically, of course,” Burwell stated. “We have been very successful over the past couple of years in bringing players through that play Championship football and Chris Rigg playing in the Premier League last year. I think you’ve seen on this pre-season tour some of our youth players who are coming through. We know that with a minimum of 50 games this season, we are going to need a number of players.”After being critical to Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder Rigg struggled to adapt to the Premier League, only playing 766 league minutes, but he took on more responsibility during the close of the season, which Le Bris expects to continue this season. While one goal and one assist in Premier League play aren’t something to write home about, considering his age and that he’s still filling in as a Premier League player, Sunderland should still be excited about their newest academy starlet. As is often the case for a player in their teens, it’s less about how much you can produce, and more about the fact you’re able to contribute on the pitch at all.
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“We felt the evolution last season; it was clear. We had a conversation probably the last month of the season, and I asked him first, ‘What is the difference between the Chris Rigg at the beginning of the season and the Chris Rigg now?’ So we spoke about maturity,” Le Bris stated. “You can be on the bench, but it doesn’t mean that you are a bad player. It means that you still have quality, but you are a good teammate, and you have many things to develop, especially in a strong team. And on the pitch, he was more composed on the ball, a bit erratic at the beginning of the season, and progressively he showed that he was able to keep the ball under pressure and feel when it’s time to go forward; this is the right moment.”
You never want to put too much pressure on a teenager, but only 10 players logged more than 1000 minutes in the Premier League last season. Le Bris kept a tight rotation, which will need to be opened this season to balance the competitions that the team is involved in. That’ll provide opportunities for younger players in the squad, but with one of the quieter transfer windows in England, the Black Cats will need those players to take a step forward in order to avoid slipping in the table. Given the historic success of their academy, there are plenty of reasons why the club should have faith in players taking the step, but their approach upon making Europe almost goes counter to the high spending of the league.If it works and the club can build on their success, they’ll be well positioned to continue pushing for new heights, but this is a pivotal season ahead, and after immediate success upon their return to the top flight, expectations are high on the club this coming season.
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