Editorial: A Great Performance, Club Sale Rumours, National Headlines & The Puzzle Of Geertruida

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - MAY 09: Lutsharel Geertruida of Sunderland runs with the ball during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Manchester United at Stadium of Light on May 09, 2026 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images A Great Performance… There are a few bits, so best to break this up, and I’m going to start with Saturday’s performance – because the Lads deserve a lot of credit. They came out of the blocks after kick-off with an intensity that we maybe haven’t seen for a while – potentially when we completed the double over the Visitors.

This has its slight frustrations in that a performance on this level would have given the likes of Forest, Brighton, and Fulham no chance on their visit to the Stadium of Light, but the players took it up a level. The energy was there in the press, and we hunted in packs, and this gave us the base to have freedom in attack as we had faith in winning the ball back quickly. On the subject of attacking, there was a different feel to us.

Ok, it’s going to sound strange after a game where we didn’t find the back of the net, but very rarely this season have we looked so dangerous regularly during a game. The orchestrator behind this was quite often Enzo Le Fée. The debate on his best role in the side pretty much began the first time we saw him on the pitch in the Championship when Le Bris put him out wide, but his recent minutes in the middle are showing how effective we are when he is involved in more of the action.

But part of the reason it was so effective against United was the willing runners we had ahead of Le Fee when he was in position. A regular feature of our play this season has been to check back and build again because of the lack of options ahead of the ball, but against United, the players seemed to be under instruction to continue their run after playing the initial pass. Combine that intensity with quality in possession and willing runners, and it might hopefully give us some clues on where we’re heading in terms of style for next season.