Editorial: Ladies And Gents, This Is The Moment You’ve Waited For
It’s been a hell of a year – and on Sunday we could witness history being made.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 17: Lutsharel Geertuida of Sunderland celebrates the third Sunderland goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Sunderland at Hill Dickinson Stadium on May 17, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images) | Sunderland AFC via Getty Images Well, if you had told me one year ago that in 12 months time we’d be going into the last game of a Premier League season with a chance of claiming a European place I would’ve looked urgently for the fellas in white coats to get you locked up pronto. But here we are.
In with a chance of qualifying for Europe via the league for the first time in our almost 150-year history. This season has been brilliant. From the play-offs to beating the Visitors twice, I doubt any club’s fans have had 12 months packed with such memorable moments.
Yes we’ve had a couple of little downs over the course of the season, but the vast, vast, vast majority of the campaign has been highlight upon highlight, and it’s a remarkable reflection of the work that Regis Le Bris, his backroom staff, all of the players led by Granit Xhaka and the off -ield team led by Kyril Louis Dreyfus have done over the past 12 months. So as we head into the game against Chelsea on Sunday, we’re presented with a moment that’s rare in football – we can reflect on the magnitude of the progress that has been made at this football club over the past 12 months, appreciate what we’ve achieved, in the knowledge that it could get even better. Rewind 12 months.
We were looking forward to the Wembley play-off final as major underdogs, having to endure the blanket one-eyed reporting that Frank Lampard‘s ‘trrific’ Coventry side had been the actual winners having *checks notes* had more possession. According to the world and his dog, we were 100% certain to be beaten by Sheffield United. On that occasion, we went one goal down, but showed the resilience, determination, and desire to stay in the game and get the result; traits that have been so important throughout the course of this season, and were evident once again in our impressive victory at Everton on Sunday.