Come Sunday Night, Sunderland Could Be In Wonderland!

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - APRIL 12: Granit Xhaka of Sunderland reacts during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur at Stadium of Light on April 12, 2026 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images I was taken to my first Sunderland game at Roker Park in 1966. I mention that fact as it has a bearing on the following statement: this has been the best season I’ve known in my lifetime.

I certainly don’t say that lightly, as there have been many fantastic moments and quite a few very enjoyable seasons. Every promotion season has brought pleasure and excitement but the fact that they were promotion years tells the story — we weren’t competing with the top teams. The 1979/1980 promotion campaign was exciting.

The 1998/1999 105-point season was brilliant and the subsequent two seventh-placed finishes were a joy to behold — albeit with points totals of fifty eight and fifty seven, and that we won’t surpass this time. However, the difference this season is that we’ve actually got a target and a goal to aim for in the final match against Chelsea — that of a European spot. I’ve always thought of Sunderland as a big club.

Our history tells us that and I inwardly groan when people start a fact with “Since the Premier League began…”, as it belies a fundamental understanding of what history is. You can’t arbitrarily decide which bits of history you want to include and which bits are no longer relevant. History is the past.