POST SEASON THOUGHTS

Now the season is over and done with where the Lads had such a brilliant start, followed with a few bumps in the road but ended it in high drama at the national stadium of Wembley. I've been mulling over those last nine and half months and tried to put them into words. What better way to literally sit down with a fellow SAFC supporter, in a head-to-head conversation of sorts. Ten questions, ten answers equal, ten thoughts from two fans. You might have differing opinions to what Lee Brannan and I have to say but hey, we respect that. Here's the season that was, taken through our eyes...

How would you describe the season just finished?

MD: To use a footballing analogy, it was the typical game of two halves. We started off like the proverbial train but then got derailed off course. We righted the train once more, but it wasn't far from secure and got de-railed once more. However, we couldn't get it back on track again and eventually hit the buffers at what looked so good at one stage, was just yet more heartache but we're used to that aren't we?

LB: I think it goes without saying this season has been a whirlwind of emotions which will live long in the memory for everyone of a lad’s persuasion. As the legend that is Niall Quinn once alluded to, being involved with this wonderful club is nothing short of a ‘magic carpet ride’ however this past year has undoubtedly taken us from one of our lowest ebbs in recent times in the appointment of Michael Beale to the highs of the play off campaign which is perfectly encapsulated by the club’s mantra ‘til the end’. Whoever came up with this PR deserves a massive raise and let’s be honest if this script was written pre play offs then the author would make an absolute fortune. The last fortnight would have been considered nothing more than a wild fantasy after the QPR game and had the most perfect fairy tale ending with a born and bred Sunderland academy product popping up with the winner at Wembley to send 36k fans into delirium.

On a personal note, this season has to be one of my all-time favourites in the 23 years I have had in supporting the lads. The sheer elation I experienced in the Roker End when Ballard headed in that last second is something that will never leave me till the day I die. Limbs flying everywhere (I got knocked back 3 rows during the celebrations) to strangers hugging each other and grown men crying - it painted the most special picture of how unique this club is in terms of how much it means to the people following it and the highs and lows it entails.

Who is your Player of the Season and why?

MD: I'm going to go with Trai Hume, and not because he's from Northern Ireland where I now reside. For a player who was playing in a league with very few professional set ups just five seasons ago, he has become an integral part of the equation. His commitment is always to do the best he can for the lads and that's what we can only ask for. He can't half strike a ball either, making him a threat offensively as well as defensively. He is a player capable of playing in the Premiership and looking comfortable in it. If anyone wants to know what it's like to be hit by the Huuuuuuummmmmeeeeee train, well they could do no worse than give Ben Brereton-Diaz a call. I'm sure he will more than oblige with some first-hand analysis.

LB: Picking player of the season is nigh on impossible when there has been many outstanding performers however for me I have to go with a certain ‘Humeeeeee’. He epitomizes all the raw ingredients needed to be a Lads player and his no nonsense hard tackling approach does no harm in endearing himself to us. Let’s be honest we all love a tackle and the challenge he put in on Brereton-Diaz in the latter stages of Wembley was that fierce even Chris Wilder applauded it. To make 44 appearances in the league across the campaign is a testament to his determination and commitment to the cause and some may argue how has he not been subject to more suspensions considering how much he loves a tackle, nonetheless it does if anything show how well timed his execution is - let’s just hope he doesn't come unstuck with the dreaded VAR (or perhaps not so dreaded after Wembley)...

Who is your Young Player of the Season and why?

MD: It's obvious that some folk will go for the established names such as Jobe and Riggy, but I'm going to give this to Eliezer Mayenda. Before the season started, Mayenda looked like the striking option that many thought would be out on loan somewhere to gain match practice. However, RLB threw him into the heat of battle on the opening day and the young Spaniard has thrived. Whilst he has not always been an automatic choice, he has chipped in with some very useful goals. He's got some promise about him; the challenge now is to take it to the next level. His finish at Wembley certainly shows how far he has developed and how much his personal stock has risen. If he carries on like this, the world's his proverbial oyster. Spain could easily have Mayenda and Lamine Yamal as their national team superstars in years to come.

LB: Selecting a young player of the season represents somewhat of a challenge given the fact most of our squad fall into that category, though if I was to pick one then it has to be Chris Rigg. Granted he did fall off as the season reached the latter stages. But to breakthrough into the senior squad at the tender age of 16 really does show how good of a job our academy is doing in developing young talent. One standout moment of Rigg’s season was the counter attacking goal at Fratton Park where he delivered a crunching tackle Vinnie Jones would be proud to have committed to be fair.

Your Performance of the Season

MD: There have been several sparkling performances this season, home and away to be fair but I am going to go with one of the early season ones that really impressed us. I've chosen the second home game of the season where the Lads defeated Burnley 1-0. Considering we were facing one of the then newly relegated sides, a lot of pre-match talk was about how we would be found out by them, and how they would take us apart. As it was, Burnley had just one single shot on target all game as we dished out a 1-0 hammering with Mundle scoring a fabulous winner.

LB: There have been many outstanding performances this season, Leeds away, Burnley away, Sheffield United at home to name a few however, I would have to say the performance at the Coventry Building Society Arena (play offs) is one that personally stands out purely and simply because we went in to that game on the back of a 5 game losing streak. The adversity was unpalatable, and it seemed the entire media bias had written us off before a ball was even kicked. Granted Coventry dominated large spells of the game territorially though they did very little with it to threaten Patto. Our resilience and tenacity in this game really showed the connection amongst the squad which RLB has emphasized many a time and showed how strong minded the team is in the face of adversity - something to admire given how young the team is.

Signing of the Season

MD: I'm sure some folk will be going for Isidor as their signing of the season but I've chosen a player that technically isn't ours but has been a great acquisition to bring in on a season-long loan deal. That player is Welsh international Chris Mepham. Whilst he doesn't have blistering pace, he reads the game with a calmness that you need when things might be against us. Whilst I'm realistically aware Bournemouth won't be selling him, if he wants to do a second full season on loan then I wouldn't be averse to it. Defensive lynchpin is a good way of describing him and his play.

LB: The signing of the season has to be awarded to a certain Mr Poveda… Don’t worry, only kidding, he has to go down as one of the worst signings in the club’s history which says a lot when we have made some absolute clangers.

The actual signing of the season for me is closely fought between Enzo Le Fée and Wilson Isidor, nevertheless if I had to pick to one I would have to say Isidor purely due to the amount of important goals he got us in the first part of the season, who knows without his invaluable goals we may never have got into the play-offs in the first place.

Goal of the Season

MD: The team has scored some quite fantastic goals this season. Stand out strikes come from Riggy with his backheel finish against the Smoggies at the SoL, Wilson's run and finish at Hull as well as the calmness at the Stadium of Smog following Le Fée's perfectly weighted through ball to name just three. However, there should be just one goal that gets this, and that is the goal scored by Mayenda at Ashton Gate, Bristol. Picking the ball inside your own half, evading challenges and then steadying yourself before finishing with a great effort was phenomenal. If this had been in the Premier League, they would have been salivating. A quality goal from the young Spaniard.

LB: There has been a fair a share of phenomenal goals across the campaign ranging from Mundle’s curler against Preston to Isidor’s Rolls Royce of a run against Hull however I think Ballard’s header in the semi-final against Coventry will resonate with many of you as being goal of the season, well that was until Watson's winner in the final of course. It is incomprehensible to think whether we will witness such drama following the lads in such a short period of time, after all we are usually accustomed to coming out on the wrong end of the result in big showpiece games. We've experienced heartbreak many a time, though this is the start of a new era and things are finally starting to look up or as the renowned chant goes ‘things can only get better’.

Low point of the Season

MD: My low point of the season would have started to be the meek surrender that was at the CBS in the league, but losing at Elland Road trumps that. We had gone there with an outside hope of finishing in an automatic spot and we were looking good for a remarkable away win with Isidor scoring another highlight reel goal that you couldn't help but admire. However, the home side made a double change which would expose the fatigue we were starting to experience with one setting up the other both times to break our collective hearts. Forget Fergie time, this was Farke time at its finest. That double salvo across our bows damaged our confidence for automatic promotion. It was a loss of gut-wrenching proportions especially when we had done so well in a white-hot atmosphere where the home support is so demanding. Their sense of entitlement is unique, they feel they should be higher than their current standings. Nearly as bad as those Barcodes up the A19...

LB: The low point of the season has to be conceding two late goals to Leeds in a game that seemed to knock the wind out of the Lads sails and ultimately be the final nail in the coffin of any prospects of breaking into the top two. The abuse Tommy Watson received was also somewhat disappointing albeit understandable. In hindsight, we could all sit here and say he should have stayed with his boyhood club however at the time of signing he had the opportunity to sign for an established Premier League club who are revered for developing young talent following a model we are aspiring to strive towards. I am sure he may have a few regrets now that we are a Premier League team though he was not to know this would be the case a few months ago and I believe at the time of signing the deal was of mutual benefit to all the concerned parties. I don’t think many would turn down an opportunity to play at higher level and get paid more money irrespective of allegiances. Regardless, he has written his name in Sunderland folklore and whilst many would argue he cannot be considered a club legend given the manner he has departed I think we can all agree the goal is without a doubt one of the most iconic moments in Lads history.

Your overall opinion of RLB's first season

MD: I confess now, I knew very little about RLB when he was appointed to the role. Here was a man that had managerial experience but none of it was outside France. You could have been excused that we had taken a gamble which would either be lauded as inspired or a failure just like Beale turned out to be. But SAFC thought he was the perfect man to take us forward, especially because his philosophy matched that of the Club's. Throw in the intrigue of going with a continental approach then it looked worth going for.

The start of the season was nothing short of outstanding, a start which we might never experience again. There have been fantastic wins home and away to lap up, some chastening losses and then the three games in the play-offs which have written their own entries in SAFC history for evermore. RLB has had so much thrown at him that he's probably the coolest man on Wearside. Well, he was after Dan Ballard's second leg equaliser wasn't he? A breath of fresh managerial air who has completely revitalised us. His appointment has been an absolute masterstroke. I, for one, wonder what other tricks he has up his Gallic sleeves.

LB: RLB’S first season in charge has been nothing short of extraordinary considering he had no experience managing in England prior to joining Sunderland. He was renowned for developing young players at his previous clubs but he was still an unknown entity in the grand scheme of things and to come into one of the most fiercely competitive leagues in the world and achieve what he has achieved makes it even more incredible. His game management and tactical nous is there for all to see and gave the players the platform to freely express themselves without complicating things too much.

Despite all the toxicity and adversity he faced considering Tommy Watson’s decision to join Brighton, he remained defiant, defended him and said he will continue to have him in the squad this in spite of the fact many said he should never play for Sunderland again. Moreover, his decision to rest Roberts in the final proved to be genius as he came on and was instrumental in the comeback, this tactical decision was even more exemplified as post-game we learnt Roberts was nursing an injury.

What do we need to do to take the next step?

MD: Recruitment this summer is absolutely vital if we want to go forwards and become an established Premier League side. Whilst we will stick to our principles and still purchase promising talents, we need to balance this out more than ever with some experienced quality that will be able to perform in the heat of battle. A chance to potentially bring back another of our own in the shape of a former Premier League title winner, Jordan Henderson, should not be dismissed. His influence will be remarkable if we manage to pull it off. Granted we might have to put sentiment aside and cast away some players that got us there. All teams need to evolve at some point, let's start making those sounds now and silence those doubters quickly who think an immediate return to the Championship is a foregone conclusion even now.

LB: The next steps will be critical when it comes to preserving our Premier League status. I cannot see us deviating too much away from the model and if anything, I think we will endeavour to continue with the trajectory of signing youth albeit perhaps more established youth players at a higher fee. Notwithstanding that, we will need to ensure this is blended with experience and wise heads on shoulders- an excellent start to this would be securing the signature of a Premier League legend and a leader of leaders in Jordan Henderson. He would instantly command the respect of the dressing room and knows what it takes to get over the line and win, perhaps he could also utilize his Liverpool contacts and get a few lads in from there. Either way, nurturing home grown talent must be the way forward for SAFC, seeing one home-grown talent lift the trophy, one scoring the winner and the other grabbing the MOTM award gave me immense pride and reminded me what a privilege it is to follow Sunderland AFC.

Pick your SAFC team of the season, from the players that we have used.

MD: Playing in a 4-2-3-1 as much as I'm not the biggest fan of it, it's as follows: Patterson - Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Cirkin - Neil, Jobe - Rigg, Le Fée, Mundle - Isidor.

LB: I have picked this in what looks like a 4-3-3 formation: Patterson (GK) Hume (RB) O’Nien and Mepham (CBS) Cirkin (LB),Jobe, Rigg and Neil (CMFS) with Mayenda, Isidor and Roberts attackers.