This week has seen various pictures being shared on social media of queues in the Black Cat House of fans buying new or renewing season tickets. They were scenes you wouldn’t often associate with a football club on the back of consecutive relegations, but they made for beautiful viewing.
The influx of season ticket sales is evidence that Sunderland fans are thoroughly on board with the new regime and it is very exciting. It is as though we have been able to prepare for a season in all the ways a newly relegated club should. The key boxes ticked so far being an ambitious ownership team and a manager who knows what it takes to build a winning team, now with the immense support from supporters being confirmed all that is left now is to cleanse the squad and bring in players who will be able to get us out of League One as soon as possible.
It was confirmed that over 1000 season tickets were purchased over the Bank Holiday Weekend, with the ticket office being open for long hours on Monday. The total number currently stands at the 17,000 and with over two months remaining until the new campaign kicks off this number is sure to rise. It doesn’t need to be said again, but I’m about to do it anyway. Sunderland fans are a special type of football fan. There are not many groups of supporters who would react to their clubs second ever season in the third tier by snapping up season tickets and we are set to see some of the biggest attendances in the division next season.
Our fantastic fan base has endured a lot in the past few years on and off the pitch, to see so many signing up for a campaign in the third tier is testament to the resilience of the club and the impact which the new wave of enthusiasm created by the new owners has had on fans. We have a genuine reason to be optimistic now and we all deserve it.
The way in which the desperately needed overhaul at the club has happened so soon after the end of last season and at such speed has left us all eager for the new season to kick off. The next step will be making sure our recent disastrous track record of transfers doesn’t continue. It’s never great to waste money but now more than ever it is vital for us to not waste any more money on mediocre players. It’s still early days, but things are finally feeling positive on Wearside and next season can’t come soon enough.
